"MINNEAPOLIS — Documents that the federal Environmental Protection Agency tried to keep confidential show that its staffers criticized how Minnesota regulators drafted a key permit for the planned PolyMet copper-nickel mine, and concluded that the permit would violate federal law because it lacked pollution limits based on the state’s water quality standards.
The EPA released the documents Wednesday after a court challenge by WaterLegacy, which had been seeking them for more than a year, and in response to a request from U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum of Minnesota, who chairs a committee that oversees the EPA. Environmentalists said Thursday that the EPA’s concerns should have been reflected in the final permit but weren’t.
“Minnesota’s public finally knows the truth about the EPA’s serious criticism of PolyMet’s water permit,” said Paula Maccabee, an attorney for WaterLegacy, which sued after its attempts to obtain the documents under the Freedom of Information Act were rebuffed.
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency issued PolyMet’s water pollution permit last December. It was the last major state permit the company needed for its planned mine near Babbitt and processing plant near Hoyt Lakes. PolyMet, whose largest investor is Swiss commodities giant Glencore AG, won its final federal permit in March and is now raising nearly $1 billion for construction financing."
Steve Karnowski reports for the Associated Press June 13, 2019.
