Minnesota appeals court remands state agency permit for PolyMet copper-nickel mine News
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Minnesota appeals court remands state agency permit for PolyMet copper-nickel mine

The Minnesota Court of Appeals remanded on Monday a permit issued by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency after finding that Poly Met Mining Inc. (PolyMet) may have engaged in “sham permitting.”

PolyMet sought to obtain state and federal permits to build the first copper-nickel platinum mine in Minnesota. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency granted the mining company an air-emissions permit with a key restriction that PolyMet was required to “limit its ore-processing rate (also known as throughput) to 32,000 tons per day.” If PolyMet exceeded the throughput limitation, it could “be determined to have engaged in ‘sham permitting’ by seeking a permit with which it did not intend to comply.”

Several environmental advocacy groups challenged the agency’s decision by alleging that PolyMet was indeed engaged in sham permitting. In support of their allegations, the advocacy groups pointed to a report that PolyMet’s parent corporation filed with Canadian securities regulators. The report included “preliminary economic assessments of two scenarios with higher ore throughputs of 59,000 and 118,000 tons per day.” The Agency, however, found the assessments to be “speculative at best” and granted the air-emissions permit.

Minnesota Judge Lucinda Jesson wrote the court opinion and found that the Agency failed to adequately support its conclusions. Although the court could have reversed the agency decision, it chose to remand the matter for further consideration.

In its statement, PolyMet said, “While disappointed in the court’s decision, we stand firmly in our belief that the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency appropriately accounted for the potential effects of the NorthMet Project and will expeditiously provide the supporting explanation requested by the court.”

Kathryn Hoffman, CEO of the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, said that the decision was “yet more confirmation that PolyMet is a failed proposal.” She urged the local public “to move on from PolyMet and find better alternatives for northeastern Minnesota.”

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