Minneapolis Star Tribune, May 2
Federal secrecy is a red flag on mining near BWCA
Minnesota should stop its work on Twin Metals after getting denied on records request.
If the Trump administration won’t share vital data about copper mining’s risks to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCA), Minnesota should halt all state-level work on the controversial Twin Metals Mining proposal. Gov. Tim Walz may be managing a pandemic, but other crucial decisions about the state’s future must also be made. Protecting this beloved, fragile natural preserve is one of them.
The $1 billion Twin Metals project is still years away from becoming a reality, a lengthy timeline due to the intense scrutiny required to issue critical permits. The underground mine and its aboveground operations would be within the BWCA’s watershed and perilously close to the shoreline of a reservoir draining into wilderness. In November, a Star Tribune Editorial Board special report, “Not this mine. Not this location,” argued that the regulatory framework is broken and the pollution risks unacceptable.
The editorial sounded the alarm about the cozy relationship between the Antofagasta, the mine’s Chilean corporate owners, and the Trump administration. It also called out the administration for keeping secret the scientific data gathered during a two-year federal study of copper mining’s potential harm to the BWCA’s watershed. That study was aborted in September 2018, four months shy of completion.
On March 10, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) formally requested that the U.S. Forest Service share the data. The letter from DNR Commissioner Sarah Strommen cited the agency’s long-standing interest in this information, the data’s “important implications for the people of Minnesota,” and the decision last fall to do a state-level environmental review of Twin Metals. It didn’t take long for the Trump administration to say no. The brusque April 13 response from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees the Forest Service, said the study wasn’t finalized, so no findings would be released.
That response is a troubling departure from how agencies traditionally work together even during research’s early stages. “You share draft information all the time,” said Tom Landwehr, a former DNR commissioner who now leads the Campaign to Save the Boundary Waters, which opposes Twin Metals. “It’s a general practice on these large federal and state projects.”
The response is also insulting to Minnesota scientists and the public, suggesting that they can’t be trusted to interpret data from a nearly completed study. But no one should be fooled by the maneuvering. There’s only one conclusion to draw from the secrecy: Science doesn’t support the project. To their credit, Twin Metals officials told an editorial writer recently that the firm “has never been in possession - nor objected to the release - of information gathered by the U.S. Forest Service.”
The DNR provided a statement saying it has not decided how it will respond to the USDA. But the agency’s next steps should be clear. It sought this data to do its own analysis, and it shouldn’t proceed without it.
Another recent development adds to concerns about the state moving forward. The Trump administration is pursuing alterations to the federal Clean Water Act that would expedite big projects like mines while hobbling state and tribal efforts to study the water quality impact. The changes are disturbingly close to finalization.
The federal secrecy continues to be a serious red flag. The Clean Water Act changes also suggest that the Trump administration is doing everything it can to coddle Twin Metals instead of protecting the BWCA. The only logical response is for the DNR and other state agencies with permitting responsibilities to suspend work on this risky mining project.
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The Free Press of Mankato, May 3
COVID-19: Pandemic could change American culture
Why it matters: The coronavirus has been described as an unprecedented challenge to the American economy and health care system, but it also may change the way Americans live and treat each other.
World War II and 9/11 both changed the way Americans thought about and understood their country. We may be going there again in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
The rush to aid the victims of the pandemic by the health care system, nonprofits, business and, yes, the government, has been nothing short of heroic. Americans and their divided Congress agreed quickly on parting with now up to nearly $3 trillion of their tax money to aid those who lost their job or their business.
And most importantly, all Americans have given up some of their freedoms by adhering to stay-at-home orders so their neighbors might be sheltered from the risk of the deadly virus.
We see today cracks in that armor as protesters, unmasked and unencumbered by medical facts, take to the streets to argue that government is still the problem even when faced with a deadly virus that as of Friday had killed 240,000 of the world’s citizens and 63,000 Americans.
Those COVID deniers, or those who don’t think this is serious, are “100 percent wrong,” said Gov. Tim Walz. We agree.
We hope COVID-19 offers lessons for 2020 and beyond.
We can only hope that more people will cast a skeptical eye on the disinformation infrastructure that has become a cancer on our culture.
We can only hope that where we once saw unemployment payments as a government handout, we will now see them as a hand-up.
We can only hope that where we once gave little attention to those who didn’t have paid family leave as part of their employment, we will now see the lifesaving difference it can make to our loved ones, friends and neighbors.
We can only hope where we once took health care workers, food service workers and others at risk for granted, we will now see them as hard-working people who keep us safe and fed.
We can only hope that we might turn from the idea that “government is the problem” to one that says a government for the people, by the people and of the people, can solve problems.
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St. Cloud Times, May 1
Walz’s plan makes sense, puts all Minnesotans to 2-week test
Agree with him or not, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz deserves credit for matching his actions to what he’s been saying all along about the state coming out its COVID-19 quarantine.
His message: It isn’t going to happen fast, it’s going to be based on science, and it’s going to prioritize saving lives over reviving the economy.
His actions Thursday: Simultaneously extend the stay-at-home order to May 18 but allow a range of retail businesses to at least partially reopen Monday, potentially putting 30,000 more Minnesotans back to work.
The reality is Walz’s go-slow approach - layered the past three weeks with exceptions that now allow more than 80% of Minnesotans to return to their jobs - should be seen for what it is: A reasonable solution that best serves the majority of Minnesotans for two more weeks.
Not surprisingly, Walz’s critics labeled it as not going far enough.
Honestly, though, the governor’s plan goes beyond even President Donald Trump’s requirements for his three-phased “Opening Up America Again” plan, which requires any state to see COVID-19 cases decline for 14 days before moving to reopen. Minnesota’s case and fatality numbers are rising and yet to peak.
Walz, though, cited more testing and increased hospital-bed capacity statewide as factors in Thursday’s moves.
The truth is this approach puts a big test before all Minnesotans for the next two weeks: Will individuals demonstrate the personal responsibility to abide by not just the basic order, but the details behind it?
Will masks become as common as Walz wants them to? Will individuals abide by social distancing? Will they resist the growing urge to gather in groups of more than 10 people? As the weather warms and more people get outside, will they abide by restrictions on playgrounds, sports courts and even boat landings?
As more businesses resume operations, will they provide the necessary equipment and protocols for workers and customers to be protected?
Walz’s Executive Order 20-48 requires non-critical businesses “to develop a written COVID-19 Preparedness Plan for each of their work places.” Each plan must address key health and worker protection components laid out by the state, and they also must comply with CDC and OSHA guidelines.
Businesses also are required to sign their plans, share them with staff and post them throughout the workplace. And employers must do health screenings of employees upon entry each day and keep that data confidential.
Even the governor himself noted the state will not be inspecting nor enforcing its expectations of businesses and consumers. Rather, the state is trusting all Minnesotans to do the right thing.
So, Minnesota, are you up for this two-week test?
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