A Call For Transparency and Open Government
AN OPEN LETTER TO GOVERNOR WALZ and LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR FLANAGAN
Dear Governor Walz and Lieutenant Governor Flanagan:
In the Minnesota Court of Appeals, several organizations appealed permits for the proposed PolyMet copper-sulfide mine issued by State Agencies under the prior Administration. These appeals include a challenge to the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (“NPDES”) permit, which regulates wastewater discharge from the mine. During these proceedings, it has come to light that the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (“MPCA”) pressured U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) officials to keep EPA’s written comments which criticize PolyMet’s NPDES permit out of the administrative record and took additional steps to keep criticism of the PolyMet permit hidden from public view. MPCA conduct may violate state and federal law.

In response, on June 25, 2019, the Minnesota Court of Appeals took the virtually unprecedented step of ordering an evidentiary hearing into MPCA’s conduct because it found “substantial evidence of procedural irregularities.” The Court has now transferred jurisdiction of the case to Ramsey County District Court to conduct these hearings into the MPCA permitting process.
As a result of this Order by the Minnesota Court of Appeals, we the undersigned request that you act immediately to stay all state permits issued for the PolyMet project. It is in the interest of the State of Minnesota to let the District Court proceedings go forward and uncover the truth regarding the allegations of improper, and possibly illegal, conduct by the MPCA.
There is too much at stake for Minnesota with the PolyMet permitting, the State’s first copper-sulfide mine. This project should not be allowed to move forward while there is the possibility that the water quality permit, and perhaps other permits granted to PolyMet, were subject to a tainted approval process. Other pending investigations—by the Office of the Inspector General of the EPA and the Minnesota Office of the Legislative Auditor—only reinforce the severity of these allegations, and the need for a stay of the state PolyMet permits while these proceedings are pending.
Your administration has been vocal in calling for increased transparency, specifically regarding the environmental permitting process. By placing all of the state PolyMet permits on hold until these matters can be thoroughly investigated, your administration will demonstrate your dedication to transparency and help restore the public’s faith in Minnesota’s environmental regulatory process. Now is the time to assure the people of Minnesota that they have an advocate for truth and transparent governance in the Governor’s mansion.
We have reached a crossroads not just for the PolyMet copper-sulfide mine, but also for the future of Minnesota’s natural resources and the public’s faith in government. We urge you to do the right thing and stay all state PolyMet permits pending the completion of the aforementioned investigations.
Sincerely,
Chris Knopf, Executive Director
Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness
YOUR VOICE IS NEEDED We need you to keep the pressure on the administration. Call Governor Walz at (651) 201-3400 and demand He:
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Stay the PolyMet permits
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Investigate the improper conduct of the MPCA
Steve Morse
Minnesota Environmental Partnership
Paula Maccabee, Advocacy Director and Legal Counsel
WaterLegacy
Kathryn Hoffman, CEO
Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy
Marc Fink, Public Lands Legal Director
Center for Biological Diversity
Michelle Witte, Executive Director
League of Women Voters Minnesota
Ted Suss, President
Izaak Walton League – Minnesota Division
Mark Owens, President
A.C.E.S. (Austin Coalition for Environmental Sustainability)
Sean Gosiewski, Executive Director
Alliance for Sustainability
Duane Ninneman, Executive Director
CURE (Clean Up the River Environment)
Howard Learner, Executive Director
Environmental Law and Policy Center
Lynn Hoffman, Co-President
Eureka Recycling
Kristin Larsen, Executive Director
Friends of the Cloquet Valley State Forest
Deborah Nelson
Lakeville Friends of the Environment
Mark Schultz, Executive Director
Land Stewardship Project
Sister Gladys Schmitz
Mankato Area Environmentalists
Kevin Whelan, Executive Director
MN350
Julia Nerbonne, Executive Director
Minnesota Interfaith Power and Light
Tom Casey, Conservation Committee Chair and Board Chair
Minnesota Native Plant Society
Friends of Minnesota Scientific and Natural Areas
Christine Goepfert, Associate Director
National Parks Conservation Association
Matt Norton, Policy Director
Northeastern Minnesotans for Wilderness
Brett Feldman, Executive Director
Parks & Trails Council of Minnesota
Jan Joannides, Executive Director
Renewing the Countryside
LeRoger Lind, President
Save Lake Superior Association
Lori Andresen, President
Save Our Sky Blue Waters
Margaret Levin, State Director
Sierra Club North Star Chapter
Christina Hausman Rhode, Executive Director
Voyageurs National Park Association
Bob Tammen
Wetlands Action Group
Holly Jenkins, Director
Wilderness in the City
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