Iron Range Delegation and Clown College; Official Court Jesters for Mining companies

The Iron Range delegation has introduced bills limiting Minnesoa Pollution Control Agency authority on Wild Rice WATERS. Rep. Jason Metsa is introducing a bill, HF 853 he claims orders the MPCA to “designate Wild Rice waters across the state” to allow “ industry and local governments to plan their treatment facilities“. Along with Carly Melin, Tom Anzelc and the Republican Representative of the Aitkin area which contains mining leases. Senators Bakk and Tommasoni have introduced Senate bill SF868.

Both bills actually prevent the MPCA from “applying the standard for wild rice waters” or list wild rice waters for "impairment by sulfates under the Federal Clean Water Act. The public complaint is the MPCA sulfate standard has been “unevenly enforced”. In reality, they are preventing the agency from regulating at all and specifically from enforcement on Minntac.  

For over a decade, Minntac has been forced by Federal regulators to treat its tailings pond leakage into the Sand River at the east side of the tailings basin, an area formerly known before as 'Twin Lakes”. Little Sandy Lake was known in the past for up to 89 acres of wild rice (Location here: 47.616658, -92.609201). MPCA staff recommended that the Sulfate standard be applied to Little Sandy Lake in a draft statement of July 25, 2013.

So, our legislators are now publicly paid lobbyists for the mining industry and specifically United States Steel and Minntac. They are collaborating with a large Mining corporation in polluting our water and destroying wild rice, a resource used  by natives and white's and is a violation of treaty rights.  

For these officials to claim the DFL mantle while acting as frontmen for polluters and the extraction industry is as duplicitous as can be. This is not the first time they have collaborated with Republicans to reduce protections or sold out the public.  They do have a party membership: "The me, mine and my corporate sponsors party".

MPCA Draft recommendation link: http://bit.ly/1CFiYvV

Minntac tailings basin original EIS: http://bit.ly/1MuzMxL

Minntac Final Wild Rice EIS: http://bit.ly/1ySKwvB