By Sophia Patane, MNWWN Board Member and Community Engagement Coordinator at WaterLegacy
From lakes and ponds to rivers, streams, and aquifers, water saturates our lives as Minnesotans. The quality of our water has a fundamental impact on our quality of life—and the quality of life that we observe in our woodlands.
Science shows that woodlands and water have a mutually beneficial partnership. Trees help prevent erosion and filter excess nutrients before they can flow into water bodies. In turn, clean water benefits the health of every living thing in the surrounding ecosystem.
(Caption/Credit: Northern Minnesota wetland and forest site proposed for PolyMet sulfide mine. Photo by Ron Levine.)
It’s not possible to put a price on the value of clean water. But it is all too easy to squander this priceless resource for the sake of profit. In 2009, WaterLegacy was founded by concerned Minnesotans to respond to the increasing threat of copper-nickel sulfide mining in Minnesota. With a 100% track record of failure to protect water quality in water-rich environments, the sulfide-ore mining process proposed by PolyMet and Twin Metals and, recently, by Talon Metals has raised alarm and mobilized a diverse community to take action to prevent industrial pollution.
Sulfide-ore mining is a threat to the health and wellbeing of communities in these watersheds, risking contamination of water, poisoning of natural resources and food, harm to wildlife, and the destruction of sustainable livelihoods. This type of mining risks permanent damage to the health of the Lake Superior, St. Louis River, and Mississippi River watersheds in exchange for a few short years of profit.
Science shows that forests and wetlands in some of the most precious ecosystems of the state are at risk due to PolyMet’s proposed mine plan. The entire mine site has been characterized by the Minnesota Biological Survey has various sites of high biodiversity significance because it contains very good quality occurrences of the rarest species, high-quality examples of rare native plant communities, and/or important functional landscapes. Over 900 acres of wetlands would be directly destroyed if the project becomes a reality, and two-thirds of those acres are peatlands. Thousands of additional wetland acres would be impaired by pollution and mine drawdown. These ancient, living peatlands sequester carbon from the atmosphere and tuck it away for long-term storage. In fact, peatlands are the largest natural terrestrial carbon storage. They store more carbon than all the other vegetation types in the world combined. PolyMet’s destruction of peatlands on their site would release over 285,000 tons of carbon back into the atmosphere and prevent any future sequestration in this ecosystem. This would create a legacy of carbon loss and contribute to a huge step backwards in the fight against climate change.
(Caption/Credit: Wetland wonders on the site proposed for the PolyMet sulfide mine. Photo by Robin Heil.)
Forested lands are also a central feature of the landscape that PolyMet is putting at risk. The proposed mine site includes areas with imperiled/vulnerable and vulnerable native plant communities (communities that have ecological value, are rare in a given area, and/or could be totally destroyed), including black spruce-jack pine woodlands and rich black spruce swamp. The mix of conifers and hardwoods that define the iconic forests of northeastern Minnesota and the Superior National Forest are able to thrive because of their connection to the region’s abundance of water. PolyMet’s open pit mine would be located on more than 6,600 acres of former Superior National Forest lands—lands originally intended for protection in the public interest but exchanged by the U.S. Forest Service for PolyMet’s private gains. And trees can’t thrive if the water is polluted by acid mine drainage.
When sulfur-bearing ore is exposed to air and water, sulfuric acid forms, resulting in acid mine drainage and leaching toxic metals like arsenic and lead that can permanently contaminate water. Sulfate released to the water by copper-nickel mining increases production of methylmercury, which bioaccumulates (becomes concentrated inside the bodies of living things) in the food chain, and contaminates fish. Methylmercury exposure is bad for humans, too—it damages the developing brains of fetuses, infants, and children.
(Caption/Credit: Acid mine drainage in a northern Minnesota stream. Photo by Greg Seitz.)
These threats loom large for our lands, waters, and lives. But we’ve seen firsthand how a few dedicated individuals who love their land can have a big impact and make waves. Caring for the land starts within the community, and WaterLegacy is honored to partner with community members, Tribal partners, and coalitions to support their efforts to protect their lands and waters.
(Caption/Credit: Paddling the beautiful St. Louis River. Photo by Robin Heil.)
And it is working. In January, the Minnesota Court of Appeals reversed PolyMet’s water pollution permit and sent it back to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. Two days later, the U.S. Department of the Interior canceled Twin Metals’ mineral leases. Last month, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources informed Twin Metals that their mine plan will no longer be considered by the State of Minnesota. Progress is being made to protect Minnesota’s waters, but there is so much more to be done.
Just as waters and trees rely on each other, we have to rely on one another and our connection to the land to protect it for future generations. Whether you live in an urban or rural area, whether you have woodlands of your own or a few beloved trees in your yard—you understand the collective role we play in looking after the health of the living beings and ecosystems around us. If you would like to learn more about ways to protect water in your area, please check out our website at www.waterlegacy.org or send me a line at sophia@waterlegacy.org