Tell Congress to oppose bill that threatens the Boundary Waters

Nov 10, 2026
Save the Boundary Waters
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The U.S. Senate is nearing a vote on whether to proceed with a mega bill that could irreparably harm America’s public lands, including the Boundary Waters, called the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act (BAAJA). 

This bill puts into question our ability to meaningfully protect the Boundary Waters watershed. In its current form, it is a terrible deal for the Boundary Waters:

  • It would make it harder to challenge issues in court. Protecting this sensitive landscape depends on future administrations and courts reversing the illegal actions the Trump administration has taken to advance the Twin Metals mine. 
  • Kneecap future administrations. It would ban future administrations from taking any action on permitted projects on public lands, even when they were approved unlawfully. 
  • It would weaken the Clean Water Act. 
  • It would lock in future leases. If leases were issued to Twin Metals, they would be locked in forever. This would further delay permanent protection for Canoe Country.

Message your Senators right now and urge them to VOTE NO on BAAJA.

Message your Senators

 

The Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act will entrench harmful projects on America’s public lands by reforming permitting and environmental review processes

This comprehensive federal legislation package has been making its way through the Senate to reform energy permitting, transmission, and environmental review processes. 

This legislation significantly weakens several of our nation’s foundational environmental laws, including the Clean Water Act (CWA), the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) and the Endangered Species Act (ESA), by limiting which projects need environmental review, truncating timelines for consultation and processes, and making it more difficult for communities, Tribes, and states to stand up against and oppose harmful projects. 

The bill’s “Project Certainty” title would lock in authorizations approved by the Trump administration. That means it would be nearly impossible for a future administration to revisit these authorizations [cannot “revoke, rescind, withdraw, terminate, suspend, amend, or alter”] even if environmental reviews are flawed, rushed, or based on inadequate science. 

For the Boundary Waters, that means a future administration could not cancel or withdraw Twin Metals’ federal mineral leases, mine plan, or federal permits -- even if they are found to be unlawful. Even efforts to add more protective conditions to the leases for water pollution or wildlife conservation would likely be foreclosed. 

The bill would also insulate future actions from legal challenges. While project proponents like Twin Metals could sue the government for damages, including paying for substantial portions of the project, courtroom access would be limited for the public, Tribal Nations, businesses, and public interest organizations. Even if groups successfully sued, BAAJA ties the courts’ hands by barring judges from vacating or enjoining leases that violate the nation’s bedrock conservation laws. 

The bill would make a mine like Twin Metals easier to approve and harder to challenge or reverse once approved. It would speed up reviews, narrow what agencies must consider, and limit what opponents, Tribes, and states can do to oppose a project. Minnesota would still have a say in the permitting process, especially on state-owned land. 

BAAJA severely limits the authority and actions by two branches of government, the executive and the judicial, to right the wrongs of the Trump administration. 

In the past decade, two presidential administrations have taken critical actions to protect the Boundary Waters. During both terms, the Trump Administration has unlawfully gone in the other direction, bringing toxic sulfide-ore copper mining ever closer to the Boundary Waters, which we have all fought so hard to prevent. 

Despite the illegality of the Trump administrations’ actions, passing BAAJA would empower and further incentivize the Trump administration to continue project uncertainty by ramming through federal leases and approval of new Twin Metals mine plans.

The Boundary Waters needs you to contact your Senators right now and urge them to VOTE NO on BAAJA.

The Senate is expected to vote on this legislation in the near future before it heads to the House. The outcome of these votes could have significant implications for the Boundary Waters and other public lands and waters.

The public deserves a meaningful voice in decisions that affect our public lands, clean water, and outdoor recreation.The fight to protect the Boundary Waters has shown how powerful public participation can be. We must preserve the ability of Americans to speak up for the places they love.

The Wilderness Society puts it well: 

Given these extreme consequences, the bill presents overwhelming disincentives for any future administration to act to rescind or alter the rash of unlawfully issued drilling projects and approvals that can be expected over the next two years. As President Trump recognized on Sunday evening, the bill would “codify our America First Energy Agenda, and ensure we can build Pipelines, Mines, and Power Plants faster than ever before.

We need your voice to speak loudly for this quiet place. Message your Senators right now and urge them to VOTE NO on BAAJA.

Message your Senators

 

Additional Resources from Partners, what they are saying: