Working for clean air in the BWCAW

The BWCAW on a clear day.

The BWCAW on a hazy day.

Collaborating with Voyageurs National Park Association and the National Parks Conservation Association, the Friends submitted comments to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency last week regarding plans to issue a retroactive permit to U.S. Steel’s Minntac taconite facility.

Since 1986, the Minntac facility, one of the largest taconite-processing plants in northern Minnesota, has been illegally emitting thousands of tons of NO_x into the atmosphere, the equivalent of roughly four large coal power plants.

The proposed MPCA permit would require Minntac to begin piloting new technology for controlling NO_x emissions, which could mean a significant benefit in researching control technologies that could then be implemented at other taconite facilities. But without hard deadlines and requirements for pollution mitigation to prevent continued air pollution in the BWCAW and Voyageurs National Park (Class I areas under the Clean Air Act, and which have the highest possible air quality), the permit is insufficient.

Click here to read our full comments letter for more background information and specifics on our position.