The two public comment meetings for PolyMet Mining Company’s proposed NorthMet projct take place tomorrow and Thursday in Aurora and Blaine, Minnesota respectively. The meetings are part of a 90-day public comment period for what could be Minnesota’s first copper mine.
Wednesday’s meeting in Aurora begins at 5:00 p.m. with an open house which will include displays as well as representatives from the Minnesota DNR, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, and PolyMet. Following the open house, there will be presentations about the PolyMet project and the Draft Environmental Impact Statement. The meetings will conclude with time for the public to submit written or verbal comments.
The Thursday night meeting in Blaine will follow the same time schedule and format.
The DNR expects heavy turnout at the meetings. It recently amended the comment procedures, it announced HERE, to allow increased paticipation at the event. In Aurora, parking is available for about 240 vehicles on the Mesabi East Schools campus, so carpooling is advised, said the DNR. There will be additional parking and shuttle service from the Aurora Community Center, 21 North Main Street, between 4:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.
In anticipation of the meetings, the Duluth News-Tribune’s John Myers wrote THIS feature about two citizens who live near the proposed mine in Babbitt and who have different views on the project.