For Immediate Release
May 20, 2026
Contact: Libby London, 612-227-8407
(Washington, DC) – Today, the House Appropriations Committee released the Fiscal Year 2027 bill for the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Subcommittee. The bill will be considered in the subcommittee tomorrow, May 21, at 8:00 a.m ET. The markup will be live-streamed and available on the Committee’s website here.
The bill text includes language that would force the issuance of two mineral leases in the headwaters of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and bar judicial review of those leases. Text related to the Boundary Waters can be found on Page 181:
MINERAL LEASES SEC. 441. Notwithstanding any other provision of law and not subject to further judicial review, not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act the Secretary of the Interior shall reinstate the hardrock mineral leases in the Superior National Forest in the State of Minnesota issued in 2019 and identified as MNES- 01352 and MNES-01353.
Ingrid Lyons, Executive Director of Save the Boundary Waters, released the following statement:
“This comes as no surprise. After overturning the mineral withdrawal, Congress is now pushing to advance this mine however it can. This legislative provision would reinstate federal mineral leases in the headwaters of the Boundary Waters and strip any judicial review. Pushing these leases through legislation bypasses Tribal consultation, and silences public input — all to benefit a foreign mining company and a narrow set of special interests. The American public has spoken clearly and consistently across party lines, generations, and geography that America’s most visited Wilderness should be protected, not sold out behind closed doors.”
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