Open for comment · closes November 27
Stop NorthMet Mine from filling Minnesota wetlands and waterways
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers · St. Louis County, Minnesota waterways, waters of the United States in northeastern Minnesota
- What
- The Army Corps is reopening review of a copper-nickel mine that would affect waters of the United States in northeastern Minnesota.
- Where
- St. Louis County, Minnesota waterways, waters of the United States in northeastern Minnesota, MN
- How much
- Wetlands and waterways in St. Louis County, Minnesota face potential dredge-and-fill impacts from the proposed NorthMet copper-nickel mine.
- By when
- Comments to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers by November 27, 2026.Date from Army Corps public notice (Regulatory Request System) ↗, read October 27, 2026.
What to ask forAll 4 points →
The SEIS scoping process must fully examine all alternatives to avoid and minimize impacts to waters of the United States in northeastern Minnesota, not just the proposed dredge-and-fill approach.
Where these four lines come from
- WhatOur plain-English read of the Army Corps public notice ↗. Check it against the agency’s own words under Case.
- WhereThe places and states the notice names, as PLAN read them.
- How muchThe first sentence of our What’s at risk read of the notice; the whole read is under Case.
- By whenNovember 27, 2026, from Army Corps public notice (Regulatory Request System), its comment end date ↗. Read October 27, 2026.
- Read from PLAN’s record October 28, 2026.
Two ways to be heard on this, and both count. Comment for the legal record, then call the members who answer to you.
There’s no public docket to check this letter against yet
4 holes in the agency’s own analysis
Make these points, in your own words
- The SEIS scoping process must fully examine all alternatives to avoid and minimize impacts to waters of the United States in northeastern Minnesota, not just the proposed dredge-and-fill approach.
- The NorthMet Mine Project in St. Louis County threatens wetlands and navigable waters that deserve rigorous supplemental review before any permits are granted.
- I urge the Army Corps of Engineers to use this SEIS to identify the full range of mitigation measures needed to protect Minnesota waterways from mining impacts.
- The scoping process for this supplemental environmental impact statement should address water quality risks to all affected waters of the United States in the project area.
Say something only you can say. The law requires the agency to consider and respond to substantive comments, and specifics are what make a comment substantive.
PLAN's read: critical threat
The Army Corps is reopening review of a copper-nickel mine that would affect waters of the United States in northeastern Minnesota.
What’s at risk
If this goes through
Our plain-English read of the official notice ↗. Check it against the agency’s own words below.
In the agency’s own words
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, is announcing its Notice of Intent to prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for the proposed NorthMet Mine Project in St. Louis County, Minnesota. The notice of intent begins a formal scoping process on the preparation of the supplemental environmental impact statement. Comments will help identify and refine the range of issues, information needs, alternatives to avoid and minimize impacts to waters of the United States and potential mitigation measures to be addressed.
The groups on this fight
4 groups predicted likely to care in Minnesota
Predicted likely to care is a guess from the group's sourced work in Minnesota, with no link to this decision. Give straight to them; nothing routes through us.
- Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness
Predicted likely to care · a guess
Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, Minnesota: Fights the copper-sulfide mines proposed at the wilderness edge, and says it was instrumental in passing the 1978 law that made the Boundary Waters what it is today.
- Save the Boundary Waters
Predicted likely to care · a guess
Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, Minnesota: The campaign built to stop sulfide-ore copper mining on the wilderness edge.
- Superior Hiking Trail Association
Predicted likely to care · a guess
Works Minnesota: They work only in Minnesota.
- The Wilderness Society
Predicted likely to care · a guess
Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, Minnesota: Plaintiff in the federal litigation over the Twin Metals mine leases.
Every group above is on STAND for Public Lands, with its court record, its filings and who backs it.
Who signs it
The notice names no signer PLAN could read. PLAN names a decision-maker only when the document names one.
The ground
This fight isn’t bound to a map place in PLAN’s record yet. The notice names St. Louis County, Minnesota waterways, waters of the United States in northeastern Minnesota (MN); none is a unit on the threatened lands map, so there’s no place page to open or watch.
The photograph on this page: Moose in a summer wildflower meadow. It’s the country this decision sits in, not the site itself. More Than Just Parks.
Who holds the vote
PLAN’s record doesn’t tie a member of Congress to this fight yet. The scorecard grades the votes and bills that decide public lands; nothing joins a vote or a bill to this decision, so there’s no member to name here without guessing.
See how your members vote ↗Calling your two senators and your representative is the Call door on this page.
Army CorpsWe track this on the agency’s own system of record, where most on-the-ground decisions live.
On the record for this fight
1 person told us they filed on this fight through PLAN; we haven’t found that letter on the agency’s record yet.
- 1 steward
Ranked on letters found on the agency’s record, then letters filed. Readers appear as first name and last initial, or as a steward in their state; switch yours off in your record. All boards
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