Mesabi Daily: U.S. HOUSE PASSES POLYMET LAND EXCHANGE BILL

Over the Thanksgiving recess last week, Congressman Rick Nolan received a bit of news. On the first day Congress would return to session, his bill authorizing the PolyMet land exchange into federal law would be in front of the U.S. House on the consent agenda.

Instead of a simple majority, it would need a two-thirds vote, and Nolan and his staff were short a hard head count on supporters. Being a holiday break, few members were around to take an accurate pulse of the House.

As the PolyMet project always seem to go — nothing comes easy.

“It did create some anxiety,” Nolan said Tuesday in a phone interview from Washington. The land exchange bill had passed the House, 309-99, earlier in the night. The congressman added there were about a dozen more votes hanging around the halls — if he needed them.

“We had people nervous enough to say we should withdraw the bill … I said it was too important, and it proved to be the right decision.”

Passage of the bill in House marks a major milestone for the PolyMet project, which needs the land exchange to allow the Army Corps. of Engineers to weigh in on the project, effectively ending the federal hurdles for the long-awaited open pit copper-nickel mine near Hoyt Lakes.

The land exchange, which was approved by the Obama administration, swaps more than 6,5000 acres with PolyMet and provides the federal government with more wetlands, public access lands, lakeshore and more. It does not approve the PolyMet project, Nolan stressed on the House floor Tuesday, but it does clear the way for the project in one respect, after more than 10 years of environmental review.

“It’s very exciting,” Nolan said “It’s going to put a lot of people back to work in the mines. The success of this long, drawn-out PolyMet process is being watched by a lot of people around the country and around the world.”

The bill needs a companion in the U.S. Senate to advance, and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., has volunteered to carry the bill in the upper chamber, Nolan said. Klobuchar and Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., were early supporters of the land exchange bill, citing that the agencies had already signed off on it.

“We couldn’t have a better champion over there in Senate,” Nolan said of Klobuchar. “If anyone in the Senate can get it done, it’s her.”

He went on to describe the last few days in Washington as an all-out blitz, with local advocates contacting members and fellow Congressmen Tim Walz, D-Minn. and Tom Emmer, R-Minn., doing their part. Dave Lislegard, Nancy Norr and Kyle Makarios with Jobs for Minnesotans and Frank Ongaro of Mining Minnesota flew to Washington on Monday to speak with House members.

“This is a big win for the Range,” Lislegard said by phone Tuesday. “Business, labor and communities were out here advocating hand in hand with Congressman Nolan. This a big first step.”

The bill was heard Tuesday afternoon on the consent agenda, where a roll call vote was requested and approved for later in the night.

Congresswoman Betty McCollum, D-Minn., spoke in opposition of the bill during its introduction. She said the bill undermines four lawsuits that challenge the land exchange based on environmental and monetary return to the taxpayers. She also said it would have a direct impact on the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, which are downstream from the PolyMet site.

Nolan’s Democratic primary opponent, Leah Phifer, echoed the due process arguments in a statement Tuesday.

“This amendment sets a dangerous precedent of upholding agency decisions only when it benefits particular projects championed by individual Congress members,” Phifer said. “Minnesota has a complex, layered process of permitting and protections designed to safeguard the public, the economy, and the environment. When legislators intervene to support individual projects, providing conflicting reasoning for their actions, it erodes public trust in this process.”

Walz, a Democratic candidate for governor, said it was the responsibility of Congress to “honor the process” in place and approved by the Obama administration.

“Our can-do spirit of innovation and ability to reject false choices are hallmarks of who we are as Minnesotans,” he said. “We know that we can help each other achieve economic security for our families and be good stewards of our state at the same time, which is why we must follow the science and require a robust, credible environmental review process.”

PolyMet CEO Jon Cherry also praised its passage.

“We are grateful to Rep. Nolan, the bill’s co-sponsors, and House leadership for their efforts to move this legislation forward,” Cherry said. “While neither the legislative nor the administrative exchange would permit or approve construction of the mine, Congressional approval for the exchange provides certainty of process in developing the project by finalizing the land transfer.”