Overview
- Gov. Tim Walz issued the executive order Tuesday, directing the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency to stop issuing permits or leases and to halt new environmental reviews for nonferrous mining across roughly 350 square miles of the Rainy River headwaters.
- The action would likely prevent Twin Metals’ long-pursued underground copper-nickel project near Ely from moving forward because state permits and reviews are required even for proposals on federal land.
- The order tells the DNR to prepare legislative language for a permanent ban, but the measure itself is administrative and could be rescinded by a future governor, making legislation or court rulings the key to lasting protection.
- Environmental groups hailed the move as protection for water, wildlife and a nearly $1 billion outdoor recreation economy, while mining supporters, labor and some local officials argued the metals could bring high-paying jobs and supply critical materials for clean-energy technologies.
- The executive order follows Congress’s earlier decision this year to overturn a 20-year federal mineral withdrawal and caps decades of federal and state disputes over mining in the Duluth Complex, signaling more legal and political battles ahead.