Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2019

Floor Speech

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Mr. PAULSEN. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.

Mr. Chairman, let me first start off by saying that I have great respect for my colleagues, both Representative Emmer and Representative Nolan, and the rest of our delegation, Representative McCollum included.

This has been an ongoing debate.

I just want to make sure folks understand, know, and can appreciate-- and I know the gentleman is going to withdraw the amendment--that hundreds of thousands of people have been weighing in on this ongoing public process, and their comments should not be ignored. That is the bottom line. Nor should we be ignoring a science-based assessment of the best management practices that are important for one of Minnesota's and the country's national treasures.

We should be open to new types of mining in Minnesota, but only when those necessary environmental reviews are met.

I refer to the Boundary Waters as Minnesota's Yellowstone. There is a reason for that. It has a national perspective with hundreds of thousands of Americans visiting it each and every year, whether it is canoeing or fishing. That is where some of my best memories in my life have taken place.

So I want to make sure--we owe it to ourselves and future generations--that we rely on science before undertaking any activity that would disrupt this fragile ecosystem.

Mr. Chairman, I want to thank the gentlewoman for yielding me time, and I want to thank my colleagues for their ongoing discussion on this issue.

Mr. Chair, once again my colleagues, Representatives Emmer and Nolan, are offering this amendment. And while I appreciate my friendship with my Minnesota colleagues, I once again oppose this amendment and rise in opposition.

Minnesota has a rich history of taconite mining that dates back generations. However, this amendment is not about taconite mining, it's about copper-nickel mining, which has never been done before in Minnesota and is being proposed within the watershed of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, which is one of America's most visited wilderness areas.

An environmental review is currently underway to study the viability of mining this close to the Boundary Water Canoe Area and this amendment would defund that review less than a year before its scheduled completion in 2019.

Hundreds of thousands of people, on both sides of the issue, have weighed in on this ongoing public process. Their comments should not be ignored. Nor should we be ignoring the science-based assessment of best management practices for one of Minnesota's national treasures.

We should be open to new types of mining in Minnesota, but only when the necessary environmental reviews are met.

The Boundary Waters Canoe Area is Minnesota's Yellowstone. Hundreds of thousands of Americans visit it on fishing and canoe trips annually. Some of the best memories of my life have taken place in the Boundary Waters.

We owe it to ourselves and future generations to rely on science before undertaking any activity that could potentially disrupt this fragile ecosystem. I oppose defunding the ongoing environmental review and ask others to vote against the amendment.

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Mr. PAULSEN. Mr. Chair, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall No. 346.

Stated against:

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