Star Tribune
Minnesota rule rewrite will expand mining noise and light protections around Boundary Waters
Minnesota will expand a surface mining buffer zone around the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness after determining its existing rules didn’t do enough to prevent light and noise pollution, according to a decision released Wednesday.
The announcement from the Department of Natural Resources comes after the agency was ordered by a court to re-examine regulations for nonferrous mines, or those that extract minerals other than iron, like copper and nickel.
The agency said in a 74-page decision filed in Ramsey County Court on Wednesday that it will begin rewriting its rules to expand the size of a protective minerals management corridor next to the Boundary Waters. Mining of any kind is banned in the Boundary Waters, and mining that disturbs the surface is banned in the corridor.
“It is encouraging that they [DNR] recognize the inadequacy of the rules,” said Ingrid Lyons, executive director of Northeastern Minnesotans for Wilderness (NMW), which challenged the agency’s rules.
A DNR news release also noted that the agency will ask state lawmakers to address other concerns about mine waste storage and leaching raised by the public through comments collected about its rule in 2021. The agency reviewed 4,000 messages and letters.
“We received many comments that raised questions about the State’s policy and risk tolerance around nonferrous mining,” DNR Commissioner Sarah Strommen wrote in a statement. “We believe these broader policy questions are more appropriately addressed by Minnesota’s Legislature.”
DNR’s decision stems from a 2020 lawsuit filed by NMW. The suit argued that the DNR hadn’t done enough to protect the Boundary Waters from pollution and degradation because the state’s rules didn’t cover all of the Rainy River headwaters watershed, which flows south to north, through the 1.1 million acre preserve.
Twin Metals, a company attempting to open a copper mine near Ely, Minn., intervened in the suit. Company spokeswoman Kathy Graul wrote in a statement that it was reviewing the DNR’s decision, and that the state already had “some of the most rigorous standards in the world.”
Twin Metals, a subsidiary of Chilean mining giant Antofagasta, faces major hurdles. In January, the Biden Administration imposed a 20-year ban on mineral leases on 225,000 acres of national forest land in northern Minnesota, including the company’s mine site.
Last year, the administration also canceled Twin Metal’s mineral leases. The company sued in federal court, where the case is still pending.
Graul wrote on Wednesday that “we remain committed to advancing a modern mining project that is protective of the environment and that meets or exceeds all state and federal standards.”
While the DNR is taking action based on light and noise concerns, the agency will not consider air and water issues as it re-examines its rule. In its decision, it pointed to existing Minnesota Pollution Control Agency regulations that already protect air and water quality.
“We like the destination. We’ve got some questions about how they got there,” Lyons said.
Hardrock mining of copper and nickel — which would be new to Minnesota — risks compounds in the rock interacting with air and water to create acid drainage.
NMW and Twin Metals both have 30 days to challenge the decision by asking for a contested case hearing, where parties can bring experts before a judge to analyze the details of the DNR’s decision.
Lyons said NMW is still deciding whether to pursue a hearing on the air and water issues the agency did not address.
Twin Metals did not comment on whether it would challenge the DNR’s decision.
Star Tribune
Judge gives driver year in jail for being drunk, fatally hitting man in Minnesota street
A driver was given a year in jail Wednesday for being drunk when he fatally hit a man in the street near St. Cloud.
Tyler J. Nies, 26, of Sartell, Minn., was sentenced in Benton County District Court after pleading guilty to criminal vehicular homicide in connection with the crash shortly before 11 p.m. on July 28 in Sauk Rapids near the intersection of N. Benton Drive and N. 8th Street that killed Kevin D. Oehmen, 47, of Sauk Rapids.
Judge Robert Raupp opted for the year in jail while setting aside a 5¾-year term. Raupp also ordered Nies to serve 10 years’ probation, perform 80 hours of community work service, complete a chemical assessment attend a victim impact panel, abstain from mood-altering chemicals and stay away from bars.
According to the criminal complaint:
An officer at the scene noticed that Nies smelled of alcohol. Nies initially said he had one beer before driving his pickup. A preliminary breath test by the officer measured Nies’ blood alcohol content at 0.129%, more than 1 1⁄2 times the legal limit in Minnesota.
Upon further questioning, Nies said that before driving he drank three beers, which were about 16 ounces each.
Nies told police he was heading north on Benton Drive in the right-hand lane and suddenly saw a man walking in the grassy area next to the curb “like he was going to cross the road,” the complaint read. Police Chief Perry Beise added that Oehmen was on a street with no marked crosswalk.
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A small fire of three to five acres has been detected in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, but it was holding in place as of Wednesday morning.
The fire was discovered Tuesday and is located on an island in Wood Lake, north of County Road 18, according to a news release from the Superior National Forest. The area is to the northeast of Ely.
The release said the fire was smoldering and holding in place due to good overnight relative humidity levels and light to no wind. However, Superior National Forest is experiencing drought conditions and above average temperatures, and increased winds are expected later this week.
The Forest Service is using aircraft to cool the fire and initiate suppression actions. Firefighters are also engaging with the fire, but ground conditions are difficult, the release said.
“This is an ever-changing event, and we ask the traveling public to stay away from the area and seek alternate routes,” the release said.
The fire is burning among timber and heavy, dead balsam fire, the release said. The origin has not yet been investigated, but it is believed to be human caused.
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