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Federal EA released on mineral withdrawal

U.S. Forest Service now seeking public comment on environmental analysis

Marshall Helmberger
Posted 7/2/22

REGIONAL—The U.S. Forest Service is now seeking public comment on an environmental analysis of its proposed 20-year withdrawal of approximately 225,000 acres within the Superior National Forest …

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Federal EA released on mineral withdrawal

U.S. Forest Service now seeking public comment on environmental analysis

Posted

REGIONAL—The U.S. Forest Service is now seeking public comment on an environmental analysis of its proposed 20-year withdrawal of approximately 225,000 acres within the Superior National Forest from the federal mineral leasing program.
The analysis is just a step in the process of assessing the merits of the Forest Service’s October 2021 request for the withdrawal, which encompasses a portion of the Rainy River watershed located near Ely, and upstream of the Boundary Waters. The final decision on the withdrawal is in the hands of the U.S. Department of the Interior and its Bureau of Land Management, which oversees the federal minerals leasing program. The withdrawal would not affect private or state-owned mineral rights in the affected area.
The Forest Service’s EA is lengthy, encompassing hundreds of pages, 19 separate resource reports that encompass everything from impacts to the environment to economic and cultural effects.
Such analyses are information-gathering tools and the document makes no clear recommendation. It is primarily a restatement of issues related to the decision and a recitation of input from the various sides of the issue, including stakeholders and the public who are both for and against the proposed withdrawal. Much of the input came during the initial 90-day comment period initiated by the Forest Service’s withdrawal application, which included three public meetings and more than 200,000 individual comment letters.
The analysis considers two alternatives, including the Action Alternative, which would move forward with the temporary withdrawal. The No Action Alternative would maintain the status quo, which would allow continued mineral exploration and possible mining in the area, although it seems unlikely mining would occur during the 20-year period. Antofagasta, which operates Twin Metals and is the only company that has brought forward a current mine plan for the site, no longer has active mineral leases within the proposed withdrawal area. Those leases were canceled by the Biden administration last year.
In terms of environmental and economic impacts, the analysis finds that the impact of the ultimate decision may be less than many in the public expect. The withdrawal would have little impact on mining jobs in the region, in part because “no economic activity from hardrock minerals development is currently occurring in the analysis area,” notes the study’s section on socioeconomic impacts. “As such, the current structure of local economies would remain unchanged, leaving existing economic trends to continue.”
While the study notes that there is a general expectation that mining could be financially viable in the affected area, Antofagasta has not provided financial projections for the proposed operation, at least to date.
On the other hand, the analysis suggests that the region’s amenity-based economy could benefit from a withdrawal. “The amenity-based economy could continue its current growth trend or accelerate due to certainty in recreation experience and environmental quality provided by the requested withdrawal for at least 20 years,” states the report. “Consumer confidence in the amenity driven-real estate in St. Louis and Lake counties may improve due to beliefs that amenity values would remain intact over the time period of the requested withdrawal. This increased consumer confidence could continue to attract mobile entrepreneurs and professionals supporting a diversity of local economic sectors.”
Supporters of the withdrawal hailed the analysis as an important milestone in the process towards implementation of a mineral withdrawal in the area. “It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by all the bad news out there,” said Chris Knopf, director of the Friends of the Boundary Waters. “But knowing that we are one step closer to a 20-year moratorium on toxic mining on federal land surrounding the Boundary Waters is reason to both celebrate and believe that science, the law, and the popular will, can prevail.”
Yet, critics of the proposal blasted the release of the document. Eighth District Congressman Pete Stauber called the document “politicized” and accused the Biden administration of preferring that “foreign and child slave labor produce minerals instead of American union miners…”
Stauber also highlighted his discovery that the 20-year withdrawal would include mineral leasing for taconite. “This is a new low, even for this administration. Under this action by Biden, we would not be able to develop taconite in the withdrawal region of the Superior National Forest, like northern Minnesotans have been doing safely for the last 130 years.” In fact, maps produced by the Iron Mining Association of Minnesota show no known iron or taconite formations within the proposed withdrawal area.
Comments on the analysis can be submitted via webform by selecting the “Comment/Object to Project” link on the project page at go.usa.gov/xtaCw. Electronic comments are preferred, but written comments will also be accepted. Written comments should be sent to:
Re: Minerals Withdrawal
8901 Grand Ave. Place
Duluth, MN 55808
Please note that comments received, including names and addresses, will become part of the project record and will be available for public inspection. For more information on the project, visit the withdrawal project page at www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=60916.