From Grand Portage to Grand Rapids, we are celebrating recent legal wins in our fight to keep our lakes blue and our communities thriving and stop copper-sulfide mining.
We’re up against multinational mining companies, like Glencore, the parent company of the PolyMet mine, that have track records of devastating environmental destruction. Minnesota has a water rich environment which makes copper-sulfide mining uniquely risky. A mine tailings dam collapse risks toxic runoff into critical drinking sources like Lake Superior, which is why the recent wins are so important.
In the last few weeks the US Army Corps of Engineers revoked the PolyMet "Section 404" wetlands permit and the Minnesota Supreme Court sent PolyMet’s air permit back to the Minnesota Court of Appeals.
Legal strategies against PolyMet have been instrumental in creating delay after delay, allowing downstream communities to build momentum for better political leadership, stronger laws, and shift public opinion.
Continue reading for a deeper dive into both legal victories and how you can get involved in organizing for a just, sustainable future. Join us for our upcoming event: [Virtual] Protect Water, Stop Sulfide Mining: Volunteer Kick-off | Friday, July 28th 12:30 - 2:00 pm | Via zoom
More info & RSVP link
Water Permit Permanently Revoked
Last month, the US Army Corps of Engineers permanently revoked the PolyMet "Section 404" wetlands destruction permit. This win was made possible by the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, who had objected to this permit from the beginning because of concerns that the PolyMet copper-nickel mine would violate the Band’s water quality standards.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers agreed with the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and the U.S. EPA that PolyMet's proposed mine would irreparably harm the water on the Band’s reservation. This is a significant victory for treaty rights – specifically the Band’s ability to exercise traditional hunting, fishing and gathering rights on indigenous lands that were ceded under the 1854 Treaty where PolyMet would be built and operated.
We congratulate the Band on this historic win, and we extend our gratitude to our legal partners at the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy (MCEA) for their leadership in this fight. We are proud to have provided grassroots and technical comments in support of their demands.
Air Permit Sent Back to Court of Appeals
Not a week later, the Minnesota Supreme Court issued a decision that reinstates our appeal of the PolyMet air pollution permit. This decision sends the air permit appeal back to the Minnesota Court of Appeals, which will consider the merits.
MCEA, Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness, and Sierra Club challenged the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s failure to investigate PolyMet’s expansion plan last year. In short, PolyMet had proposed mine expansions that would nearly quadruple the intensity of mining from what their initial permit allowed.
In addition to being one of the co-Plaintiffs in this lawsuit, Sierra Club shared our technical expertise that provided the basis of this legal challenge. We concluded that PolyMet had engaged in "sham permitting" – a permit being issued that doesn't reflect the full scope of the project proposal. PolyMet deceptively applied for an air pollution permit on the basis of the first, much smaller phase of their planned operation. At the same time, they had told shareholders their plans for a much larger mine. This larger mine would require them to meet more stringent air emissions limitations, and the MPCA failed to investigate this. Now, we are celebrating a decision that allows our coalition to ask for a full investigation of the impact of PolyMet’s expansion plans.
So, What’s Next?
The Sierra Club North Star Chapter is working hard to complement Indigenous leadership and our partners’ legal efforts with a grassroots communications campaign to increase public awareness and engagement on the threats of sulfide mining across Minnesota as well as the exciting possibilities for a different future. A future where we have the freedom to get around our communities without vehicles, use locally generated renewable energy and reuse and recycle more of our daily materials while providing workers with family-sustaining union jobs. Over the last several months we have run digital ads, sent email blasts, written letters to the editor, and hosted community conversations with partners to help change the narrative about water protection, climate action and ensuring a just transition across Minnesota.
Multinational mining companies will continue their work to divide us and pollute our water for their profit. We know better. We will continue uplifting Minnesotans’ vision for a different future. Join us at an upcoming team Protect Water, Stop Sulfide Mining volunteer campaign kick-off. We’ll celebrate these legal victories and gear up for what’s next.
[Virtual] Protect Water, Stop Sulfide Mining: Volunteer Kick-off
Friday, July 28th 12:30 - 2:00pm
Via zoom
More info & RSVP link