Today, the Minnesota Court of Appeals decided to remand the PolyMet permit to mine and dam safety permits back to the Department of Natural Resources for a contested case hearing. This will not only further delay the PolyMet project, but the Court’s decision to make up its’ own permitting process could have a chilling effect on future investment by businesses looking to expand in Minnesota. Minnesota workers are reliant upon businesses that build projects here, and today, with this decision, the MN Court of Appeals has created an uncertain permitting process that will cause businesses to possibly look elsewhere.
Local 49 Business Manager, Jason George, released the following statement:
“I am not only extremely disappointed by the Court’s decision, but I am deeply concerned about the uncertainty of our permitting process. The PolyMet project has gone through 15 years of exhaustive study and scrutiny by Minnesota’s state agency experts and met or exceeded every environmental standard in law.
The fact the entire process and all this work can be thrown out today by three judges who spent a few months on this case is alarming. This is a bad decision, but the PolyMet project will go forward. The future of northeastern Minnesota depends on it, and we will never give up on them.”
The MN DNR did their jobs well and followed the law, Local 49 is strongly urging them to appeal this decision to the Minnesota Supreme Court.
