Dear Attorney General Ellison,

I urge your office to commence an immediate investigation of Minnesota regulators, certainly the
Minnesota Pollution Control Agency chief among them, for deceit, corruption, and a complete lack of
fidelity to the public in granting a water discharge permit and a permit to mine to Glencore plc.’s
nominee, PolyMet Mining.

The facts revealed to date are alarming. There is one aspect of the case that I would like to highlight,
however.

The water discharge permit that was issued is not simply bad enforcement of the Clean Water Act, it is a
permit that defends Glencore (because that is who it is; let’s be honest) against claims several kinds of
pollution. That is because of the “permit shield,” discussed in a 7th Circuit case involving the Flambeau
mine in Wisconsin. The district court made a record of violations of the Clean Water Act, but the 7th
Circuit said nothing could be done about it because the pollution wasn’t prohibited by the terms of the
permit; the citizens who sued were without remedy.

Here’s the case: https://casetext.com/case/wis-res-prot-council-v-flambeau-mining-co-2.

I don’t think that in the history of mining in Minnesota mine regulators have ever gone back and made a
permit tougher. The permit that’s issued initially is the best that the environment and the citizens are
going to get. And it’s the only thing that citizens can sue on under the Clean Water Act.

This is why the actions of the MPCA were so craven and corrupt. There are people who were directly
involved in issuing the water discharge permit who are still in government. And what was the state of
the knowledge of regulators in other agencies concerning this?

Somebody has to lance this boil, and you seem to be the leading candidate.

Steve Timmer