The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has been trying for years to figure out how to get taconite mines to reduce the sulfate in their effluent because it damages wild rice. The current effort involves something called Site Specific Standards, and it looks likely that it will have no more success than previous attempts.
Trying (again) to tackle mercury in the St. Louis River
Taking steps to put the St. Louis River on a mercury diet.
“Indian Country is clearing its throat”
Tribes are working on many fronts to push Minnesota to do a better job of protecting the environment.
Dueling lawsuits over Minntac permit
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency is at the center of lawsuits over a long-delayed water quality permit for the Minntac taconite mine.
Reporter’s Notebook: Oral history project continues with Grant Merritt
Key players in passage and uses of early environmental legislation are interviewed as part of an oral history project.
Minnesota puts taconite mine permitting “on pause”
As the federal government investigates whether it should take away Minnesota’s authority to regulate industry, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency says it has put most mining permit activities “on pause.”
Comparing PolyMet to Wisconsin’s Flambeau Mine
A critic of the proposed PolyMet mine in Minnesota compares the project to the Flambeau mine, which operated in Wisconsin in the 1990s.
PolyMet denies access for wetlands research by U of M scientist
Company proposing Minnesota’s first potential copper mine objects to scientist’s ties to environmental organization.