Tonight Brianna, Andrew, and I attended the public hearing down in Blaine about the opening of the precious metal mine, Polymet. It was held at the Schwann Center, consisting of an open house that ran from five to seven, and a presentation beginning shortly thereafter. Among those to speak were the DNR, Sen. Tomassoni, Sen. Bakk, and Rep. Rukavina. The open house had various booths including mine waste management, water, air, mercury, wildlife, socioeconomic impact, and a whole assortment of other topics; each of them having an expert in those areas to explain the concerns and give a plan to the next proposed course of action. The presentation discussed the first draft of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). There were two main topics involved in it, what Polymet projects to do in the project to handle environmental issues, and other alternative options that need to be considered, which were provided by the DNR. The place was packed, causing many people to have to stand. Powerful speeches from the two Senators and Representative, subdued the protest to a minimum level. The hearing overall went very well for Polymet and the Iron Range supporters from up North. There are some alternatives that still need to be examined and studied before the project is given the green light, but is now one more step closer to becoming a reality.
Proofed by: Brianna
No comments:
Post a Comment