Skip to main content
Congresswoman Betty McCollum logo

McCollum Declares Monumental Victory for Boundary Waters

January 26, 2022

Biden Administration Interior Department Cancels Trump-era Leases for Twin Metals, Restores Legal Integrity in the Protection of Federal Public Lands

Congresswoman Betty McCollum (DFL-Minn.) released the following statement today after the Department of the Interior announced its reversal of Trump-era decisions imperiling the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW):

"For the better part of a decade, I have been fighting to protect the pristine 1.1 million acres of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) from toxic mining pollution. The Biden administration's cancellation of two Twin Metals leases that threatened this watershed is a rejection of the deeply flawed and politically motivated process under the Trump administration and a victory for sound science and protecting a precious and irreplaceable natural resource.

"The Boundary Waters is a national treasure that belongs to all Americans, and I am absolutely committed to ensuring its watershed will be permanently protected. Some places are simply too special to mine, and it is our obligation to ensure these unique and valuable lands and waters remain intact for generations to come."

Background:

Today the Department of the Interior rejected the deeply flawed and politically motivated M-opinion issued under the Trump administration, and reinstated the Forest Service's decision to deny the renewal of Twin Metals' leases.

Congresswoman McCollum (MN-04) is the author of legislation, the Boundary Waters Protection and Pollution Prevention Act (H.R. 2794), to permanently protect 234,000 acres of federal lands and waters from sulfide-ore copper mining. McCollum serves as the Chair of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, and Vice Chair of the Appropriations Committee for Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies. She led the latter subcommittee during the 116th Congress, which exercises oversight of federally-managed lands.

###