"The recommendation came on the first day of a three-day public hearing."
"DULUTH — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recommended the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers not reissue a key permit for the proposed PolyMet copper-nickel mine over concerns that it could violate Fond du Lac Reservation’s water quality standards.
The Army Corps suspended PolyMet’s Section 404 permit, which allows PolyMet to discharge dredged and fill material into over 900 acres of wetlands, in March 2021 . It remained on hold after the EPA in June 2021 determined PolyMet “may effect” the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa’s reservation 100 miles downstream from the proposed mine near Hoyt Lakes and Babbitt.
The EPA’s recommendation came Tuesday, the first day of a three-day public hearing on the permit held by the Army Corps.
"EPA’s key recommendation is that the Corps should not reissue the CWA (Clean Water Act) Section 404 permit for the NorthMet project, as proposed,” the EPA said on its website . “As the NorthMet project is currently designed, there are no conditions that EPA can provide to the Corps that would ensure that the discharges from the CWA Section 404 permitted activities would comply with the Fond du Lac Band’s water quality requirements for its waters.”"
Jimmy Lovrien reports for the Duluth News Tribune May 3, 2022.
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