Policy Blog

A good friend of mine is always quick to say, “I will do some research on the internet.” I always cringe when I hear it. One does not do research on the Internet. One looks up information – in a variety of different formats – on the Internet. Research is done in laboratories, classrooms and in places like the Natural Resources and Research Institute. Research is not posted on the Internet. When we do “research on the internet,” we cheapen the value of real information.

Nowhere is this more evident than in politics and policy. Having been through one of the most grueling senatorial campaigns in recent memory, it is easy to see how we bastardize information in politics. However, it is done every day in the making of public policy as well. One only has to look at the recently introduced House File: 916, and Senate File: 845.

This bill, if it becomes law, will circumvent the normal environmental permitting process for mines. Essentially, the bill calls for additional legislation and regulation over and above the existing strict and stringent State of Minnesota regulations. There is no evidence or moral crisis that supports the need for additional legislation. Contrary to whatever propaganda one might read on the Internet, companies – out of sheer necessity in a society where reputations can be sullied rather quickly – want to do the right thing. Moreover, state regulatory agencies already have the statutory authority and rules to demand financial responsibility and to assure air and water quality in the sighting of any new mine.

More directly, House File: 916 and Senate File: 845 are thinly disguised proposals to kill non-ferrous mining in Minnesota. More specifically House File: 916 and Senate File: 845 are targeted at the proposed PolyMet project at the former LTV site near Hoyt Lakes. According to one recent accounting the “$602 million project is estimated to produce 400 permanent good-paying jobs; at least 500 spin-off jobs; 1.5 million man hours of construction work; $40 million in annual payroll; $17 million each year in local and state taxes.” One has to ask, then, why would anyone - especially a state legislator – in times of fiscal desperation, want to kill such a project?

I can only surmise that some State Senators and Representative have picked up some bad information on the Internet, or are listening to those who do.

You can help. Send the following Senators and Representatives an email and tell them to drop their support for House File: 916 and its companion Senate File: 845. Tell them that it will hurt not only Northeastern Minnesota but that all of Minnesota will feel the pinch through fewer jobs and tax collections. And, when that happens, we’ll all feel it; nobody will have to read about it the Internet.

Send a mass email to the following:
sen.satveer.chaudhary@senate.mn
sen.dan.skogen@senate.mn
sen.pat.pariseau@senate.mn
sen.scott.dibble@senate.mn
sen.steve.dille@senate.mn
rep.kent.eken@house.mn
rep.paul.gardner@house.mn
rep.denny.mcnamara@house.mn
rep.paul.anderson@house.mn
rep.karla.bigham@house.mn
rep.tony.cornish@house.mn
rep.david.dill@house.mn
rep.andrew.falk@house.mn
rep.steve.drazkowski@house.mn
rep.alice.hausman@house.mn
rep.tom.hackbarth@house.mn
rep.rick.hansen@house.mn
sen.tom.saxhaug@senate.mn
sen.dennis.frederickson@senate.mn
sen.satveer.chaudhary@senate.mn
sen.steve.dille@senate.mn
sen.gary.kubly@senate.mn
sen.pat.pariseau@senate.mn
sen.patricia.torres.ray@senate.mn
Rep.roger.reinert@house.mn
Rep.mary.murphy@house.mn
Rep.tom.huntley@house.mn
Rep.david.dill@house.mn
Rep.tom.rukavina@house.mn