Dayton administration: No need for PolyMet health study
Pioneer Press
Rachel E. Stassen-Berger
Gov. Mark Dayton’s administration concluded the state does not need an extra health impact assessment of the PolyMet mining project.
In a joint memo released Monday, Dayton’s health, pollution control and natural resources commissioners told the governor that a health study would be duplicative, confusing and could delay decision making.
A statement from the governor’s office said: “Gov. Dayton agrees with their assessment.”
Read more: http://blogs.twincities.com/politics/2015/12/07/dayton-administration-no-need-polymet-health-study/
County board backs PolyMet
Mesabi Daily News
Jerry Burnes
With county officials meeting on the struggling East Range, the mining project that holds hope for new jobs in the area gained another endorsement Tuesday.
St. Louis County commissioners passed a resolution without objection to submit comment to the state Department of Natural Resources supporting the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the PolyMet mine near Hoyt Lakes, marking the board’s first on-the-record support of the project.
Guest Column: Let’s Wrap Up PolyMet
Mesabi Daily News
Opinion: U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan
After 10 long years, the rigorous approval process for PolyMet’s NorthMet copper, nickel and other precious metals mining project has reached a major milestone: The Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) was published this month in the Federal Register.
Having studied the details closely, and after numerous meetings with all the parties involved, I’m urging the co-lead agencies — the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Forest Service — to wrap things up so the project can be permitted and operational at the earliest possible date.
Views on PolyMet Final Environmental Impact Statement
Duluth News Tribune
Editorial Board
On Friday, the long-anticipated final environmental review of PolyMet’s proposed copper-nickel mine was released, detailing how the project can be accomplished while also protecting air quality, water purity and the environment.
The News Tribune already had opined that the release of the 3,000-page Final Environmental Impact Statement, a document that took more than 10 years to get right, marked a moment that could be “welcomed and embraced.”
Pioneer Press
Editorial Board
Minnesotans should appreciate the process that is purposefully working its way to a conclusion as the state decides whether to allow copper and nickel mining on the Iron Range.
After 10 years, it reached a landmark Friday when the state’s Department of Natural Resources issued the final environmental impact statement on the proposed PolyMet mine near Hoyt Lakes in northeastern Minnesota. If other steps proceed and the department approves of the 3,000-page document early next year, the company then could begin applying for the nearly two dozen permits it will need.