New congressional plan to overturn Mining ban near Boundary Waters

RELEASE: Rep. Stauber launches new effort to force Chilean mining project in Boundary Waters watershed
 

(Washington, DC) - A congressional plan to force a Chilean-owned copper mine into the headwaters of the nation’s most visited and beloved Wilderness area has been revealed through an Interior Department filing in the Congressional Record.
 

Ingrid Lyons, Executive Director of Save the Boundary Waters made this statement:
 

"The Boundary Waters is an incredibly special place that has, through an immense and thorough process involving science, public, has had its watershed put off limits to toxic copper mining. Now, Representative Stauber is trying to force it through using an unprecedented approach and for what? To benefit a Chilean mining company that sends its minerals to China, will destroy America's most visited Wilderness area, and leave the mess up to the American and Minnesotan tax payers. Is this what America first means these days?"

This move was first reported by Reuters:

"The mining ban was filed in the Federal Register, which tracks actions by the executive branch, but not the Congressional Record, which tracks legislative moves and serves as an official notice to Congress.

Under a 1976 law known as the Federal Lands Policy and Management Act, a president is required to notify Congress of public land orders that affect more than 5,000 acres.

Because Biden did not file the notice in the Congressional Record, Trump's Interior Department is doing so now with the expectation that it will be rejected by Congress.

The U.S. House of Representatives was informed earlier this week by the Interior Department. The notice was then sent to Vice President JD Vance, who is head of the U.S. Senate, and is under review by the U.S. Senate parliamentarian.

If approved by the parliamentarian, which is expected by Friday, Congress would have 60 days to approve or reject the plan with a simple majority. That vote would not be subject to a filibuster.”

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70 percent of Minnesotans support permanent protection of the Boundary Waters. Since 2016, 675,000 Americans have commented in favor of protecting the watershed of the Boundary Waters from copper mining. 56% of Minnesotans in Minnesota’s Congressional District 8 (Rep. Stauber) oppose copper mining near the Boundary Waters.

The Boundary Waters isn’t just a Minnesota issue—it’s a national one. Millions of people cherish this place, and it supports a thriving, sustainable outdoor economy. Research shows that copper mining here would be a net job killer, threatening up to 22,000 jobs and up to $1.6 billion in annual regional income. A vast collection of peer-reviewed science shows that if a Twin Metals mine was built along the rivers and streams flowing into the Wilderness, pollution and environmental degradation would be certain. A peer-reviewed independent study from Harvard University shows that protecting the Boundary Waters from proposed sulfide-ore mining would result in dramatically more jobs and more income over a 20-year period.

A 2017 report by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency describes the waters within the mineral withdrawal area as “immaculate." The Report concludes that "the majority of the waterbodies within this watershed had exceptional biological, chemical, and physical characteristics that are worthy of additional protection."