ELY – The Ely City Council will meet with Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton, at his request, Friday to discuss the Twin Metals copper-nickel mining project.

The meeting will begin at 3 p.m. at the headquarters of the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board in Eveleth.

Gov. Dayton is also scheduled to meet with the Range Association of Municipalities and Schools at 4:30 p.m. Friday at the IRRRB building.

Ely Mayor Chuck Novak said he is looking forward to talking to the Governor about the Ely economy and the impact of the Twin Metals project on the community.

In response to Gov. Dayton’s directive last month to the Department of Natural Resources to not authorize agreements for mining operations proposed by Twin Metals adjacent to the BWCA, the Ely City Council was quick to pass a resolution unanimously requesting that he change his mind.

RAMS also passed a resolution last month objecting to the Governor’s actions.

“The Governor contacted us and requested to meet with the Mayor and Council,” Novak said. In accordance with the state’s open meeting law, the city council posted the special meeting specifically purposed to honor the Governor’s request and four councilors signed on to call the special meeting, according to Novak.

“It has to be a public meeting especially with a quorum of the council present. The council also must follow guidelines of council meetings that are in city ordinance which means that I will call the council to order,” he said.

Mayor Novak did not predict if members of the public would attend the meeting, “but the ability of individuals to talk will be up to the Governor since he called the meeting,” he said. “I would hope that individuals will respect the rare privilege that the entire Council be invited to meet with the Governor and allow the Governor and Council to meet without interruption especially since time is limited.”

Mayor Novak said any open discussion is at the Governor’s discretion. “Communication from the Governor states that the agenda will concern Twin Metals Minnesota and any other subject the council wishes to discuss, time permitting,” he said.

“I am preparing what I and the council may discuss and am not ready to disclose anything prematurely,” Novak said late Monday. “It is unknown at this time whether we will be able to change the Governor’s mind but I hope to make a strong case for him to do so.”

Guest commentary

Gov. Dayton defended his opinion about the Twin Metals project and sulfide mining in a guest commentary published in the March 23 edition of the Mesabi Daily News in Virginia.

“Since I stopped the leasing of state land for exploratory drilling for the Twin Metals’ copper-nickel mine at the edge of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, I have been accused of being against the Iron Range and against mining. I’m neither,” he said.

Gov. Dayton said he is not fighting against the recently-completed PolyMet Environmental Impact Statement. “Contrary to untrue rumors that I will interfere with and delay those permitting decisions, I have instructed the commissioners of the two agencies to process and review them as expeditiously as possible,” he said. “If PolyMet meets our state’s environmental requirements and provides the necessary financial assurances, it will legally be permitted to proceed.”

Gov. Dayton drew a distinction between the PolyMet and the Twin Metals projects.

“PolyMet would be located on the former LTV mining site 18 miles away from the BWCA, whereas the Twin Metals mines would be at its very edge. PolyMet would be located in a watershed, which flows away from the Boundary Waters, whereas Twin Metals’ watershed drains directly into it. As a result, a leak of highly toxic sulfide waste from Twin Metals’ mining could flow right into the Boundary Waters,” he said.

Gov. Dayton also warned the underground mining project could drastically alter Ely’s unique character.

“Ely began as a mining town, and some wish to turn it back over to that industry. But almost forty years ago, after bitter political fights and public debates, Congress passed a federal law, which established the essential wilderness character of the BWCA,” he said.

“Some people have remained bitter and unwilling to accept that it is governed by a different set of use restrictions from the rest of the Range. Most people, however, have moved ahead, and many in Ely have built successful businesses, livelihoods, and lives servicing the needs of the thousands of visitors, who are drawn each year by the BWCA’s unique wilderness experience. Ely is not only its gateway, but also its guardian.”

He said in his commentary that the obligation to protect the BWCA and preserve its wilderness is a responsibility shared by all Minnesotans. “We have no right to risk its vulnerable ecology for the financial benefit of a large international mining conglomerate and their Minnesota investors,” he said.

Gov. Dayton called for every Minnesotan “to respect the invisible, but very real, boundary that was established almost 40 years ago, which permits mining activities within the existing industrial footprints on the Iron Range, and prevents them within or adjacent to the Boundary Waters. People who can accept that division will be able to at least co-exist, if not actually cooperate,” he said.