ELY, Minnesota (AP) – A Minnesota appeals court has said that a wilderness advocacy group has standing to challenge state rules on copper mine sites.
The Minnesota Court of Appeals ruling on Monday means the trial of northeastern Minnesota residents over the Wilderness can continue. The group filed the action in June 2020, arguing that 29-year-old siting rules should ban copper mining along waters that flow directly into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area wilderness.
The group is concerned that runoff from a copper-nickel mine proposed by Twin Metals Minnesota in the headwaters of the Rainy River could flow into the boundary waters. Twin Metals Minnesota decided to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing that the wilderness group showed no injuries.
Appeal judge Michael kirk on Monday decided that the state’s environmental law gives prominence to it.