There was a public hearing at the Minnesota Senate Building Monday February 24th, 2025. It was to bring awareness and support for proposed Legislation drafted to protect Minnesota from the threats from Copper-Nickel Sulfide Mining.
I was born in Virginia, Minnesota raised on the iron range during the boom. My family has many connections and years of experience in iron ore mines. We are a working-class family, full of sportsmen and women, with respect for the jobs that support us. My connection to the arrowhead region is my heritage. I grew up swimming in the delightfully cold Lake Vermilion with my family.
I cherish the memories I continue to enjoy while visiting the pristine waters in the BWCA each year. We are blessed in Minnesota. Sometimes I think we may be so used to these blessings that we take for granted the quintessential Minnesota way of life. Lake life.
If we are not careful, we will lose what makes our beloved state so great. Look around the nation my friends…
Our fresh water is dwindling quickly. Fact: Over half of the water in Minnesota is already too polluted to eat the fish or drink from. Statistics say that by 2050 over half the population in the nation will have difficulty finding clean drinking water!
This is why I am so passionate about protecting the water in Minnesota. The desire to protect the BWCA is what inspired me to run for the State House of Representative in 2018. Then again for Minnesota State Senate in 2022. Though I did not win, I am still a passionate environmental advocate. Which is why I attended this hearing and support these bills. Now I would like to offer a summary of what I learned.
This is a summary; I will provide a link for the full 52 pages of hearing testimonies below. I am sharing so that you can contact your state representatives and ask them to support these very important pieces of legislation. This is not a democrat nor republican issue; this is a Minnesota issue.
Our water is what makes Minnesota special. We all understand that water is life. Even if we don’t see eye to eye on other subjects. Most of us agree that protecting our Minnesota way of life from foreign invasions with nefarious intentions is something that needs to happen.
Here’s what you should know.
The Prove it First Bill SF1382 /HF 954. Simply request that an applicant seeking a permit to operate a copper-sulfide mine must prove that such a mine can be operated and closed without causing pollution. They must prove an example of a copper-sulfide mine that has been operated for 10 years and has been closed for 10 years without causing pollution.
Bad Actor Bill SF 1744 / HF 1197. This bill would ban Minnesota from issuing nonferrous mining permits to ‘bad actors’ who have already violated specific international laws. Including corruption, bribery, or destruction of natural resources. This common-sense legislation would ensure the legacy of Minnesota’s clean water is not placed in the hands of notorious international mining conglomerates with no regard for Minnesota’s environment or its residents.
Taxpayer Protection Act SF1383 / HF955. Taxpayer protection act would require nonferrous (non-iron) mining companies to fully fund any financial assurance package upfront and in cash. This would protect Minnesota taxpayers from being forced to pay for any environmental clean-up resulting from the nonferrous mining operations. Currently the regular operating methods of these companies are to leave a toxic mess and the clean up bill to the taxpayers by simply declaring bankruptcy.
The Friends of the Boundary Waters Executive Director and Lawyer Chris Knopf shared his personal story that led him to this fight to protect the Boundary Waters.
Chris grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. Which became world famous when its river was so polluted it caught fire. That is not the kind of legacy we want to be famous for in Minnesota. He then informed us that Minnesota does not currently have laws to protect its clean water against industrial invasion. Secondly Minnesota regulators are unable to properly enforce the flimsy laws already in the books. That is why they need public support and help reach lawmakers in all districts of Minnesota.
Minnesota State Senator Jen McEwan gave a passionate speech in support of keeping the Minnesota we know and love safe from foreign land grabbers only here to take, pollute and leave. She reiterated that the false narrative that this mine is needed to support green energy is just a marketing wordplay to confuse citizens and lawmakers too. In no way is copper sulfide mining a reasonable way to support green energy simply by how it is produced.
Senator McEwan’s speech was inspiring, and heart felt. Leaving us all with the important task of making sure we do the work of contacting our local representatives and telling them to support this bill. She told the large crowd in attendance. It’s important for you to make noise and get this issue the attention it needs to pass bipartisan legislation!
Dr. Steven Emerman has been a professor of geology for over 30 years and worked in issues related to water and mining for over 40 years. His three main points to share were:
- Sulfide-ore mining poses a threat to clean water
- The sulfide mining industry has a perfect track record of water pollution
- The pollution caused by sulfide mining lasts forever.
He ends his testimony stating. The notion that this kind of mining has been done without polluting the surrounding water systems is simply a myth. The toxic tailings will be a permanent catastrophic curse left for every future generation to come to Minnesota.
