MCEA will defend ruling that overturned PolyMet permits, ordered full trial on the facts

PRESS RELEASE: 3/25/2020           CONTACT: Aaron Klemz, Director of Public Engagement

ST. PAUL AND DULUTH, MINNESOTA – Today, the Minnesota Supreme Court announced they would review a ruling by the Minnesota Court of Appeals that struck down PolyMet’s permit to mine and two dam safety permits.

Kathryn Hoffman, Chief Executive Officer at the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, issued the following statement:

The Minnesota Court of Appeals ruling that struck down PolyMet’s permits was well-reasoned, and we believe it will stand. The Court properly concluded that the risks of PolyMet’s proposal are too important not to be fully evaluated by an independent judge—a request DNR improperly denied during the permitting process.

Minnesotans trust us to defend clean water and the health and safety of the people who depend on it. We’ll see PolyMet at the Supreme Court.

In January, the Minnesota Court of Appeals unanimously struck down PolyMet’s permit to mine and dam safety permits issued by the DNR and ordered a full trial (called a “contested case hearing.”) The Appeals Court held that Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, and WaterLegacy had presented expert evidence about the risks of PolyMet that the DNR disregarded. Those risks and concerns should be evaluated by an independent fact finder, the appeals court concluded, before the DNR makes a decision on these permits.

The order of the Supreme Court today did not set a time for oral arguments in the case.  

###