HIBBING — The state Court of Appeals has ordered the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to reconsider an application from Hibbing Taconite after ruling the agency acted outside its statutory authority.
The appeals court ordered the DNR to reconsider a wetland replacement plan application from the mining company. Hibbing Taconite challenged the agency in court after it placed a condition on the application’s approval.
During a construction project, a third-party contractor unintentionally damaged a wetland that was not included in the wetland permit for that project, according to the Court of Appeals opinion.
Hibbing Taconite notified the DNR of the damage and submitted a wetland restoration plan, which the DNR approved.
The company later notified the DNR that it was "impracticable to continue trying to restore" the wetland. It tried to amend its plan to instead use surplus wetland credits to offset the impacts.
The DNR approved the plan amendment but conditioned the approval on the company amending its permit to mine, which was issued decades ago and amended several times since.
The appeals court ruled the Minnesota Legislature did not give the DNR the authority to condition its approval as it did.
"The DNR certainly has the authority to commence a process to endeavor to achieve its end goal — make changes to a permit to mine — but the DNR does not have the express or implied authority to force a party to affirmatively request those changes that the agency wants made," the opinion stated.
The court told the agency to reconsider Hibbing Taconite’s application to amend the wetland replacement plan without the condition. The decision was a precedential opinion, meaning it will be considered and used by courts faced with similar issues in the future.
The agency has the option to appeal the decision to the Minnesota Supreme Court.