Duluth News Tribune
Jimmy Lovrien

The Bureau of Land Management proposed renewing hardrock mineral leases in the Rainy River Watershed near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness on Thursday, initiating a 30-day comment period.

The BLM’s proposal includes new stipulations on the leases in its “proposed action” while the “no-action alternative” would renew the leases under the same conditions as the leases’ last renewal in 2004.

Proposed changes were outlined in an updated environmental assessment released Thursday. Comments on the assessment will be accepted through Jan. 22.

Read More: https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/business/energy-and-mining/4546514-feds-propose-renewing-twin-metals-leases

St. Paul, Minn. (Dec. 20, 2018) – Jobs for Minnesotans released the below statement today following the announcement that final major permits for PolyMet Mining were issued by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), bringing the NorthMet Project a big step closer to reality:

“Today, Jobs for Minnesotans celebrates the opportunities this final approval from the MPCA brings to Northeast Minnesota: hundreds of well-paying jobs and critical investment to sustain local communities. The issuance of these air and water permits is validation that the state’s very public, thorough and scientific process of evaluation, analysis and decision-making works.

“These permits will re-energize the region’s supplier and professional service network, assure long-term employment for skilled tradespeople, generate a more diverse and thriving regional and statewide economy, as well as create access to essential metals to power the green economy and our modern world.

“We applaud the hard work of the regulatory agencies involved in this process and express our deep gratitude to the citizens, businesses, labor organizations, elected officials and communities who have been resilient in their efforts to propel the project forward.”

About Jobs for Minnesotans
Jobs for Minnesotans, a coalition representing business, labor and communities, supports statewide opportunities for prosperity and middle-class jobs from sustainable natural resource development in Minnesota. The organization is committed to the principle that our state can preserve both job opportunities and the environment for future generations. Jobs for Minnesotans was co-founded in 2012 by the Minnesota Building and Construction Trades Council representing 55,000 workers and the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce representing 2,300 companies and 500,000 employees. For more information, visit jobsforminnesotans.org, follow @JobsforMN on Twitter and find the coalition on Facebook.com/Jobs4MN.

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Media Contact: Nancy Norr, Chair
nnorr@mnpower.com
Cell: 218.590.6978

Associated Press
Steve Karnowski

State pollution regulators on Thursday issued the last major state permits sought by the developers of the planned PolyMet copper-nickel mine in northeastern Minnesota, leaving only one major federal permit still pending.

PolyMet would be the state’s first copper-nickel mine. Thursday’s announcement follows a decision by the Department of Natural Resources last month to grant PolyMet several major permits, including the key one — a permit to mine.

Read More: https://www.apnews.com/094c28c9e8ad4a9aad6127ba2d886856

Duluth News Tribune
Editorial Board

Joining the cry now are 145 national and Minnesota-based organizations, businesses, unions, elected officials and others. They all signed a letter dated Nov. 28 urging congressional approval of the land swap before the end of the year and the end of the 115th Congress. A copy of the letter was provided to the News Tribune Opinion page.

“Both the House of Representatives and the Senate have advanced this with bipartisan support,” the letter points out. “Mining is a pillar of the economy in Minnesota, particularly the northern part of the state. Mining contributes $1.8 billion to Minnesota’s economy every year. Long-term investment, like that proposed by PolyMet, would provide robust economic value to local communities. The project will generate hundreds of jobs, including 2 million construction hours over 18-24 months, and an annual $515 million boost to the St. Louis County economy.”

Read More: https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/opinion/editorials/4545318-our-view-still-lot-land-swap

St. Paul, Minn. (Dec. 13, 2018) – Jobs for Minnesotans today released the following statement in response to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (MPUC) decision not to reconsider the issuance of the Line 3 Replacement Project’s Route Permit:

“Jobs for Minnesotans commends the unanimous MPUC decision to uphold the Line 3 Replacement Project Route Permit. This decision helps to propel the project forward and bring well-paying jobs to Minnesotans without further delay. Many of those jobs will be filled by skilled Minnesota-based tradespeople who are well equipped to build and maintain our energy infrastructure. Along with quality jobs, this project brings extensive benefits to communities all along the project’s route in the form of spin-off investment from the workers and project expenditures throughout construction and beyond.

“We thank the MPUC for the thorough and timely regulatory review process and look forward to seeing this project move to the construction phase. J4MN strongly encourages civility and respect for the communities along the route and the dedicated professional workers that will be constructing this project.”

About Jobs for Minnesotans
Jobs for Minnesotans, a coalition representing business, labor and communities, supports statewide opportunities for prosperity and middle-class jobs from sustainable natural resource development in Minnesota. The organization is committed to the principle that our state can preserve both job opportunities and the environment for future generations. Jobs for Minnesotans was co-founded in 2012 by the Minnesota Building and Construction Trades Council representing 55,000 workers and the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce representing 2,300 companies and 500,000 employees. For more information, visit jobsforminnesotans.org, follow @JobsforMN on Twitter and find the coalition on Facebook.com/Jobs4MN.

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Media Contact: Nancy Norr, Chair
nnorr@mnpower.com
Cell: 218.590.6978