Help Protect Minnesota's Waters from the near perpetual pollution of toxic heavy metals and Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) that are the byproduct of Nonferrous Metallic Sulfide Mining.
With the Passage of:
Safe Mines To Protect Our Water
Senate Bill SF 084 and House HF 0916
A 2009 Minnesota Legislative Priority
This type of mining has never been permitted in Minnesota before.
Write letters to the editor, contact legislators and decision makers and ask them to support the strongest possible legislation to protect Minnesota from the dangers of sulfide mining
Canadian owned PolyMet, is in the final stages of permitting for their planned 6,700 acre copper sulfide strip mine which would be located on public forested/wetlands. Representative Oberstar and Senator Klobuchar introduced a special favors bill in 2008, called the Superior National Forest Land Adjustement Act This federal legislation, if passed, would remove long standing environmnetal prohibitions against strip mining US Forest Service lands. If this is what kind of treatment the first proposal recieves, what expectations do we have that our regulators and politicians will protect the interests of Minnesota and it's irreplaceable natural resources.
Most of the advanced sulfide mining exploration is taking place in the northeastern part of the state, where our forests, wildlife, wetlands and lakes remain the most pristine. National treasures such as Lake Superior, Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) as well as Voyageurs National Park, face the threat from the destruction and perpetual pollution that follows metallic sulfide mining. Sulfide Mining Exploration is going on across the entire state of Minnesota Every major lake, river and watershed in Minnesota lies in an area being explored for it's sulfide mineral potential. Mining companies are waiting for PolyMet to be the first, before they advance their own sulfide mining plans.
Click to see "Safe Mines to Protect Our Water" Fact sheet
Articles and Op-ed's
Duluth News Tribune op-ed Failure to regulate mining industry is disastrous
MinnPost article Riled Rangers: DLFers from northeastern Minnesota move to block environmental legislation
Lake County Chronicle op-ed Passage of Safe Mines Bill would protect the waters of Lake County and Lake Superior
St.Paul Legal Ledger Capitol Report article Copper controversy
Minnesota Public Radio Lawmakers to mull restrictions on sulfide mining
Timberjay article Bill would create extra hurdles for new mining operations
StarTribune article Minn. lawmakers look at new mining restrictions
Link to Senate Bill SF 0845 House and Senate companion bills Link to House HF 0916
SF0845 Status in Senate for Legislative Session 86
Check Bill staus at;
Safe Mines To Protect Our Water
For immediate release: February 18, 2009
Release Date Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Contacts:
Greg Seitz
Communications
Director
Friends of the Boundary Waters
Wilderness
612-332-9630
greg@friends-bwca.org
Mary MarrowreceivesAttorney
Minnesota Center for Environmental
Advocacy
651-223-5969
mwmarrow@mncenter.org
Safe Mines To Protect Our Water
Sulfide mining legislation
unveiled,
will protect Minnesotas lakes , rivers and streams from toxic pollution.
ST. PAUL, MN A bill to be introduced tomorrow would be a major step in protecting Minnesotas taxpayers and lakes, rivers, streams and groundwater from the damages of sulfide mining proposed in the heart of the states prized lake country.
Sulfide mining is new in Minnesota, but elsewhere in the country it has polluted water with acid mine drainage and left taxpayers responsible for hundreds of millions of dollars in clean-up costs when mining companies have filed for bankruptcy and abandoned their polluted mines.
Now, with sulfide mining companies seeking permits from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and exploration for more sulfide mines occurring throughout the Arrowhead region, laws are needed to protect Minnesotans from problems experienced in other states.
The Safe Mines to Protect Our Water legislation, introduced by Rep. Alice Hausman (DFL-St. Paul) and Sen. Jim Carlson (DFL-Eagan) would ensure that mining companies are required to provide sufficient financial assurance to the state and that their mines are clean and non-polluting when mining is done.
Mining needs to be a sustainable enterprise, said Carlson. We need to make sure sulfide mines will be good neighbors in Minnesota, providing jobs while protecting our prized waters and our states hardworking taxpayers.
While other states have passed similar legislation only after experiencing the devastating effects of sulfide mining disasters, Minnesota has a chance to lead on the issue, preventing problems before they occur.
