DNR Rejects Petition For Fresh PolyMet Environmental Review

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The Department of Natural Resources has rejected a clean water group's petition for an additional environmental review of the PolyMet copper-nickel mine in northeastern Minnesota.

WaterLegacy argued in its request last month that critical details of the plan have changed so much since the final review was approved in 2016 that a supplemental environmental impact statement is needed. WaterLegacy also questioned PolyMet's ability to cover cleanup costs.

The DNR this week rejected those arguments. In a letter dated Monday , Assistant Commissioner Barb Naramore says the various modifications to the project and new pieces of information don't trigger the legal requirements for a supplemental review.

The DNR last month rejected a similar petition from the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, Center for Biological Diversity and Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness.

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