On September 3rd we attended a public hearing about draft permits for U.S. Steel - Keetac, a taconite min on Minnesota’s Iron Range.
For decades, Keetac and other taconite mines in the region have been dumping high sulfide wastewater into rivers, lakes, and groundwater. in
These permits — if approved and enforced — would limit pollution discharged into our waterways, and would force compliance with standards created to protect manoomin or wild rice.
At this hearing mining industry representatives spoke about Hay Lake — a water body directly downstream from the current Keetac waste pit. They claimed that the wild rice in Hay Lake was abundant, healthy, and ‘growing like crazy’ — and therefore, a limit on sulfate discharge was not needed.
One spokesperson — Minnesota Representative Spencer Igo (R, 7A) — implored the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), journalists, and other visitors to the region to take a look around, so we did that.
Here Are Some of Our Photos
* These photos are available to community for use in advocacy efforts — if attribution is necessary, Please Wildflower Group (wldflwrgrp.org)