Duluth council to weigh in on proposed hearings for PolyMet mine

The Duluth City Council is expected to vote on a resolution Monday night calling for hearings on state permits for the proposed PolyMet copper nickel mine.

Council members Gary Anderson, Em Westerlund and Joel Sipress sponsored the non-binding measure, which calls on the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to submit PolyMet's Permit to Mine application to the state Office of Administrative Hearings for an evidentiary hearing, before the agency ultimately decides whether to approve the mine.

The resolution follows a similar call from a Duluth citizens group called "Duluth for Clean Water," which last month also asked for a contested case hearing before an administrative law judge.

"Information gathered at an evidentiary hearing ... including fact-based expert testimony, cross-examination of witnesses, and findings of fact and recommendations ... would allow the DNR to make a fully informed decision regarding a permit to mine based upon evidence and science," the resolution states.

"We're effectively trying to lobby the DNR Commissioner to really hear about our concerns," explained Duluth city councilor Gary Anderson. "We can't direct him to do anything. But we can certainly let him know that we care."

The DNR has said it will not decide whether to order a "pre-decisional contested case hearing" before an administrative law judge until the company first submits its Permit to Mine Application. PolyMet officials say they expect to do that in the coming weeks.

Once it submits its application, the DNR will then review it to make sure it's complete.

During that process, PolyMet Vice President for Environment and Government Affairs Brad Moore says the DNR will likely ask for additional information from the company. That would result in a revised permit application, which would then go out for a nearly two month-long public notice and objection period.

That would be the appropriate time to ask for evidentiary hearings, Moore said.

"There's a set of rules in place, that are orderly, that involve reviewing this application carefully, with much public input," he said. "And we should be allowed to continue those."

Still, "in terms of large industrial projects that by their nature are controversial, an evidentiary hearing is certainly a real possibility," Moore acknowledged.

Duluth City Council member Gary Anderson expects a passionate crowd at the meeting to weigh in on the proposed resolution. He says the reaction has been strong, on both sides.

"I'm hopeful that us having this discussion in Duluth will really encourage people throughout the state of Minnesota that this process isn't over," he said. "There's still opportunity to be heard on this."