Replies to post #2119 on Polymet Mining Corp (PLM)

[tdbowieknife]

Polymet spokeswoman Latisha Geitzen said the company doesn't need to change the standard.

“POLYMET CAN MEET THE CURRENT SULFATE STANDARD. WE HAVE NOT BEEN PUSHING TO HAVE THE STANDARD ARBITRARILY CHANGED.”

Gietzen said the company can meet the standard through a combination of technologies that capture and treat water at the mine. But some constituencies watch the situation warily.
The Fond du Lac reservation located downstream of Polymet on the St. Louis River has its own EPA-approved water quality standards that also set the sulfate limit in wild rice waters at 10 milligrams per liter.

The standard is fair, said Nancy Schuldt, water projects coordinator for the Fond du Lac Ojibwe band's environmental program. She said that technology exists for companies like Polymet to meet the standard.

"I think that ought to be considered part of the cost of doing business, if mining companies want to continue to make a profit on these mineral resources in the state of Minnesota, then they ought to be prepared to be good corporate neighbors and apply the most rigorous available technology," she said.

What concerns Schuldt is where exactly the standard will be applied; what the MPCA will consider as wild rice-producing waters. Frank Ongaro with the industry group Mining Minnesota said there's uncertainy in the wild rice standard, and that can be challenging to mining companies.