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Stauber brings back mining bill Action to reverse withdrawal may have favorable political climate
U.S. Rep. Pete Stauber has revived legislation that would overturn a mineral withdrawal in northeastern Minnesota and provide a major boost to the proposed Twin Metals Minnesota copper- nickel mining project.
Stauber’s Superior National Forest Restoration Act, which was passed by the U.S. House a year ago but did not come up in the U.S. Senate, was reintroduced Tuesday by the fifth-term Congressman from Hermantown.
The legislation aims to reverse action taken in 2023 by the Biden Administration, when it effectively blocked mining development for 20 years on more than 225,000 acres of national forest land in northeastern Minnesota.
“The Biden administration’s mineral withdrawal in the Superior National Forest two years ago was a direct attack on our way of life in northern Minnesota and threatened our nation’s strategic national security,” Stauber said in a news release issued Wednesday. “Thankfully, with Donald Trump back in the White House and Republicans in control of both Chambers of Congress, we are well positioned to reverse the damage done by President Biden and turn Minnesota into a critical mineral powerhouse.”
Trump’s win in the 2024 presidential election and his return to the White House figure to brighten prospects for Twin Metals, which has tried for more than a decade to advance its plan for a mining operation near Ely.
The election also shifted the balance of power in the U.S. Senate to Republican control.
In addition to the mineral withdrawal, the Biden Administration also pulled critical mineral leases that had been held by Twin Metals.
“All options are on the table to overturn this mineral withdrawal, including the Superior National Forest Restoration Act, which would also reinstate mineral leases in the area and ensure timely reviews of mine plans of operation,” said Stauber. “President Trump is the most pro-mining President in our nation’s history, and I look forward to working with his administration to get important mining projects across the finish line here in Minnesota, and nationwide.”
Stauber’s legislation cleared the U.S. House last year on a 212-203 vote, but failed to take hold in the Senate.
In addition to reinstating Twin Metals’ leases and ending the withdrawal, Stauber’s legislation also limits environment and regulatory review of mine plans of operations within the Superior National Forest to 18 months and blocks judicial review of reissued leases or permits.
Stauber has been a persistent advocate for mining in northeastern Minnesota, including proposed Twin Metals Minnesota and NewRange (PolyMet) copper- nickel projects on the east end of the Iron Range.
Momentum related to copper-nickel mining projects has shifted back and forth over the last decade, based on party control.
The Obama Administration first pulled the Twin Metals leases and sought the withdrawal, but those actions were later overturned by the Trump Administration.
Proposed copper-nickel mining projects remain the source of contentious debate, with supporters arguing that the projects will bring hundreds of badly needed, well-paying jobs to the region and bolter the area’s economy.
Opponents contend the projects are too environmentally risky given the area’s water-rich environment and would do more economic harm than good, ravaging the amenity-based economy and destroying property values.
In a communication released Wednesday, the executive director of the Friends of the Boundary Waters charged that Stauber’s legislation could “permanently pollute the Boundary Waters.”
“This bill would strip protection from hundreds of thousands of acres of protected land surrounding the Boundary Waters and open it to toxic copper-sulfide mining,” said Chris Knopf, who heads the environmental organization. “This bill gives away your land, our land, to a foreign mining conglomerate and their billionaire owners. It prioritizes the profits of a Chilean mining conglomerate over the will of the majority of Minnesotans. It puts pollution over clean water. We will challenge this decision through every available avenue. The fight to protect the Boundary Waters is far from over.”
