WASHINGTON – Minnesota's congressional delegation, as well as its tourism and mining communities, split sharply Wednesday over Rep. Betty McCollum's bill to ban mining on more than 234,000 acres of federally owned wilderness near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness along the state's northeastern edge.
At a hearing before a subcommittee of the House Natural Resources Committee, McCollum, a Democrat from St. Paul, argued that the potential threat of water pollution from sulfide-ore copper mining was not worth the risk to one of the country's natural wonders.
Her Republican colleague, Rep. Pete Stauber, whose district includes all of the land and water in question, criticized McCollum for not consulting him in drafting the bill, which he said would kill new high-paying mining jobs needed by his constituents.
"I am passionate about this hearing because this is our backyard," Stauber told witnesses and subcommittee members. "This is not just a playground for a few. This is our home, and we're not leaving."
Stauber and Republican Rep. Tom Emmer of Minnesota got permission to join the subcommittee, even though they are not members, in order to question witnesses. Both challenged the breadth and genesis of McCollum's bill. Emmer called the nature of its drafting "arrogance."
In a statement to the Star Tribune after the hearing, McCollum said, "As federal land that belongs to all Americans, the Superior National Forest and the [Boundary Waters] must be protected for future generations. … Why would I ever consult with Mr. Stauber or Mr. Emmer who are quite well known as champions of the toxic mining industry?"
Witnesses laid out the main issues the bill raises:
First, whether sulfide-ore copper mining is so likely to pollute the Boundary Waters that a general ban should supersede case-by-case reviews of individual requests by mining companies.