Congress Strips Minnesota Boundary Waters of Mining Pollution Protections
Unprecedented use of Congressional Review Act undermines longstanding public lands protections
WASHINGTON — Despite longstanding and seemingly settled protections for the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, a narrow vote today in the U.S. Senate would strip the pristine waters in Northern Minnesota of key protections. The vote overturns a 20-year ban on mining on about 350 square miles of federal land adjacent to the protected area. The mining company Twin Metals, owned by the Chilean mining giant Antofagasta Plc., has long sought to build an underground copper and nickel mine in the area. In response, Abhilasha Bhola, auto supply chain campaign director with Public Citizen’s Climate Program, issued the following statement:
“The Senate’s move to strong-arm the approval of mining in the pristine Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness will destroy the natural beauty of this cherished protected region. Using the Congressional Review Act in an unprecedented way, Senate Republicans have violated the rights of Indigenous peoples and endangered critical watersheds, all in an effort to provide a corporate handout to a foreign mining company. As Congress undercuts decades of public lands protections, there has been no accounting of how much new mining is necessary to meet demand. Investments in circularity and mineral recycling could reduce nickel demand by 35% by 2040 and copper demand by 55%.”
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