WASHINGTON DC — The U.S. House of Representatives passed a joint resolution Wednesday, Jan. 21, to repeal a 20-year mining ban on Superior National Forest lands near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.
Eighth Congressional District Republican Congressman Pete Stauber, who represents the area, introduced the joint resolution. It nullifies a Public Land Order from 2023 by the Biden administration, which withdrew 225,504 acres of national forest lands from mineral and geothermal leasing.
The Trump administration said Biden failed to notify Congress of the order and itself provided notice earlier this month.
Twin Metals has been trying to mine copper, nickel and cobalt in Superior National Forest for decades. Taconite is mined there, but environmentalists say tailings from metal mining can be dangerous sources of toxic chemicals that would lead to pollution in the Rainy River Watershed, which the protected Boundary Waters is located within.
During the floor debate Wednesday, Stauber described the ban as dangerous and illegal in an area of strategic importance for mining critical minerals. He said the Duluth Complex in Northern Minnesota is the largest untapped resource of copper and nickel in the world.
"This PLO [Public Land Order] sacrificed thousands of good-paying union jobs that would support families for generations, along with billions of dollars of revenue for our schools and state and federal governments, and most importantly, our nation's mineral security," Stauber said.
Democratic Congresswoman Betty McCollum of Minnesota’s 4th District spoke against the measure. She also disagreed that it was illegal, saying Congress was notified at the time of the ban. She presented a letter she said all members of Congress received at the time, and said Republicans failed to bring their disapproval to the House floor.
"Toxic sulfide or copper mining will contaminate the water, the habitat and this priceless wilderness," McCollum said. "The BWCA is a huge reserve of the most pristine water in the United States, so clean you can directly drink from its lakes or streams."
Stauber emphasized the measure doesn’t authorize any mining projects and that mining would not happen within the Boundary Waters area or established buffers — although the area in question is located within the same Rainy River watershed.
The resolution passed 214-208, almost entirely on party lines. It must now be passed by the Senate before it can go to the president’s desk.
Under the Congressional Review Act, Congress has the authority to review and disapprove of federal actions within 60 Senate session days of the action’s submission to Congress. If a joint resolution of disapproval addressing a federal action is passed by both chambers and signed by the president, it is nullified and ceases to have effect.
Also, when a federal action is successfully disapproved of by Congress, the executive branch is prohibited from taking a substantially similar action in the future.
