DULUTH -- Environmental and civic groups called Friday for an extended public comment period on the revised environmental review for the proposed PolyMet copper mine project.
It took more than three years to put together the 2,169-page environmental impact statement for the project near Hoyt Lakes. The groups say it's too big to decipher in 90 days.
They are asking that state and federal regulatory agencies double the public comment time to 180 days. Currently the public comment period ends March 13. The request would extend that to June 13. The groups also asked for a fourth public hearing, in May. Three public meetings are planned, all in January.
The request was made by the Minnesota Environmental Partnership and a coalition of 27 environmental, civic and commercial organizations. They sent letters to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Forest Service's Superior National Forest.
The groups also claim that much of the document is not worded to be understandable to the average citizen, as demanded by past legal decisions.
