Editorial: ‘The minerals aren’t going anywhere’
Quote from Gov. Dayton sending a terrible message on jobs
“The minerals aren’t going anywhere.” — Gov. Mark Dayton, Mesabi Daily News Sunday, Sept. 28, interview story.
We found that to be a troubling response to a governor/reporter discussion of the proposed PolyMet Mine copper/nickel/precious metals project on the East Range.
Yes, the rich deposits of minerals that are in such demand worldwide are not going anywhere while under the ground.
However, the need for jobs on the Iron Range is also not going anywhere. It’s here and not going away. It’s seemingly forever with us because of an unemployment rate considerably much higher than that of the statewide average.
And it certainly won’t improve anytime soon with a comment from the state’s CEO that the minerals aren’t going anywhere.
It has now been nine years of environmental review of the PolyMet venture without a final resolution that would allow the project to move forward and create 360 permanent jobs, hundreds and hundreds more spin-off positions and more than 1 million hours of construction work.
And where is that review at now? Stuck in election year limbo as comments on the supplemental environmental impact statement are looked at and studied for far too long. It’s now been months for their review by co-lead agencies, which includes the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.
Gee, could a final decision on the EIS that would lead to permits for the project be on the slow track because the issue is controversial and the election is five weeks away?
It’s hard to believe otherwise. Yes, there are a lot of comments to go through — but a lot of them are duplicative.
Gov. Dayton has been consistent in his on-the-fence, middle-of-the-road public comments on PolyMet. But consistency doesn’t always equate with leadership.
And that’s definitely the case regarding the PolyMet project, which would usher in a new age of mining on the Iron Range.
Our concern is that a statement such as “... the minerals aren’t going anywhere” by the most prominent leader in the state sends a terrible, terrible message. It could easily be interpreted as a lack of interest to see the issue through to completion.
When a new stadium for the Minnesota Vikings was controversial and being decided, the governor flat out said it was going to get done. And he played the prominent role in doing just that.
It would be nice — and long overdue — to hear the same resolute comment and action by the governor on PolyMet.
