On Wednesday, The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled on a legal challenge to the PolyMet Permit to Mine and dam safety permits, overturning a lower court decision that had ordered an open-ended contested case hearing and instead limiting the contested case hearing to one specific, narrow issue.

The court’s unanimous decision affirmed the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources’ discretion to deny contested case hearings and, importantly, affirmed its decision to deny contested case hearings on every issue raised by project opponents, save one: the effectiveness of bentonite clay capping for the eventual closure of the tailings basin. The court also reversed the court of appeals’ decision to require contested case hearings on PolyMet’s dam safety permits.

“Today’s ruling is a big victory for communities in Greater Minnesota, workers, PolyMet, and the mining industry,” Majority Leader Paul Gazelka said. “For years, communities outside of the metro have been struggling to grow and create jobs, but with this decision, we are one step closer to new jobs and economic investment to the region. While it is unfortunate that we have been stuck waiting on permitting decisions for the past 15 years, this is a move in a positive direction. Moving forward, I hope that PolyMet can proceed without any further delay.”