"The new war on mining has begun."

[Lee Borgersen]

... should be thinking globally and acting locally
Preservation groups such as Friends of the Boundary Waters, Northeastern Minnesotans for Wilderness and the Sierra Club use the issues as fundraiser to further their wilderness agenda with propaganda and to polarize our communities.


So funny all the letters criticizing the Ely Echo for the editorial titled "The new war on mining has begun." The Ely Echo wasn't the first. This past summer, Fox News came to Ely and the piece Steve Brown did said a battle was brewing over mining. Now I wonder where he got that impression? Maybe from his talk with Betsy Daub of the Friends of the Boundary Waters for the piece?

There was Diadra Decker and Kat Thompson who came to Ely last summer with the 'Thirst' film and their talk about Ely at the Crossroads. At the end of their presentation, pre-printed & addressed postcards were offered to send to government officials saying to oppose PolyMet's mining.

This fall the Friends of the Boundary Waters, Northeastern Minnesotans for Wilderness, Piragis Northwoods Company, and the Sierra Club supported the production of a propaganda film opposing the PolyMet project. This film shows polluting pictures from copper mines with much higher sulfur content than would be mined at PolyMet, and it was mined with far inferior technology than what PolyMet will use. If you check the websites of the above mentioned you will see, as stated in the Friends' newsletter, that their intention is "to block unsafe sulfide mining projects."

Then there was the meeting I attended with PolyMet, their engineers and several environmental groups when Sierra Club representative Clyde Hanson asked "what development Conservationists with Common Sense had stopped." It was at this same meeting that Steve Piragis said he didn't want to lose his employees to PolyMet mining jobs that may pay $20-$25/hr. with benefits.

Yes, I guess the first shots have been fired, a battle is brewing in the new war on mining.

As with all issues revolving around the Boundary Waters... the truck portages, Chain of Lakes permits, South Fowl snowmobile trail, logging, and this time it's mining... preservation groups such as Friends of the Boundary Waters, Northeastern Minnesotans for Wilderness and the Sierra Club use the issues as fundraiser to further their wilderness agenda with propaganda and to polarize our communities.

There is a need for copper, nickel and other precious metals, and if it isn't mined here safely, it will be mined elsewhere very badly. And that's the acid rain that will affect our beautiful Boundary Waters. We should be thinking globally and acting locally. That's conservation with common sense!

CWCS supports the use of common sense, the best available scientific data, objective analysis, and broad public input on the part of government agencies and elected officials when making and implementing land management and environmental policies. We believe a healthy natural environment, including clean air, water and soil is essential to present and future generations. But, along with being environmentally, economically and socially responsible, the human factor must be put back into land management policies. The needs of local communities and all users can and must be balanced with the conservation of sensitive natural environments.

We are fortunate copper/nickel mining didn't take place in the 1970s, and that there is safer technology today. Be proud that Minnesota has some of the country's strictest pollution regulations to protect our precious waters.

Nancy McReady

CWCS President
http://cwcs.org/

[BDub]

CWCS encourages its members and supporters to comment on the PolyMet EIS. You can submit your comments until February 3, 2010 via mail or e-mail.

Mail:
Stuart Arkley, EIS Project Manager
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
Division of Ecological Resources
Environmental Review Unit
500 Lafayette Road, Box 25
St. Paul, MN 55155-4025

Email: Environmentalrev.Dnr@state.mn.us 

[Lee Borgersen]

PolyMet EIS comment meeting set for this week
 
A public meeting to take comment on the PolyMet environmental impact statement will be held Wednesday, Dec. 9, in Aurora, from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. The meeting is set to be held at the Mesabi East School gynasium, located at 601 N. First St. W.

An open house will be conducted from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., with the comment portion running until 10 p.m.

Following the open house, there will be presentations about the PolyMet project and the Draft EIS. The meetings will conclude with more time for the public to submit written or verbal comments.

Instead of selecting a small number of people to speak for a few minutes to an audience, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources representatives will record oral comments one-on-one from individuals who want to provide feedback on the project at Wednesday’s meeting. A similar hearing is set for the following evening, in Blaine. The meeting rooms will also feature comment forms to collect written feedback.

“These steps will ensure the public has ample opportunity to comment on the record about the Draft EIS,” said Stuart Arkley, EIS project manager for the DNR. “These two meetings, coupled with the 90-day— rather than the usual 45-day—public comment period should result in a more comprehensive range of input that will strengthen the final document.”

The meetings will be hosted by the DNR, the state lead agency on the Draft EIS, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) St. Paul District, the lead federal agency.

In Aurora, parking is available for about 240 vehicles on the Mesabi East School’s campus, so carpooling is advised. There will be additional parking and shuttle service from the Aurora Community Center, 21 North Main Street, between 4:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. Signs at the school will direct attendees to the three designated open doors.