REGIONAL— The state’s largest newspaper, this week, called on Gov. Tim Walz to direct state agencies to suspend work on the proposed Twin Metals mine near Ely until the Trump administration releases scientific data that federal officials had gathered as part of a two-year study that considered the potential impacts of the mine.

The Trump administration cancelled the study shortly before its completion and has refused to release the science gathered up to that point despite requests from Congress, newspapers, and environmentalists to do so.

“Gov. Tim Walz ought to wield the immense leverage he has as the state’s CEO to lift this contemptible veil of secrecy,” wrote the Star Tribune’s editorial board in their Aug. 23 edition.

“Walz should order the Department of Natural Resources and the Pollution Control Agency to suspend permitting work involving the proposed Twin Metals Minnesota mine until the feds release the data.”

The Obama administration had ordered the two-year study shortly before leaving office, and Trump officials had initially promised to complete the study to ensure any future decision on Twin Metals was based on sound science. But the Trump administration subsequently reneged on that commitment. It cancelled the withdrawal study last year, just months before it was supposed to have been completed, and then issued new mineral leases to Twin Metals back in May of this year.

Twin Metals, which is owned by the Chilean mining giant Antofagasta, has promised to release a mine plan later this year. It must still go through environmental review and permitting but, according to the Star Tribune, the company is already working with state officials on pre-development work. That’s the work that the Star Tribune is calling on the governor to end.

“It makes sense to halt work now,” writes the paper. “Twin Metals is the likeliest beneficiary of keeping any damaging science from the aborted study under wraps. Unlike PolyMet, another Minnesota copper mine, the proposed Twin Metals mine is actually within the BWCA watershed, a reality that dramatically amplifies concerns about potential pollution.”

Concerns about the Trump administration’s secrecy were only intensified by Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, who was in Minnesota earlier this month for Farmfest. Perdue oversees the U.S. Forest Service, which conducted the study. When asked about the controversy, Perdue said he has no plans to release any of the science that Forest Service had gathered during the roughly 20 months the study was ongoing. And he suggested that it was the state of Minnesota that was ultimately responsible for ensuring the safety of the Twin Metals mine.

The secretary’s comment didn’t sit well with the governor. “It’s outrageous that Secretary Purdue is refusing to accept any responsibility for a mining project in the Superior National Forest,” said Walz, in a statement issued to the Timberjay. “As Governor, I have a responsibility to ensure that mining projects in Minnesota don’t move forward unless there is a rigorous environmental review and permitting process. This is especially the case for a project that is so close to the Boundary Waters. The manner in which we do our work can either bolster or undermine the trust Minnesotans have in governmental decision-making. Cancelling the Forest Service’s environmental review and refusing to release the information gathered during the study undermines public trust in the process. The Forest Service should complete the study.”

It’s unclear what impact the recent newspaper editorial will have, but it signals the distinction that many Minnesotans are making between the planned PolyMet mine, which the Star Tribune has generally supported, and the Twin Metals project. Former Gov. Mark Dayton, who supported the PolyMet project, was outspoken in his opposition to the Twin Metals proposal and had ordered state agencies not to assist the company in advancing the project.