For Immediate Release
April 15, 2026
Contact: Libby London, 612-227-8407
Resolution that would overturn protections for the Boundary Waters watershed is being debated on the Senate floor NOW
(Washington, DC) – A full Senate floor debate on Joint Resolution 140 is happening now with a vote likely tomorrow. This resolution invokes the rarely used Congressional Review Act (CRA) to revoke Public Land Order (PLO) 7917. The PLO was signed in January 2023 and protects over 225,000 acres of federal land in the headwaters of the Boundary Waters and Voyageur National Park from the threat of sulfide-ore copper mining for 20 years. H.J. Res. 140 passed out of the U.S. House on January 21, 2026. If the Resolution passes in the Senate, it would make past land management decisions vulnerable and pave the way for the Administration to grant federal mineral leases to Chilean-owned Twin Metals.
Ingrid Lyons, Executive Director of Save the Boundary Waters, issued the following statement: “The impending Senate vote on H.J. Res. 140 is a test of who is willing to draw a line in the sand on the ongoing threat to America’s public lands, and will decide the fate of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. This resolution risks one of our most cherished landscapes for a project that benefits foreign companies—not the American people - and sets a dangerous precedent for public lands nationwide.”
Watch the floor proceedings here.
BACKGROUND:
If HJ 140 passes through the Senate and is signed by the president, it would cancel PLO 7917, paving the way for copper mining on federal lands and minerals previously protected upstream of the Boundary Waters headwaters. A future Department of the Interior could not issue a similar rule without new Congressional authorization.
Using the Congressional Review Act to attack PLO 7917 creates a reckless precedent that could 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 nullification.
The CRA has never been used to challenge or overturn mineral withdrawals or Public Land Orders. Instead, PLOs are governed by the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) of 1976, which requires thorough and timely notice to Congress upon signature of a Mineral Withdrawal. This process was followed to the letter in 2023 when PLO 7917 was put in place. 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 scrutiny under the Congressional Review Act, as they have not been defined as “rules.” 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.
This novel use of the CRA also includes significant deviations from historical procedures. 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.
Minerals mined from a potential copper mine by Antofagasta in the watershed of the Boundary Waters would be sent to China for processing and would not benefit American jobs. Antofagasta has deep ties with the Chinese government and its mineral processing operations. Most recently, Antofagasta has secured multiple contracts with state-owned Chinese smelting companies that guarantee the company free processing of their copper.
70 percent of Minnesotans support permanent protection of the Boundary Waters. Since 2016, 675,000 Americans have commented on copper mining in the headwaters; approximately 98% of those who commented support a mining ban. 56% of Minnesotans in Minnesota’s Congressional District 8 (Rep. Stauber) oppose copper mining near the Boundary Waters.
Across the country, millions of people cherish the Boundary Waters, 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 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."
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