SUBMIT A COMMENT TO THE MPCA
Make your voice heard by submitting a public comment to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA). Deadline: October 12, 2026
How to Comment:
- Open the MPCA Minntac public comment form
- Copy this subject line:
Comment on draft NPDES/SDS permit MN0057207 for the U. S. Steel Minntac Tailings Basin - Copy and paste the draft letter below. Add a few sentences about your connection to mining or local waters—for example, your family’s livelihood, work your business provides, or a community impact you have experienced. Explain why it matters to you.
I am writing to provide comments on draft NPDES/SDS permit MN0057207 for the U. S. Steel Minntac Tailings Basin. Like many Minnesotans, I value a healthy environment and understand the importance of supporting good jobs and vibrant communities. I urge the MPCA to finalize a permit that protects water and provides an achievable path for continued responsible mining.
Keeping Minntac operating matters to our communities. U. S. Steel’s Minnesota Ore Operations employs more than 1,900 people and supports more than 6,800 jobs. Mining supports local contractors and suppliers and helps families build a future in northern Minnesota.
I am concerned that the proposed compliance schedule may not adequately account for updated groundwater modeling, treatment evaluation, environmental review, agency approvals, and construction. These steps depend on one another. The final schedule should allow sufficient time to complete the work while maintaining clear milestones and accountability.
Requirements should reflect current evidence and the waters they protect. I ask MPCA to address the technical concerns about interim sulfate limits, west-basin assumptions, Dark Lake’s wild rice designation, and property-boundary groundwater requirements. Where the evidence supports changes, the final permit should reflect them. Clean water and healthy wild rice, including its importance to Tribal communities, deserve effective protection.
The proposed treatment systems also need a coordinated, feasible implementation plan. MPCA should clarify what each measure will accomplish and account for treatment performance, cost, energy use, and waste handling. The schedule must include required reviews and approvals, and reporting should avoid unnecessary duplication while retaining meaningful monitoring and safe sampling.
In summary, I urge the MPCA to:
- Revise the compliance schedule to allow sufficient time for studies, technology evaluation, reviews, approvals, construction and testing.
- Base requirements on current evidence, site-specific conditions and the characteristics of the affected waters.
- Address the technical concerns raised about the draft and clearly explain the basis for the final requirements.
- Coordinate treatment obligations to deliver clear environmental benefits through an achievable implementation plan.
- Retain meaningful monitoring, accountability and opportunities to respond to new information.
Thank you for considering these comments.
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Add your name and the contact information requested by the official comment form. Review your personalized letter, then submit it.
Please submit comments by October 12, 2026, to support a protective, workable Minntac permit that sustains our communities and jobs.