Fred Campbell is a retired hydrologist who worked with the MN DNR on the Regional Copper Nickel Study. He’s worked in copper nickel mineral exploration data for numerous mining companies including AMAX, Polymet, Twin Metals and Talon. Proving the tailings of these mining operations are indeed toxic everywhere and do not ever dilute or diminish.
These pollutants have been proven to have effects on human health and the environment with catastrophic impact. His research proves the legacy of sulfide mining sites and districts are all now included on the EPA’s National Priorities Superfund List. (Superfund site is taxpayer-funded environmental cleanup caused by industrial corporate pollution.)
Campbell says Minnesota’s existing legal and regulatory framework cannot protect us from the dangers of sulfide mining. Minnesota needs to enact “Prove it First” and other legislation to permanently protect the BWCA and other sensitive areas.
The Commissioner of Natural Resources for the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Kelly Applegate spoke on the long history of sulfide mines irreversibly damaging watersheds. Leaving a legacy of contamination long after the mines are closed or abandoned. He reminds us that water has no boundaries and ripple across the environment into our wetlands, communities and drinking water.
Critical drinking water sources will be in danger throughout the watersheds to the Mississippi river, St. Croix River watersheds and Lake Superior. Without proof that pollution free operations are possible, allowing sulfide mining in Minnesota is a high stakes experiment for the entire ecosystem they are not willing to be part of.
Applegate declared “Our efforts are grounded in our community to preserve Minnesota’s natural environment and water resources for generations to come. There is an Anishinaabe teaching that our people have. We care for our Earth, for those yet unborn and the next seven generations to come. If we make good decisions, we can protect the earth and water and know the next seven generations can have a good life.”
Bob Tammen from Soudan, MN worked on the iron range in the mines. He states. “I worked during the boom of the 1970’s and the bust of the late 80’s and the ups and downs afterwards. During a lifetime of mining I’ve gathered a lot of knowledge of the environmental consequences of our mining activities.”
Referring to the Dunka mines that were closed in 1994. The runoff from that Duluth complex materials is still degrading Birch Lake and running into the Boundary Waters. The State of Minnesota and the mining industry have had over 30 years to work on that problem! And they still don’t have it cleaned up.
Minnesota’s three major watersheds come together on the property of the Hibbing taconite plant. Rainfall at that junction will partly go north to Canada and Hudson Bay, east to Lake Superior, and South to the Mississippi River down to the Gulf of Mexico.
Our water is moving. The failure to clean up Dunka should be a warning that the State of Minnesota is not likely to be able to regulate Twin Metals, PolyMet or Talon, which would respectively pollute The Boundary Waters, Lake Superior and the Mississippi River. When we fight to protect Minnesota’s water, we’re also fighting to protect the water flowing to Detroit and Winnipeg and New Orleans. When we defend Minnesota’s water, we’re defending everybody’s water.
With the wisdom of all his years Bob made a point nobody can argue with, he said. “Eventually, someone else is going to get our water. Let’s be good stewards and send them clean water. Pass Prove It First.
Mike Maleska is an Iron ore miner of 42 years now retired and the local Union President. In his statement in support of the Prove It First bill he says.
Consider this; the companies that intend to undertake this venture are in it for profit. Without proof or evidence these companies make claims such as ‘modern technology and science have made pollution a thing of the past!’ believe me, I hear it all the time.
Now what if the citizens come to believe that copper-nickel mining can be done without polluting without proof. Then our state and federal agencies come to believe it too?
If these false claims are taken to be true by the state and federal agencies gullible enough to permit these mines. We end up allowing the world’s most polluting industry, operating a mine in the most pristine part, of the most pristine state in the USA…
As a former miner and elected union rep, I know that shutting down a mine is incredibly difficult, one might say impossible, never mind how dirty it is. What I want to see is some courage from our legislators to make the mining companies do one simple thing. Show proof that they won’t pollute before they’re allowed to put a shovel in the ground.
Eric Ini.
Eric Ini, Chief Equity and Partnership Officer for the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy.
Eric Ini is from Cameroon, a country in Central Africa with diverse economy and like Minnesota, rich in natural resources. He spoke with a powerful message of caution.
“With companies like Glencore doing business with the government of Cameroon, the potential to alleviate poverty is almost impossible. Glencore’s track record of corruption is alarming. I have witnessed firsthand the corrupt practices of Glencore in my home country.
Glencore’s bribes to government officials were not limited to securing oil and gas contracts but also to secure deals to pay reduced taxes and royalties. In Cameroon the company flew millions of dollars on a private jet to bribe government officials, securing lucrative contracts.
This corruption perpetuated poverty, inequity and environmental degradation, causing irreparable harm to our communities. Glencore’s corrupt practices are not limited to Cameroon. Accusations of bribery and corruption are filed in Nigeria, Gabon, other African countries, globally in England, Brazil, UK and America.
