WASHINGTON – The U.S. Interior Department ordering a study that could lead to a 20-year ban on mining upstream from the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in Minnesota. The order, consistent with Biden Administration’s environmental sensitivity, was a blow to the proposed PolyMet copper-nickel mine near Babbit. The Biden decision is the latest in ping-pong federal policies regarding the extraction industry. The Obama Interior Department had stalled extraction projects, including the PolyMet project. Then the Trump came along and opened up mining pell-mell. Now the Biden administration has reversed course again. At issue specifically is a PolyMet application to the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management for “mineral withdrawal.” The application would begin a two-year comprehensive study of environmental and other impacts of mining in the watershed that flows into the Boundary Waters. A negative conclusion from the study could delay any reconsideration until the 2040s.
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Interior Secretary Deb Haaland: “A place like the Boundary Waters should be enjoyed by and protected for everyone, not only today but for future generations. Today the Biden Administration is taking an important and sensible step to ensure that we have all the science and the public input necessary to make informed decisions about how mining activities may impact this special place.”