St. Paul – Representative Rob Ecklund (DFL-International Falls), Representative Jason Metsa (DFL-Virginia), and Senator David Tomassoni (DFL- Chisholm) from the DFL Iron Range Delegation released the following joint statement on the federal government’s anti-mining and anti-jobs announcement:
“We, as Iron Range legislators, strongly object to today’s Washington overreach to kill a $2.8 billion project on the Iron Range. Just when the Iron Range has started to pick itself up, we get another blow. Two federal agencies drastically overstepped their bounds today by using a back-door tactic to destroy the promise of thousands of potential good-paying jobs in our region. We encourage these agencies to reverse course and renew the two Twin Metals leases.”
“The DFL Iron Range Delegation has always advocated for science to dictate how and whether any mining project should proceed. This blatant federal obstruction prevents the engineers and scientists from answering even basic questions about the Twin Metals project—shameful. We will work closely with Congressman Rick Nolan and anyone else willing to ensure all mining projects are assessed by the proper and vigorous review process that is in law.”
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