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Nice try on the NEPA angle. The proposed EIS or any EIS has to meet 2 criteria. Either the agency must be proposing a development or a private entity must be proposing one. Neither of these are being met concerning the proposed study in the Superior National Forest. The USFS nor the BLM is developing anything and at this time Twin Metals isn't either. So we are back to the what exactly is there to study. This type of preemptive study was tried concerning the Pebble Mine in Alaska. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt dropped the study stating that there was already longstanding policies in place at both the state and federal levels to handle this without doing a preemptive study. The same holds true here through the same process that PolyMets NorthMet mine has been subjected to for over 13 years. You and I both know that Minnesota has some of the most stringent environmental laws in the US. I for one along with many others want that to play out just like it should. No need for preemption they will have to meet the same requirements as any other project once they submit a proposal.

Now we get back to the EIS from 2012 concerning drilling in the Superior National Forest. This study took 6 years to compile and covered everything from Non invasive species to social economic impact. https://gis.lic.wisc.edu/wwwlicgf/glifwc/binational/Superior_Exploration_Final_EIS_ROD/FEIS/Final%20EIS.pdf just in case you never read it here is the link. This should more than suffice for Twin Metals to at a minimum retain their leases.

Flambeau mine was a small scale mine that only lasted 4 years, but any potential pollution has been re mediated and the area is now a wonderful recreation area. I have read the Wisconsin DNR report concerning any potential pollution and Flambeau has met all the targets set forth by the state. The one Clean Water Act violation was overturned in appeals court. Mt. Polley is another instance where an outside agency was a contributing factor to a problem. Mining company applied for water discharge permits to control the level of water in their tailings basin. 2 years later the British Columbia govt. finally issues the permit at a vastly lower rate than requested. Dam fails from excessive pressure cause a spill into the river. Reclamation has been ongoing since then and currently you can hardly tell what happened. Oh and your claim to it doing damage to the salmon grounds. There has been little to no affect to those. Finally lets address the Bingham landslide. I am not sure why you brought this up since it was self contained within the pit, the mining company knew it was going to happen and took precautions and no environmental damage was done. The company reconstructed the haul road and went back into full production no harm no foul.

Finally investment. When I talk investment I don't mean buying something at a local store because we all do that. Investment to me and most people means doing something to bring new business into the community. I do not see that happening. There are many storefronts sitting empty along Main Street. These do not bring jobs, tax revenue or hope to our community. We need the jobs that will be provided by PolyMet and Twin Metals to bring businesses to those empty buildings now thats investment.