Skip to main content
Friday, November 13, 2026Nov 13
Subscribe
All Sections
Search
More

Supreme Court affirms block of key PolyMet mine permit

FILE - In this Feb. 10, 2016, file photo is a former iron ore processing plant near Hoyt Lakes, Minn., that would become part of a proposed PolyMet copper-nickel mine. An internal investigation has found that the Environmental Protection Agency mishandled its oversight of permits for what would be Minnesota's first copper-nickel mine, according to the federal agency's inspector general.The findings describe a flawed review of two permits issued for the $1 billion mine that PolyMet Mining Corp. wants to build near lakes Babbitt and Hoyt. (AP Photo/Jim Mone, File)
FILE - In this Feb. 10, 2016, file photo is a former iron ore processing plant near Hoyt Lakes, Minn., that would become part of a proposed PolyMet copper-nickel mine. An internal investigation has found that the Environmental Protection Agency mishandled its oversight of permits for what would be Minnesota's first copper-nickel mine, according to the federal agency's inspector general.The findings describe a flawed review of two permits issued for the $1 billion mine that PolyMet Mining Corp. wants to build near lakes Babbitt and Hoyt. (AP Photo/Jim Mone, File) FILE - In this Feb. 10, 2016, file photo is a former iron ore processing plant near Hoyt Lakes, Minn., that would become part of a proposed PolyMet copper-nickel mine. An internal investigation has found that the Environmental Protection Agency mishandled its oversight of permits for what would be Minnesota's first copper-nickel mine, according to the federal agency's inspector general.The findings describe a flawed review of two permits issued for the $1 billion mine that PolyMet Mining Corp. wants to build near lakes Babbitt and Hoyt. (AP Photo/Jim Mone, File)

By STEVE KARNOWSKI / Associated Press 3 min read

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – The Minnesota Supreme Court on Wednesday affirmed a lower court’s reversal of a critical mining permit for the proposed PolyMet copper-nickel mine in northeastern Minnesota, handing environmentalists a victory in the long-running battle over the $1 billion project.

The court said the state Department of Natural Resources should have set a fixed period for the permit to mine, rather than leaving it open-ended. It ordered the agency to determine and set an appropriate term.

“In layman’s terms, the PolyMet permit to mine just went boom. It was overturned and it starts over. What that means is the DNR is going to start from scratch,” said Paula Maccabee, an attorney for WaterLegacy, one of the groups fighting the project.

The court also ordered the DNR to conduct a trial-like proceeding known as a “contested case hearing” to gather more evidence on whether a bentonite clay lining for the mine’s waste basin would prevent acid mine drainage and keep pollution contained. The justices said there is no evidence in the record that it would be effective.

Maccabee said the ruling on that point, which was narrower than opponents had sought, was nevertheless “not trivial” because it would force the DNR to better deal with long-term water pollution concerns, and that opponents would try to raise broader environmental issues during the hearing.