Groups Drop Lawsuit Over Expired Minntac Mine Water Permit

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Environmental groups have dropped a lawsuit against Minnesota regulators for allowing U.S. Steel's Minntac iron mine to operate a waste pit on a long-expired permit, saying they reached a deal with the state that achieved their primary goal.

That's because the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency last month released a new draft permit that would impose stricter controls on pollutant concentrations in wastewater in the basin. The state had allowed Minntac, the largest taconite operation in North America, to keep operating the pit under a permit that expired in 1992.

The agreement requires regulators to complete the new permit within nine months and for it to comply with the federal Clean Water Act. It also requires the MPCA to include the plaintiffs — the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, the Save Lake Superior Association and Save Our Sky Blue Waters — in any mediation it enters into with U.S. Steel over the permit. If those conditions aren't met, the groups can revive the lawsuit.

"This lawsuit shined a light on the fact that PCA has failed to regulate the mining industry in Minnesota," said Hudson Kingston, an attorney with the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy.

MPCA spokesman Dave Verhasselt said his agency rejects that notion.

"The ... Minntac draft permit is one example of ongoing work," Verhasselt said. "We share the same interests in protecting water quality as MCEA. We may not agree on the best strategies to accomplish that protection."

The lawsuit alleged that Minntac's 10-mile long tailings basin near Mountain Iron has been fouling nearby lakes and streams for years. At least 15 iron mining entities operate in Minnesota with expired permits that haven't been updated to comply with tougher standards for protecting water, wildlife and wild rice.

U.S. Steel spokeswoman Erin DiPietro declined to comment on the lawsuit being dropped, saying the Pittsburgh-based company wasn't a party to it. She said the company is reviewing the draft permit.

The public has until Dec. 16 to comment on the draft.

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