Here’s What We’d Like to See Happen in Ely in the Year 2016
Ely Echo
Editorial
We’re not into New Year’s resolutions. Instead we’ve come up with a wish list for 2016. Santa, if you’re reading, the Ely area and the whole Iron Range are in need of some gifts that last beyond Christmas.
Here’s a start for the new year:
- Permitting, construction at PolyMet
Want to give the East Range a real shot in the arm and prospects for better tomorrows? How about the issuance of permits and the start of construction at the region’s first copper-nickel mine.
After more than a decade of review, and some recent green lights in the environmental study process, it’s time for the state to stand strong and permit the PolyMet project.
The permanent jobs will bring more positions with good-size paychecks to the area, not to mention spin-off jobs and a construction period that’s sure to be an economic boon.
The lawsuits from environmental groups are inevitable, but here’s hoping that part of the reason PolyMet has taken so long to permit was that regulators have assembled a plan that’s bulletproof.
On the same topic, we’d like nothing better than to see Twin Metals Minnesota make progress on its plans to develop a mine that just might be the biggest piece of economic development in Ely’s history.
Read more: http://elyecho.com/articles/2016/01/03/here%E2%80%99s-what-we%E2%80%99d-see-happen-ely-year-2016
DNR Extends Comment Period on PolyMet Environmental Review
Minnesota Public Radio
Dan Kraker
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has extended the public comment period on the final environmental review of the proposed PolyMet copper-nickel mine.
The DNR says it will not accept comments through Dec. 21, a week later than the original deadline.
Read more: http://www.mprnews.org/story/2015/12/11/dnr-extends-polymet-environmental-review-comment-period
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.