Appeals court holds hearing on Essar Steel case

Steel plant site
Visitors view a diagram of the site of the new Essar Steel plant in Sept. 2008, which which is proposed to be built in Nashwauk, Minn.
MPR Photo/Bob Kelleher

The Minnesota Court of Appeals is set to hear arguments on whether an environmental study for a steel plant in northern Minnesota was thorough enough.

The Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy challenged the environmental impact statement that the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources prepared for the project near Nashwauk.

The group says the study was flawed because it didn't look seriously at how the plant could contribute to global warming.

A judge in Itasca County ruled in October that the DNR met the state's rules for environmental impact studies. The environmental group appealed.

The Minnesota Court of Appeals on Thursday will hear arguments from attorneys for the state and from the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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