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Bill passed House to overturn Mining ban near Boundary Waters

Jan 13, 2026
Save the Boundary Waters
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On Wednesday, January 21, the House of Representatives passed House Joint Resolution 140 (H.J. Res 140), sponsored by Rep. Pete Stauber (MN-8). The resolution uses the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to overturn the 20-year mining ban protecting the Boundary Waters watershed from toxic copper mining. 

This does not mean a mine will be built tomorrow, but it does mean we have even more work ahead. Next, the resolution moves to the Senate. The timing on a Senate vote is not yet known.
 

Contact your Senators now


What Happened:  

On January 12, 2026,  Rep. Pete Stauber introduced a Joint Resolution that uses the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to overturn the 20-year Boundary Waters mining ban. 

This maneuver is an unprecedented attempt to overturn a Mineral Withdrawal using the CRA. Ultimately, if successful, this move would pave the way for Twin Metals, a Chilean-owned company, to proceed with its mining leases to build a copper mine on Birch Lake near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Pollution from this mine would flow directly into the Wilderness, impacting all downstream landscapes, including Quetico Provincial Park and Voyageurs National Park.

Joint Resolution (H.J. 140) passed through the House Rules Committee on January 20, where it then passed on the House floor on January 21. 

Next, the resolution moves to the Senate, where:

  1. The Senate Parliamentarian will rule on whether the CRA can be used to challenge mineral withdrawals.
  2. The full Senate will then vote on the resolution.
  3. If the resolution passes and is signed by the President, the 20-year mining ban will be overturned.
  4. This paves the way for the Administration to issue mineral leases in the watershed of the Boundary Waters.

What you can do: Contact your U.S. Senators and urge them to oppose this resolution. We need calls coming in from across the country.

CALL your Senators

Here’s how we got here:

In 2023, we secured a major victory: a hard-won 20-year mining ban to protect the headwaters of the Wilderness from copper mining. It was based on years of extensive environmental study relying on science and public opinion. It was a landmark victory for public lands and clean water. We have fought for over a decade to keep copper mining, which has a 100% track record of polluting water, out of the Boundary Waters watershed. So many people like you fought together -  tirelessly and strategically - to keep it safe.

If HJ 140 passes through the Senate and is signed by the president, the 20-year withdrawal would be canceled, opening the way for mining in areas previously protected upstream of the Boundary Waters headwaters. Plus, this or a future Department of Interior could not issue a similar rule without new congressional authorization. 

A dangerous precedent

Mineral Withdrawals and Public Land Orders, such as Public Land Order 7917 - the 20-year mining ban in the watershed of the Boundary Waters - have never been subject to the Congressional Review Act, as they have not been defined as “rules”. On the contrary, Public Land Orders (or PLOs) have always been governed by the Federal Land and Policy Act (FLPMA) of 1976. Representative Stauber claims that the Biden Administration did not fulfill its obligations to report to Congress when the Public Land Order was filed in January of 2023, when in fact, they followed the required statute, FLPMA, to the letter, including direct congressional correspondence with Representative Stauber himself.

Additionally, this novel use of the CRA also includes significant deviations from historical procedures.In normal course, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) is meant to guide Congress through opinions as to what does and does not apply as a rule under the CRA. Instead, the Department of the Interior newly submitted this nearly 3-year-old Agency action to the Congressional Record in early January 2026, initiating the 60-day CRA clock for expedited legislative review.

Using the Congressional Review Act to attack PLO 7917 creates a reckless precedent that would allow Congress to retroactively target virtually any public land action as a “rule.” If this maneuver succeeds, it would mean that no established land management decision would be safe from politicized attack and nullification, sending ripple effects across communities and landscapes.

Timeline of Events

  • OCT 1976 | The Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) is enacted. It requires the Department of the Interior to provide formal written notice to both the House of Representatives and the Senate for any land withdrawals affecting more than 5,000 acres.
  • JAN 2023 | Department of Interior signs Public Land Order 7917, withdrawing approximately 225,504 acres of the Superior National Forest from mineral and geothermal leasing for a 20-year period, including watersheds that flow into the Boundary Waters and beyond. The Department of Interior follows all requirements for congressional reporting under FLPMA, as statutorily required.
  • JAN 6, 2026 | The Department of the Interior, under the Trump administration, formally notifies both Houses of Congress in writing regarding the 2023 Public Land Order withdrawing 225,504 acres of the Superior National Forest from mineral and geothermal leasing.
  • JAN 12, 2026 | Rep. Pete Stauber introduces bill, H.J. Res. 140, a Congressional Review Act (CRA) disapproval resolution. If approved by Congress, and signed by the president, it would reverse the Biden administration's 2023 Public Land Order that established a 20-year mining ban protection in northeastern Minnesota and bar any substantially similar action from being taken by a future Administration.
  • JAN 20, 2026 | H.J. Res. 140 considered by the House Committee on Rules, ordered reported, and made in order for consideration on the House floor pursuant to a rule.
  • JAN 21, 2026 | The House of Representatives passes H.J. Res. 140, and the measure moves to the Senate for further consideration.
     

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