From PennEnvironment (http://www.pennenvironment.org):
America’s most visited wilderness area is in terrible danger. Copper mining companies hope to start mining on the doorstep of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. And now the government has cancelled an environmental study, which frees up mining companies to rush forward with their mining plans in this special place.1
The pollution that comes with mining would do irreparable damage to the Boundary Waters. Its interconnected waters would make any pollution that enters nearly impossible to contain or clean up.
We need to tell the Secretary of Agriculture to order the completion of the environmental assessment at https://pennenvironment.webaction.org/p/dia/action4/common/public/?action_KEY=29645.
The particular kind of mining being planned — sulfide-ore copper mining — poses unacceptable risks to the Boundary Waters ecosystem.
When sulfide-bearing ore is exposed to air and water, compounds like sulfuric acid are created — and could spill into the pristine Boundary Waters. Not only that, forest will be cleared to make way for waste piles, roads, tailing ponds and other infrastructure necessary for the mining process. As operations begin, light, noise and dust will disturb vulnerable wildlife.2
Join us in speaking up for the beautiful Boundary Waters today.
The now-cancelled environmental assessment was the biggest thing keeping mining companies from moving forward with their plans. A decision to mine near one of America’s most pristine wildernesses is unneeded and wrong, and it absolutely should not be made lightly. Thus, the environmental assessment must be allowed to be completed.
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Sam Brodey, “What the Trump administration’s latest decision means for the future of mining near the Boundary Waters,” MinnPost, September 19, 2018.
- “Sulfide-Ore Copper Mining Creates Unacceptable Risks to the Boundary Waters,” Save the Boundary Waters, retrieved online July 12, 2018.
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