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Piragis Northwoods Company  105 North Central AvenueEly, Minnesota 55731 1-800-223-6565 www.piragis.com February 1, 2010 Your Friends in the Great Northwoods News from Piragis Northwoods Company and the BoundaryWatersCatalog.com: |
A LETTER TO THE PIRAGIS MAILING LIST
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by Steve Piragis
Steve The public comment period comes to a close on Wednesday afternoon for the Polymet (a.k.a. NorthMet) Mine Draft Environmental Impact Statement. Polymet has proposed to mine sulfide ore minerals that include copper and nickel found in the Duluth gabbro complex formation. Their proposed mine would be located just south-west of the continental divide in the Lake Superior watershed just south of Babbitt, MN. Processing of the ore would occur at the old LTV taconite plant in Hoyt Lakes. Environmental concerns run high when it comes to sulfide ore minerals as they have caused massive damage to streams and lakes around the world when acid leaches from ore and waste piles into the ground and surface waters. Although this mine’s drainage water is not expected to affect the Boundary Waters, it is only the first of many prospecting operations that most likely will be applying for permits. Several other proposed mine sites on the Boundary Waters’ side of the divide, that are close to Birch Lake and the Kawishiwi watershed leading to White Iron Lake, Fall Lake and Basswood Lake in the Boundary Waters, we expect will soon file for mining permits if Polymet is permitted. This is because PolyMet is projected to have excess processing capacity, meaning that it may process other mines’ ore, making it less expensive for them to operate and more likely they will seek permits, too. The Draft EIS for Polymet can be found at: http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/input/environmentalreview/polymet/index.html. Environmental organizations have found multiple reasons to oppose the adoption of the DEIS as it stands. The Minnesota DNR and the US Army Corps of Engineers will review all comments made to them and respond. I encourage you to comment today or on Wednesday before the period closes. You must comment on substance in the EIS to have impact. I have listed faults that we have identified with the EIS that you can use for your comments: 1. The DEIS does not outline any specific plan for reclamation after the mine site is closed. In the same vein there is no specific mention of the method or amount of financial assurance that the mining company will need to set aside for the potential disasters after closing. Because acid mitigation is difficult to predict and long term treatment after closing is necessary, there needs to be a large sum of cash held in escrow as a damage deposit and that amount should be specific and included in the final EIS. 2. There was little or no field sampling done on the movement of ground water through the bedrock. Since the mine and its waste storage site sits nearly on the continental divide it should have been determined if there is any chance that polluted mine drainage (including acids, metals, or sulfates) could move in the rock over time to the north and into the Boundary Waters watershed. This was not done and should be before permitting. 3. The mine site disrupts natural corridors for the movement of wildlife. Specifically the Canada lynx which is a federally-listed threatened species that requires large territories and benefits from undisturbed forest corridors. No provision is made for mitigating this loss of habitat in the DEIS. 4. The DEIS does not approach the most important question of cumulative impacts of this mine and the others that are proposed in the district. Polymet can not be looked at as a single, one-time event in N.E. Minnesota. With permitting of Polymet will come at least 2, perhaps 4 or more new applications for permitting from other mining companies. What will be the total impact on the environment by all these potential mines and how will the EIS deal with mitigation of all these in concert? Specifically the Boundary Waters, which is down wind of all these projects, will be negatively impacted in terms of atmospheric haze from dust particles and other emissions blown into the air. According to the U.S. Forest Service, the Polymet project alone will cause significant haze impairments in the Boundary Waters 36 days each year! Tell us how this cumulative effect on air quality must be dealt with for Polymet and all future applications. In addition how is global warming affected by this mining operation and the combinations of all potential mines in the future? 5. Where is the plan for constant monitoring of the mining operation by the DNR? Waste rock needs to be sorted by sulfide content, tailings basins need to be inspected for leaks, and waste piles need to be sampled for pH in runoff water regularly. Do we just depend on the mining company to do its own monitoring? There should be a program set up in the EIS for constant monitoring of operations by an independent environmental concern or the DNR. 6. Sulfates are a problem that are not dealt with rigorously in the DEIS. Sulfates in surface water demonstrably impact aquatic vegetation, specifically wild rice. In addition sulfates react with elemental mercury in a process known as mercury methylation. Methylmercury is the form that bio-accumulates in fish and animals that eat fish, including humans. What process has been identified to detect and mitigate methyl mercury in the environment and how will community health be dealt with and paid for? Please borrow from this list as you like and add to it also. The deadline is upon us and there will be no extensions as we have called for. This is the one and only time the public has to offer comments on Polymet. I hope this helps and I encourage you to make your concerns know with regard to this Draft Environmental Impact Statement. Thanks for taking the time to be concerned and to make your comments. To learn more about sulfide ore mining the following web sites can be helpful: www.friends-bwca.org/issues/sulfide-mining/ |