The legislation would not be a moratorium on sulfide mining. It seeks to ensure that mining is done right and that mines are modern, model operations that will not leave a legacy of pollution or expensive clean-up bills for taxpayers.
We have a duty to future generations to pass on to them our lakes, rivers and streams as clean and safe as we have enjoyed them, said Hausman. If the legislature does nostatuss this law, our children and grandchildren might not be able to enjoy the fishing, canoing and other pastimes that are cherished Minnesota traditions.
Without protective standards in place, mine waste from sulfide mines could be a toxic problem for hundreds of years. Acidic runoff loaded with toxic metals would threaten the neighboring lakes, rivers and streams of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and Lake Superior watersheds.
The legislation is supported by the Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness, which considers unsafe sulfide mining to be one of the biggest threats to the treasured Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. The issue is also a priority for the Minnesota Environmental Partnership, a coalition of more than 80 nonprofit conservation and environmental organizations committed to protecting and restoring Minnesotas Great Outdoors.
A Minnesota Environmental Partnership (MEP) 2009 Legislative Priority
Safe Mines To Protect Our Water
http://www.mepartnership.org/protectmnfuture/pmf_safemines.asp
OVERVIEW
The woods and waters of northeastern Minnesota
are some of our most treasured natural resources. Millions of people depend on
the clean water for drinking and the area is important for recreation and
tourismbeloved for hunting, fishing, camping, canoeing and other traditional
Minnesota pastimes.
The 2009 legislative session presents an opportunity to protect those
resources and our states financial health with legislation that regulates the
development of copper-nickel mines. This form of miningknown as acid mining
or sulfide mininghas never been done before in Minnesota, is very different
from taconite mining, and has led to devastating environmental and financial
consequences elsewhere in the country.
PROBLEM
When
waste rock from taconite mines is exposed to air and water, it creates rust. But
the byproduct of sulfide mining is toxic sulfuric acid, which leaches heavy
metals from the rock and seeps into nearby waters. This is known as acid mine
drainage and it pollutes surface water and groundwater, and kills fish or makes
them unsuitable for consumption.
Mine proposals in Minnesota do not deny the very real potential for acid mine
drainage and
estimate their sites will require decades of treatment of the
water that runs off the waste rock piles. This creates an enormous financial
liability for state and local governments. Clean up and closure of mines
frequently costs tens of millions of dollars. When faced with such clean up
tasks, and also because of the volatile nature of the metals market, mining
companies have all too often filed for bankruptcy and walked away, leaving
taxpayers to pick up the bill. Its very difficult to provide financial
assurance to prevent taxpayers from paying for lifetimes of expensive pollution
control and mine reclamation. A recent study of Alaskan mines similar to those
proposed in Minnesota found that reclamation costs were underestimated by 43
percent.
POSITION
MEP seeks to ensure any new sulfide mines are
operated and closed safely, to prevent long-term harm to our states Great
Outdoors legacy and to prevent the financial disasters that other states have
experienced. The Safe Mines to Protect Our Water legislation prohibits the
Department of Natural Resources from issuing permits to mines which would
require wastewater treatment 10 years after closure, and it expands the
regulations for calculating and securing financial assurances so that Minnesota
taxpayers are not left footing the bill to clean up pollution that leaks into
our prized lakes, rivers and streams.
For More Information:
Click here to download a fact sheet from Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness.
Visit the website of Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness to find additional fact sheets and information.
Watch a video of Len Anderson debating Frank Ongaro of Mining Minnesota about the Safe Mines to Protect Our Water legislation on Almanac North (a production of WDSE-TV in Duluth/Superior). The show was originally aired on Feb. 20, 2009.
Gary Botzek
Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness
651-293-9295
gary@capitolconnections.com
Molly Schultz
Minnesota Environmental Partnership/
Conservation
Minnesota
651-428-0547
molly@conservationminnesota.org
John Tuma
Minnesota Environmental Partnership/
Conservation Minnesota
612-991-1093
johntuma@MEPartnership.org
Images of Acid Mine Drainage (AMD)
Acid Mine Drainage in South Dakota, DENR Acid Mine Drainage in Colorado, USGS
