ST. PAUL, Minn. – A Minnesota appellate judge OK’d a case by a wilderness advocacy group against the proposed PolyMet copper-nickel mine in the Rainey River headwaters. Appellate Judge Michael Kirk said that the advocacy group, Northeastern Minnesotans for Wilderness, has “standing,” which means its suit can continue through the courts. The group is challenging the massive mining project on grounds that 29-year-old state siting rules prohibit copper mining along waters that flow directly into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. The mining company, PolyMet, had asked a lower court to dismiss the case on grounds that the wilderness group hadn’t demonstrated how the mine would harm it. Judge Kirk’s decision was yet another setback for the PolyMet project.
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