Author Archives: Paula Maccabee
MPCA Needs to Enforce Mercury and Water Quality Standards
Mining company representatives and state officials insist that sulfide mining can be done safely in Minnesota due to the toughness of Minnesota standards for sulfates (acid mine drainage), toxic mercury and other pollutants. But, what if the Minnesota Pollution Control … Continue reading
Weakening Environmental Review – A Bad Idea Gone Worse
Yesterday, Governor Mark Dayton signed a one-sided piece of legislation to weaken environmental oversight developed by industry lobbyists without even a pretense of debate on its key provisions. Major policy changes in this bill, such as allowing project proponents to … Continue reading
PolyMet Mine – Spotlight Shed on Risks
For the past six weeks, WaterLegacy has been investigating the financial capacity of the PolyMet corporation, the company proposing Minnesota’s first sulfide mine, and track record of its significant financial backer, Glencore International AG (Glencore). We learned that PolyMet openly … Continue reading
Same Old Revolving Door for Industry Lobbying
Surprise. Brad Moore, the former commissioner of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) has been officially hired as a lobbyist for the PolyMet Mining Company. Between his stint at the MPCA and his current sinecure, Moore worked in a governmental … Continue reading
Legal Fight for Wild Rice Water Quality Standard
Just before the December Holidays (nice timing) the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce filed a lawsuit in Ramsey County attempting to block the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s enforcement of Minnesota’s water quality standard limiting sulfate discharge in wild rice waters (“Wild … Continue reading
One of Minnesota Lawyer’s “Attorneys of the Year for 2010″
Paula Maccabee thanks Minnesota Lawyer for the honor of being selected as one of the ”Attorneys of the Year for 2010.” The nomination was based on public interest work in environmental law and energy law. wholesale viagra cheap Thanks to the … Continue reading
What’s Up with the Wild Rice Standard?
Don’t take your eyes off the deck of cards while they’re shuffling. Protection of natural wild rice from sulfate pollution faces ongoing uncertainty and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency needs more backbone. A broad coalition of tribal and non-Native ricers … Continue reading
Telling the U.S. Forest Service Don’t Trade our Land Away
Yesterday was the official deadline (although comments after November 29 will still be considered) for comments on the scope of analysis that the U.S. Forest Service must complete before trading away 6,650 acres of Superior National Forest land in order … Continue reading
Victory – Manganese Health Standard Preserved!
Just last week, we called for action to preserve Minnesota’s standard preventing excessive amounts of manganese in groundwater. The Minnesota Department of Health had announced that they were planning to repeal a rule limiting manganese in drinking water. Excessive manganese … Continue reading
Will Minnesota Lose Protection from Manganese Pollution in Drinking Water?
This may be hard to understand, but just as the pressure builds to permit sulfide mining and processing, the Minnesota Health Department is proposing to repeal the Health Risk Limits that protect Minnesota drinking water from overly high levels of … Continue reading