Polymet Mining Corp (PLM)

[trickledownfacists]

Dayton: PolyMet will be 'most momentous, difficult and controversial decision' as governor

Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton announced this week that he plans to visit several mining sites to gain more insight into the debate over the proposed PolyMet copper-nickel mine near Hoyt Lakes.

Dayton said Tuesday that after Labor Day he will visit at least two sites that representatives of each side of the debate think proves their point that the mine should or should not be built.

“I want to see first-hand what the upside could be as well as what the downside could be,” he said. “I've got a lot of questions. ... This will be the most momentous, difficult and controversial decision I'll make as governor.”

The Department of Natural Resources and the other agencies overseeing the project's environmental review hope to issue a final Environmental Impact Statement in early November, followed by a 30-day period in which the public can comment.

“I can assure you that rigor will be applied. ... I'm not going to promise I'm going to read (all 3,000 pages) but I'm going to read the parts that are relevant to the decision, and then the environmental considerations and financial considerations are also a part of it,” Dayton said.
Dayton said Tuesday that he lived through the controversy over the Boundary Waters wilderness and said the fight over PolyMet “could be all that and worse.”
Dayton said that even if the environmental review is deemed adequate, “that means the permitting process starts, it doesn't mean the permits are going to be granted”
PolyMet officials said in a written statement that the company has “spent 10 years and more than $83 million following Minnesota's very stringent environmental review process to demonstrate that we can meet all the standards” and that officials will continue to focus on that process.
The company said it expects more than 1,000 direct and indirect new jobs would be created in an economically stressed area.
PolyMet is proposing Minnesota's first copper-nickel mine, a $600 million open-pit mine near Babbitt with a processing center at the former LTV Steel site north of Hoyt Lakes.
Copper mining skeptics continue to have grave concerns about long-term water treatment at the site, especially acidic mine runoff. Supporters say any runoff can be effectively treated without environmental damage, and they say the project could help diversify the regional economy.