PFAS are ubiquitous in manufacturing, hard to destroy and known to have harmful effects in humans. 5:49 pm, Feb. 10, 2021 ×
The Lester River empties into Lake Superior in January 2021. The Lester River and other streams can carry contaminants like PFAS from runoff to the lake. (Steve Kuchera / File / News Tribune)
DULUTH Some 20 years after first confronting the contaminating-effects of human-made “forever chemicals,” the state of Minnesota introduced a blueprint Wednesday, Feb. 10, for how to prevent, manage and clean up contamination from those chemicals.
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency s blueprint seeks legislative solutions, including the designation of PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, as hazardous substances. The blueprint also seeks funding to begin broader sampling for the presence of PFAS in drinking water, fish and places such as Duluth’s Western Lake Superior Sanitary District.
Regulators weigh environmental review of Milepost 7 tailings basin expansion after Cleveland-Cliffs submits permit application. 6:00 pm, Jan. 22, 2021 ×
An aerial view looking southeast at Cleveland-Cliffs’ Milepost 7 tailings basin. The basin holds 40 years worth of tailings behind dams and on top of a 2,100-acre footprint. An expansion project planned by Cliffs, would expand that footprint by 850 acres a 40% increase in the basin’s surface area. The darker areas visible in the basin are shadows of cumulus clouds. (Clint Austin / 2020 file / caustin@duluthnews.com)
Environmental groups say the DNR is required to, and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency is waiting on the DNR to make its decision before it proceeds with its own separate permit for the project.