Sign the Petition and call Congress today!
(I'll personally deliver petitions the next time I am in DC)
Dear Representative,
As a constituent, I ask that you co-sponsor Representative McCollum’s bill, H.R. 2794, The Boundary Waters Wilderness Protection and Pollution Prevention Act, to protect the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and Voyageurs National Park from sulfide-ore mining.
A 2016 study by the US Forest Service (USFS) concluded that the Twin Metals project posed an “unacceptable risk of irreparable harm” to the Boundary Waters and the federal leases for the project were terminated. After Antofagasta’s owner bought a Washington DC mansion and rented it to Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, the Trump Administration revived the leases and short-circuited the federal environmental review of a 20-year mining ban in the watershed of the Boundary Waters. Since then, Antofagasta's changes to the project have greatly increased the risk this proposed mine poses to the Boundary Waters.
Twin Metals own executives will not say the Boundary Waters will be protected. Federal and state standards for pollution are designed for industrial mining areas, not for recreational areas next to America’s most popular Wilderness. The standards would lead to pollution of air and water that would flow into the Boundary Waters. Mining companies always promise they will be protective of the environment and never deliver. A recent study of copper mines compared what mining companies and regulators predicted compared to actual performance. In nearly every case there were significant water quality violations.
We can't rely on hollow promises from an international mining company with a history of environmental degradation and political corruption to protect the Boundary Waters. Again, I ask that you co-sponsor The Boundary Waters Wilderness Protection and Pollution Prevention Act, Representative McCollum's bill to protect the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and Voyageurs National Park.
BONUS POINTS!!
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If you want to go above and beyond, call your US Representative and Senators!
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Call: 202-224-3121
Either an operator will answer or an automated response will ask you for your zip code and if you'd like to talk to your Representative or one of your Senators. Follow the prompts and deliver a quick message:
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"Hi, my name is _your name_ and I want you to protect the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness from the threat of sulfide-ore copper mining. This area is too precious to be put at risk by America's most toxic industry."
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(quick civics lesson: we each have 1 US Representative and 2 US Senators. When you've left a message for one of them, call back to make sure you hit all three!)