Environmental groups ask for suspension of PolyMet permits – by Jimmy Lovrien (Duluth News Tribune – November 8, 2018)

https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/

Several Minnesota environmental groups asked state agencies to suspend permits for the contentious PolyMet copper-nickel mine in Minnesota.

The Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, WaterLegacy and Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness submitted a request for stay, or suspension, of permits issued by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources last week and pending permits from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency until the Minnesota Court of Appeals rules on whether an additional environment review of the project is needed.

Before the groups can ask the Court of Appeals for a stay on the permits, they’re required to first request a stay of permits from the agencies themselves, WaterLegacy counsel and advocacy director Paula Maccabee told the News Tribune on Thursday. “It’s not like this is the endgame, but it is a preliminary step,” Maccabee said.

While the DNR granted the permit to mine and 10 other approvals to PolyMet last week, it was based on the company recovering about 32,000 tons of ore every day.

Environmental groups argue a report released by PolyMet in March outlines the company’s ambitions to triple that to 118,000 tons per day and that the impacts of that larger project must be factored into the environmental review.

For the rest of this article: https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/business/energy-and-mining/4526712-environmental-groups-ask-suspension-polymet-permits