6:45 – 10:00 p.m. formal presentation and public meeting
The Department of Natural Resources recently released PolyMet’s revised draft mining plan, called a supplemental draft environmental impact statement or SDEIS. The new proposal has some improvements, but it also has some significant drawbacks. Most notably, the company’s own water modeling shows that water quality treatment will be required for aminimum of 200 years at the mine site, and a minimum of 500 years at the plant site.
Last week, it was reported that state regulators may have to redo the water modeling for the proposed project. PolyMet’s model may be based on water flow data that may be three times too low. This means that polluted water may travel to nearby lakes and rivers much faster than PolyMet predicts.
More than 24,000 people asked Governor Dayton to use four simple questions when evaluating sulfide mine proposals. While PolyMet has stated publicly that it can answer yes to all four questions, scientific evidence and analysis of the project indicates otherwise:
Will Minnesota’s water stay safe and clean?
No, PolyMet will pollute Minnesota’s waters for at least 500 years.
Are there strong safeguards in place for when things go wrong?
No, PolyMet’s mine plan doesn’t plan for basic, common sense contingencies.
Will PolyMet leave the site clean and maintenance free?
No, PolyMet would leave behind a site requiring expensive maintenance for centuries.
Will Minnesota’s taxpayers be protected?
No, PolyMet risks taxpayers being left with billions in cleanup costs.
One of the most important ways to let the DNR know what you think about PolyMet’s proposed mine is to attend a public hearing. The only public hearing in the Twin Cities is tomorrow!
The last public hearing on the PolyMet mine plan is Tuesday, January 28th, and we need you to attend, ask good questions, and stand up for Minnesota’s water, wilderness, and way of life.
Even if you don’t have a chance to attend the public hearing, you can still let the DNR know what you think . The public comment period is open until March 13, 2014 and we need YOU to tell the Department of Natural Resources what you think about the proposed plan.
We need your help to ensure that Minnesota’s environment
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