Prove it First
Watch our February 20, 2021 Prove it First Forum
Files that will be helpful for taking action to support Prove It First legislation below:
Our caucus has long questioned the safety of copper-sulfide mining in the water rich environments of northern Minnesota. Last year we supported a “Prove it First” resolution. This involves a moratorium on all copper-sulfide mining projects until unbiased scientific review proves that this type of mining can be done safely in this water-rich environment.
Please note that dangerous mining threatens both the Rainy River and the Saint Louis River watersheds, impacting Lake Superior and the BWCAW and Voyageurs National Park as well as the Mississippi River watershed.
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The laws of the land established to protect the Superior National Forest, including the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, the Lake Superior watershed and the entire State of Minnesota, are being weakened and circumvented by legislation, ignored by governmental agencies, and bypassed through land exchanges. Different laws protect different areas, to different degrees and in different ways, there is little consistency. Federal, state, county managed state lands, School Trust and private lands and waters of the US are threatened.
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The history of sulfide mining is one of toxic environmental degradation with no evidence that mining for copper, nickel, and other non-ferrous metals in the water-rich environment of northeast Minnesota can be done without harming our water resources, our health, and the ecology of our land. Habitat is destroyed, and toxins leach from copper mines for literally centuries.
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Exploration and mining, and the separation of land and mineral rights, decreases property values and can result in condemnation or seizure through eminent domain. Mineral rights run differently from surface rights and it is often difficult to know what mineral estate is linked to what surface estate. Mining displaces existing economic development and diminishes the use of the land for other purposes in large part due to leases that last 50 years, binding the land to an industry that primarily benefits large corporations.
Now, a Prove it First Law is being considered in the Minnesota legislature. We urge our members to contact their representatives to support this legislation. The bill in the Senate is SF 59 (current version as introduced). The House bill is HF 148.
Background information on this issue:
Friends of the Boundary Waters hosted a webinar on Prove it First that was fantastic, and will orient you to the current situation:
A fact sheet on Prove it First
From Duluth for Clean Water:
Star Tribune on the 2021 law introduction: Minnesota lawmakers introduce anti-copper mining legislation
Prove It First: Necessary Mining Protections (Sierra Club on Wisconsin’s Prove it First law).
Star Tribune: We need a ‘Prove It First’ law for mining in Minnesota
Comments from Friends of the Boundary Waters: Commonsense protection for the boundary waters and Lake Superior
Additional websites for more information:
National Geographic : threat to the St. Louis River https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/150407-st-louis-river-endangered-conservation-photos
Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy
Friends of the Boundary Waters
Polymet circumvents the Weeks Act
Prove It First Press Conference Highlights
The Prove It First Coalition:
Coalition: Minnesota Environmental Partnership (MEP), Sierra Club NorthStar Chapter, Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy (MCEA), Honor the Earth, WaterLegacy, EarthWorks, DFL Environmental Caucus, League of Women Voters Minnesota, Duluth for Clean Water, Friends of the Cloquet Valley State Forest, Wilderness Watch, MNSTOP, North American Water Office, Environment Minnesota, Land Stewardship Project, Save Lake Superior Association, Save Our Sky Blue Waters, Hungry Jack Outfitters, Malach Consulting, Cafe Imports, Duluth Coffee Company, Vikre Distillery, Sawbill Outfitters, Voyageurs Conservancy.
Legislative Supporters: Sen. Jen McEwen, Sen. Scott Dibble, Sen. Chris Eaton, Sen. Steve Cwodzinski, Sen. Patricia Torres-Ray, Sen. Ann Johnson Stewart, Sen. John Marty, Sen. Lindsey Port, Sen. Omar Fateh, Sen. Jerry Newton, Sen. Mary Kunesh, Sen. Jim Carlson, Sen. Greg Clausen, Sen. Sandy Pappas, Rep. Jim Davnie, Rep. Kelly Morrison, Rep. Alice Hausman, Rep. Steve Sandell, Rep. Jamie Becker-Finn, Rep. Heather Edelson, Rep. Jamie Long, Rep. Sydney Jordan, Rep. Frank Hornstein, Rep. Esther Agbaje, Rep. Laurie Pryor, Rep. Liz Reyer, Rep. Kelly Moller, Rep. Aisha Gomez, Rep. Heather Keeler.