Keep Sulfuric Acid Out of Minnesota's Waters

I'm writing today to address a troubling prospect for our state: sulfuric acid contamination from mining companies prospecting for copper, nickel and other metals. So-called "acid mine drainage" from these operations has already polluted more than 12,000 miles of rivers and streams in the United States, and more than 180,000 acres of lakes and impoundments. These kinds of dangerous operations should have no place in Minnesota.

"Sulfide mining," as it’s called, has produced some of the largest and most polluted Superfund sites in the country. No mining company can point to a single sulfide mining operation more than a few years old that has not led to contamination, and newer operations can't be considered because this drainage takes at least a few years to develop.

Drainage from these mines would flow to the Boundary Waters or south toward Lake Superior. It could contaminate drinking water, harm native wildlife and hurt some of the purest recreational waters we have.

Wisconsin has already passed a "prove it first" law, insisting that a similar type of mine must be shown to operate safely elsewhere before it can be approved for that state. We already know “sulfide mining” is hazardous in other places, and we shouldn’t allow it in Minnesota.

Thank you,