NJ Ayuk, a Cameroonian and Chairman of the African Energy Chambers has publicly stated that Glencore is the worst company in the Energy Sector. It’s surprising that countries continue to do business with them.
By barring corrupt and polluting companies from operation in Minnesota. The Bad Actor Bill is designed to prevent what happened in my native county from happening in Minnesota.
I urge you to prioritize the wellbeing of Minnesotans over the profits of this Swiss-based company. Our state’s environment and communities deserve better than to be put at risk by a company with a proven track record of pollution, corruption and disregard for the law.”
Alan Thometz is a Senior Finance Lecturer for the University of Minnesota. He told us he grew up in Butte Montana, home of the largest mining Superfund site in the US. Butte has been at the center of America’s most extensive industrial cleanup efforts for decades. This former copper mine remains one of the most toxic sites in the Nation. Summary of his statement says.
“Superfund designation is proof that financial assurance has failed. There are 1,340 Superfund sites across the country, representing 1,340 instances where companies have avoided their financial obligations, leaving taxpayers to bear the cleanup costs.
Here is an extraordinary fact; Mining companies use bankruptcy as a strategic tool to avoid their environmental cleanup responsibilities. This is not an accident. THIS IS HOW THEY DO BUSINESS.
The five largest global mining companies with Glencore being the biggest, collectively generated $427 BILLION in revenue and $52 BILLION in operating income over the last 12 months…. These companies are far from struggling. Mining companies are incentivized to file for bankruptcy when the ore runs out. The law allows them to return profits to shareholders while leaving environmental liabilities unpaid. Debt obligations should be paid before investors receive returns.
Minnesota’s current financial assurance laws fail to protect its environment and taxpayers. It’s time to fix this broken system. We must require mining companies to fully fund their cleanup responsibilities in bankruptcy-proof escrow accounts. This is financial assurance that works. This is how we protect our environment and our taxpayers. Let’s get it done!”
In contrast to the older men who spoke before her. The last person to testify in support of these important bills was a fresh-faced 18-year-old.
Clair Peterson is a freshman attending the University of Minnesota. She is studying to be an Environmental Engineer. I am quoting most of her testimony verbatim because she moved familiar emotions in many.
Clair said, “Two years ago I was able to visit the Boundary Waters Canoe Area for the first time in my 16 years of existence. It might be confusing as to why someone who has just started college, has only been to the Boundary Waters once, and has little experience in political activism, is here to speak to you today. Despite this, I know, without a doubt, that the Boundary Waters is a special place.
It has the ability to connect people to each other and the world around them in a way that not other place can. While I was in the Boundary Waters I got to see loons, and snapping turtles, beavers, minks and garter snakes and eagles. I even got to hug a 1,000-year-old cedar tree!
I hauled 30-pound bags and canoes through the wilderness for four days. My crew and I woke up at 5am every morning so we could get an early start on paddling. We had to work together to support and motivate each other through long portages. It was hard, but through it, I got to connect with my peers. It was a beautiful and wonderful experience that I am deeply privileged to have shared with my friends. I know I will cherish the memories I made in the Boundary Waters for the rest of my life.
My hope for the future is that young people like myself, can continue to discover and fall in love with the Boundary Waters. Where they can witness unspoiled beauty year after year. The decision to pass these bills – Prove It First, the Bad Actor Bill, and the Taxpayer Protection Act will not only affect the next 20 years, it will affect the next 70 years of my life. I, for one, would much rather spend the rest of my life planning trips to the Boundary Waters with my family rather than trying to cleanse it of sulfide sludge.
I urge you to act.
The Boundary Waters is a sanctuary that should be preserved for the future. Just as people need the Boundary Waters, the Boundary Waters needs us.”
Out of the mouths of babes… Clair’s testimony moved me to tears with her earnest passion and love for nature. There were dozens of children in attendance at the hearing. Reminding us it’s more than just the facts that are important. The future generation needs us to do this right now.
Clair understood how to articulate the feeling you get after your very first visit to the BWCA. It only takes one trip to feel there is a sacredness in the pristine waters and forest of the beloved Boundary waters Canoe Area.
After my first visit to the BWCA I came home telling everyone I was certain. That’s where God lives.
What Minnesota has is more than clean water and mineral resources. We host the responsibility to protect the sacredness of its purity. A place so special nowhere else in the country can boast. One that must be protected by the Prove it First bill.
Link to Hearing minutes:
Friends of the Boundary Waters Proposed Legislation – Google Drive
Educational video link:
Emy Minzel 