Dangerous provisions in the current budget reconciliation legislation would hand over our public lands to foreign mining corporations like Chile-based Antofagasta. These measures would strip away judicial oversight and eliminate a 20-year mining ban across the entire Boundary Waters watershed. This legislation represents a serious threat to our ongoing efforts to shield the Boundary Waters from destructive sulfide copper mining.
Contact your federal representatives immediately and demand they vote against any budget reconciliation provisions that would authorize toxic copper sulfide mining near the Boundary Waters.
Take Federal Action Now
CALL CONGRESS: Reach your U.S. Representative and both U.S. Senators through the Congressional Switchboard at (202) 224-3121. If you're unsure who represents you, use the lookup form below.
SUGGESTED TALKING POINTS: "As your constituent, I'm calling to urge you to oppose all budget reconciliation provisions that would transfer public lands to Chilean mining company Antofagasta and authorize toxic copper-sulfide mining operations near Minnesota's Boundary Waters.
These provisions have no place in budget legislation. They amount to corporate giveaways to foreign interests and would expose hundreds of thousands of acres to mining contamination that could devastate America's most visited wilderness area, while preventing courts from reviewing these decisions. Please vote no on these harmful provisions. Thank you."
You can also reach out to Congress using this ONLINE FORM
LET’S UPDATE MINNESOTA’S ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS
Minnesota's two proposed copper-sulfide mining projects, PolyMet-NewRange and Twin Metals, have sparked the state's most significant and prolonged environmental debate in decades.
The PolyMet-NewRange permitting process started nearly twenty years ago. During this extended timeline, significant gaps and deficiencies in our state's environmental regulations and approval procedures have become apparent. Simply put, Minnesota's environmental safeguards need substantial updating to meet current challenges.
Petition: Prove It First Legislation for Minnesota
Minnesota's proposed Prove-It-First legislation offers a clear, common-sense approach. Given the documented track record of copper-sulfide mining operations and the industry's history of unfulfilled commitments, Minnesota cannot serve as a testing ground. Before any mining begins, companies must demonstrate they can operate without environmental contamination.
Beyond the Prove It First legislation, other comprehensive legal reforms can strengthen our regulatory framework and enable state agencies to better protect Minnesota's renowned waters and wilderness areas.
Taxpayer Protection Act
Copper-sulfide mining has a terrible history of pollution around the world. Unfortunately, Minnesota’s current financial assurance requirements, the amount of money a mining company must put up as insurance, are woefully inadequate to protect against, or clean up after, an environmental disaster.
As evidenced by the $7 billion settlement Vale mining company paid to the country of Brazil after just such a disaster, the clean-up costs for mining disasters can be astronomical.
The Taxpayer Protection Act would require nonferrous mining companies to fully fund any financial assurance package upfront and in cash. This would ensure Minnesota’s taxpayers are not left on the hook for potential multi-billion-dollar clean-up costs from a devastating environmental catastrophe.
The Bad Actor Bill
In addition to being the most polluting industry in America by chemical releases, the copper-sulfide mining industry is home to some of the world’s most notorious corporate bad actors. Antofagasta, the owner of the now-canceled Twin Metals mine, has polluted its home country of Chile multiple times, has a history of bribery at home, and has shown its willingness to overlook ethical considerations in the United States and use its considerable financial resources to lobby for its proposed projects.
Glencore, owner of the proposed PolyMet mine, has an even worse history, if that is possible. Named one of the worst companies to work for by the United Steelworkers, Glencore has a history of pollution, corruption, and human rights violations – including child labor – around the world. Glencore’s own Sustainability Reports show the company paid over $10 million in environmental fines in the last decade alone. Finally, in 2017, Glencore received a state medal from Vladimir Putin for its “contribution to strengthening cooperation with Russia.”