Minnesota agency appeals court ruling against PolyMet mine

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources on Wednesday asked the state Supreme Court to overturn a lower court decision that rejected some of the most important permits for the proposed PolyMet copper-nickel mine.

The agency said in a statement that last month's decision from the Minnesota Court of Appeals could affect future mining proposals, the state's currently operating iron mines and a wide range of other state permit decisions. The agency called the decision “a significant departure from the DNR’s long-standing application of state mining law.”

The case is one of several pending before the courts in the long-running battle over what would be Minnesota’s first copper-nickel mine. PolyMet filed a similar petition with the Supreme Court on Tuesday.

The Court of Appeals ruled that the DNR erred when it declined to order a trial-like proceeding before a neutral administrative law judge known as a “contested case hearing” to gather more information on the potential environmental impacts from the mine. So the court sent PolyMet’s permit to mine and two dam safety permits back to the agency with an order to hold the potentially lengthy proceeding before deciding whether to reissue the permits.

PolyMet’s opponents include the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, WaterLegacy and the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. They hope to use a contested case hearing to argue that the project’s environmental and financial safeguards are inadequate to protect against acid mine drainage or a waste pond dam collapse.

"The Minnesota Court of Appeals ruling that struck down PolyMet’s permits was well-reasoned, and we believe it will stand," Kathryn Hoffman, CEO of the center, said in a statement. “The Court properly concluded that the risks of PolyMet’s proposal...