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Serving Northern St. Louis County, Minnesota

MPCA, environmental groups reach temporary settlement on Minntac permit

Marshall Helmberger
Posted 12/12/16

REGIONAL— A coalition of environmental groups has reached a temporary settlement with the state’s Pollution Control Agency, ending, for now, a lawsuit over the agency’s failure to issue a new …

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MPCA, environmental groups reach temporary settlement on Minntac permit

Posted

REGIONAL— A coalition of environmental groups has reached a temporary settlement with the state’s Pollution Control Agency, ending, for now, a lawsuit over the agency’s failure to issue a new permit for US Steel’s Minntac tailings basin north of Virginia.

The MPCA issued a draft permit for Minntac’s tailings basin on Nov. 15, just six days after the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy (MCEA) and two other groups filed their lawsuit in state district court. The MPCA and the environmental groups subsequently reached a stipulation agreement under which the lawsuit is withdrawn pending the outcome of the permitting process. MCEA attorney Hudson Kingston said that process should take about nine months and if it appears the agency is dragging its feet, the environmental groups reserve the right to head back to court. “We want to give them the opportunity to do their jobs, but not too much time,” said Kingston.

Pending the issuance of a final permit, the groups would still have the right to mount a legal challenge if they believe it fails to comply with the federal Clean Water Act. Kingston said the draft permit, as released Nov. 15, “does not seem to comply” with federal law. “We hope that the process leads to an improved permit when it gets finalized,” he added.

As part of the agreement, the environmental groups will have the right to participate in any mediation over the permit between the MPCA and US Steel. The MPCA also agreed to cover the cost of the environmental group’s court filing fee, totaling $392.