State and federal agencies will rewrite the the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for PolyMet Mining’s proposed copper-nickel and precious metals mine near Babbitt, MN. The rewrite comes after the federal Environmental Protection Agency deemed the initial Draft EIS “Environmentally Unsatisfactory-Inadequate.”
The Minnesota DNR outlined the procedures for the new version of the document HERE.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Forest Service, and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources will prepare the document jointly, addressing the proposed land exchange between PolyMet and the U.S. Forest Service, developing and incorporating additional project modifications, alternatives, and mitigation measures to minimize environmental impacts, and considering the EPA’s and other public comments and recommendations, the DNR said.
The Timberjay reported, HERE, that the rewrite could delay the project by up to a year.
The $600-million PolyMet project, if approved, is expected to create some 400 jobs during the 20-year life of the mine.