REGIONAL— A March 20 executive order signed by President Donald Trump establishes mining of minerals as the highest priority use of federal lands, and that could eventually lead to mining operations within federal wilderness areas and even national parks.
Combined with Trump’s Jan. 20 order declaring a national energy emergency, his latest order appears to set the stage for an unprecedented push to advance mining projects on federal lands with only perfunctory environmental review.
Trump’s order also invokes the Defense Production Act, which allows the federal government to provide loans, capital and technical assistance, working capital, and other forms of public assistance to mining companies seeking to develop identified mineral resources on federal lands. It also directs federal agencies to find ways to exempt mining companies to the extent possible from the usual financial reporting requirements established in federal law.
By March 31, the order requires the head of each executive department to provide a list of all mineral projects for which a plan of operations, a permit application, or other application has been submitted. By April 10, the agency heads are required to identify priority projects “that can be immediately approved, or for which permits can be immediately issued, and take all necessary or appropriate actions within the agency’s authority to expedite and issue the relevant permits or approvals.”
Trump’s order also requires the Secretary of the Interior to provide a list of all federal lands known to hold mineral deposits and reserves. “The Secretary of the Interior shall prioritize mineral production and mining related purposes as the primary land uses in these areas, consistent with applicable law.”
While the term “consistent with applicable law” would seem to protect some federal lands, such as the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, from mining operations, many of the laws that protect such sensitive federal recreational lands, have provisions that lift those protections in the event of a national emergency declared by the President. For example, Sec. 11 of the 1978 Boundary Waters Wilderness Act, states that the protections against mining within the wilderness itself along with the mining protection area, “shall not apply to the extent specifically provided in legislation enacted by the United States after the date of enactment of this Act pursuant to a national emergency declared by the President.”
That language suggests some involvement by Congress in the lifting of such protections, but given Republican control of Congress, wilderness protections could be in jeopardy, suggests Becky Rom, of Ely, with the Campaign to Save the Boundary Waters. “This all appears to be leading in one direction, and that is a national emergency, and national security emergency that requires us to mine and process minerals at home,” she said.
Indeed, Trump’s order goes beyond mineral extraction and promotes the construction of smelters or other mineral processing facilities in the U.S. In recent years, most mineral smelting of U.S. ores has taken place in China or other foreign sites, given the difficulty of such facilities meeting U.S air pollution requirements. That may be less of an impediment under the Trump administration.
Twin Metals status unclear
In related action, the Interior Department’s acting solicitor has suspended all previous “M-Opinions” issued by the Office of Solicitor under the Biden administration. That would include the Biden-era M-Opinion that cleared the way for the administration to terminate mineral leases with Twin Metals, a venture controlled by Chilean mining giant Antofagasta.
During Trump’s first term, the Department of Interior reinstated two mineral leases critical to the Twin Metals project, a proposed copper-nickel mine located near Ely.
The project was further forestalled by the 20-year prohibition on mineral leasing on about 225,000 acres of land within the Superior National Forest. The proposed Twin Metals project is located upstream of a major BWCAW watershed, and it has been consistently opposed by the U.S. Forest Service given the risks of downstream pollution of pristine wilderness waters.
It would appear almost certain that that mineral leasing prohibition will be lifted by the administration, although it remains unclear whether the Twin Metals project will be designated as a priority project. Under the order, the administration has until April 10 to post its priority projects.
State would have a voice
Even if the Twin Metals proposal is revived by Trump’s actions, the mine will require state permitting and that could prove difficult, particularly in the wake of permitting misfires by both the Department of Natural Resources and the Pollution Control Agency in regards to the former PolyMet, now NewRange Copper, project near Hoyt Lakes.
State officials in Minnesota have been far more skeptical of the Twin Metals project from the beginning, given its proximity and potential threat to the BWCAW. State officials opted against cooperating with the first Trump administration on a joint environmental review of a Twin Metals mine plan, and it would seem unlikely the state would sign off this time on an expedited review by the current Trump administration. In addition, state officials rejected a Twin Metals proposal to store tailings on state school trust lands out of concern for contamination and long-term liability for environmental clean-up.
An ongoing environmental lawsuit challenging the DNR’s nonferrous mining rules could add further complication, depending on the outcome. If plaintiffs are successful, the case could require the DNR to undertake a new rule-making process before it could consider new nonferrous mining permits. That process could take years to complete.