NEW PUBLICATION REGARDING MERCURY, MINING AND THE CLEAN WATER ACT In May 2010 the William Mitchell Law Review published an article by Paula Maccabee on mercury, mining and the Clean Water Act focusing on the proposed PolyMet Project and the legal constraints that should apply to prevent mercury contamination and mercury methylation. Maccabee 2010 - William Mitchell - Mercury & Mining

NEW INFORMATION ON CRITICAL ISSUES! Electromagnetic Fields (EMF) and Power Lines. New testimony on the health risks of EMF was filed by Just Change Law on behalf of private intervenors on November 9, 2009 in the CapX2020 Brookings power line case. See the Direct Testimony and Schedules of David O. Carpenter, MD. TESTIMONY EMF/HEALTH IMPACTS

Paula Maccabee's current work on behalf of clients includes representation of citizens and community-based groups in certificate of need cases for energy facilities, in power line routing proceedings and in administrative and environmental review to protect Minnesota waters and the communities that rely on them from hazards caused by strip mining.

• Citizens Energy Task Force (”CETF”) sought and obtained conditions on the CapX2020 Brookings power line requiring that the power line be used to support new wind energy, as the utilities had promised.
  
  CETF also argued that the utilities did not demonstrate that the CapX2020 power lines are needed. Demand for electricity does not support the need for the power lines, and the La Crosse Project, in particular, conflicts with laws requiring the protection of national wildlife refuge areas where there are alternatives that would not harm these protected environmental resources.
  
  CETF has appealed the decision of the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission approving the CapX2020 power lines to the Minnesota Court of Appeals. CETFAppealsBrief/MinnCourtofAppeals, CETFReplyBrief/CourtofAppeals
• WaterLegacy, a non-profit formed to protect Minnesota's water resources and the communities that rely on them, is challenging the PolyMet copper sulfide strip mine proposed to be located on 6,700 acres of Minnesota's Superior National Forest in environmental review and administrative processes. The PolyMet project poses risks of acid mine drainage, potentially perpetual water pollution, increased mercury in fish (resulting in brain damage to children and the fetus), destruction of Indian tribal rights and resources, including wild rice, and potential catastrophic failure of waste rock piles and tailings piles. On behalf of WaterLegacy, Paula Maccabee, has challenged the project and sought protection against its environmental impacts, with the following:
  • Paula Maccabee & Tribal Staff Opinion Piece on PolyMet Project Commentary Summarizes U.S. EPA Rating of PolyMet Draft EIS as inadequate and PolyMet project as environmentally unsatisfactory.
  • Draft EIS Comments Submitted on behalf of WaterLegacy In February 2010 WaterLegacy submitted extensive comments on the PolyMet EIS challenging the adequacy of environmental review and asserting that the proposed project posed an unreasonable risk of harm to the environment. WaterLegacy DRAFT EIS COMMENTS
  • Comment Letter on Preliminary Environmental Review (December 2008) WaterLegacyCommentPolyMet(preliminary EnvironmentalImpactStatement.pdf
  • Request that Army Corps of Engineers Issue New Notice for Clean Water Act. ltrArmyCorps:CleanWaterActNotice.pdf
  • Letter Requesting at Least 120 Days for Public Comment ltrPolyMetPublicCommentPeriod.pdf
  • Environmental Justice Fact Sheet
  • Report on Land Exchange and Environmental Review

  “Paula never rests. An outstanding job on this project.”

  — Peter Ginder, Minneapolis Deputy City Attorney (Advocacy to require transit and environmental improvements for the I-35W highway project)
  • Report on Land Exchange and Environmental Review (with B. Seifert)
• Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant Study Group (”PINGP Study Group”) has opposed certificates of need to increase nuclear waste storage at the Prairie Island Nuclear Plant and additional reliance on nuclear power, particularly given the risks that nuclear waste would be stranded indefinitely on the Mississippi River floodplain. The PINGP Study Group is also seeking state-of-the art monitoring of radioactive emissions and impacts of waste heat on the Mississippi River environment. The Advisory Brief of the PINGP Study Group, along with Expert Letters documenting the need for improved monitoring are attached here. PINGP ADVISORY BRIEF.pdf, PINGPExpertLetters:AttachmentstoBrief.pdf
• Midtown Greenway Coalition is challenging Xcel Energy's proposal to place a 115 kV high voltage power line overhead on the Midtown Greenway bikeway and pedestrian trail in South Minneapolis. The Coalition is focusing on impacts of an overhead high voltage line on the public purpose of the Greenway, on the neighborhoods adjacent to the Greenway and on land use and environmental priorities of the neighborhoods, City and County. The Greenway is also seeking an examination of distributed generation, smart grids and conservation to reduce the need for high voltage transmission expansion in South Minneapolis.
• Private Landowners Living on the CapX2020 Brookings 345 kV Power Line are challenging the CApX2020 utilities' selection of a route in the Hampton, Minnesota area that increases adverse impacts on human beings and on the environment. The alternative proposed, with Paula Maccabee's assistance, would impact fewer homes, places of worship, wetlands, stream crossings and areas of outstanding biological diversity significance.

Individuals, small businesses, grassroots groups and non-profit organizations come to Paula Maccabee for help:

• Litigating in administrative hearings and in Minnesota courts to protect the interests of clients and the public interest of communities;
• Changing and drafting local ordinances, state statutes and rules to protect the environment, encourage organic farming and renewable energy and protect human rights and social justice;
• Representing small businesses and community groups in government hearings and permitting processes to achieve land use and development objectives;
• Identifying and implementing policy priorities to protect health, environment and social justice;
• Developing strategic campaigns involving grassroots citizen activism, sophisticated legal advocacy and communications strategies to achieve real and significant results.