PolyMet Draft EIS Available the Week of October 19, 2009
Press Release
Source: PolyMet Mining Corp.
On Monday October 5, 2009, 8:42 am EDT
HOYT LAKES, MINNESOTA--(Marketwire - 10/05/09) - PolyMet Mining Corp. (TSX:POM - News)(AMEX:PLM - News) ("PolyMet" or the "Company") reported the following announcement by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources:
October 2, 2009 - The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) announced today that the state's public comment period for the draft environmental impact statement (draft EIS) for PolyMet Mining's proposed NorthMet project will begin on Nov. 2 when the draft EIS is published in the biweekly Environmental Quality Board Monitor.
The draft EIS will be available on the DNR Web site the week of Oct. 19. DNR staff is concluding an internal review process to ensure that the draft EIS reflects comments from government agencies, and performing internal consistency checks on the document.
PolyMet's proposed nonferrous mining project would be the first copper-nickel mine and processing plant in Minnesota. The project raises potential environmental concerns that are different from those associated with taconite, or ferrous, mining that have added to the complexity of the environmental review process.
The DNR and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) are the lead state and federal agencies charged with drafting the EIS to describe the potential significant environmental impacts of the proposed project.
The DNR will schedule two public information meetings during the public comment period, one in the Hoyt Lakes area and one in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. Following the public comment period, the draft EIS will be revised as needed, including responses to comments in the final EIS. This can take several months to complete.
The USACE will publish its own draft EIS in the Federal Register on the Friday immediately following publication in the Environmental Quality Board Monitor.
The EIS drafting process began in April 2006 following a public scoping period.
Located near Hoyt Lakes in northeastern Minnesota, the NorthMet mine would have an anticipated operating life of 20 years. It would be subject to several state and federal operating permits requiring monitoring and mitigation during operation and after closure.
For more information on the proposed project, go to: dnr.state.mn.us |
