ST. PAUL, Minn. – New legal obstacles are being planned against copper mining on federal lands in the Rainy River watershed, most of which is in the pristine Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. At a news conference arranged by the environmental group Save the Boundary Waters, Congress ember Betty McCollum, D-St. Paul, noted that the Trump administration tried to fast-track mining projects across the country, including mines near Babbit, Ely and Hoyt Lakes. Now, McCollum said, the Biden administration with a Democratic Congress will likely be more sympathetic to the environment. New companion federal and state legislation can slow or ban copper-nickel mining on the Iron Range. Said McCollum: “A pollution-free, safe copper mine simply does not exist,” McCollum said. In the state Legislature a bill dubbed Prove it First would require mining companies to prove that they’ve had non-iron mines elsewhere for at least 10 years without any pollution or contamination. Meanwhile, seven state lawmakers from the mineral-rich Iron Range are opposing Prove It First” as a “thinly veiled effort to thwart the startup of new mining operations. The opposition clams Minnesota has sufficiently thorough environmental review and permitting processes.
McCollum. Copper mining cannot be environment-friendly.