Congress Plans to overturn 20-year BWCA mining ban

Congress and the Trump administration are considering steps to reverse a 20-year ban on mineral leasing in the Superior National Forest near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW).

The Trump administration is planning to reverse President Biden’s 20-year land withdrawal from mineral leasing on 225,504 acres of the Superior National Forest (SNF). The withdrawal protects areas such as the Boundary Waters from the impacts of new mineral exploration and development.

The 2023 withdrawal was issued by Interior Secretary Deb Haaland as Public Land Order 7917. Under the Federal Lands Policy and Management Act (FLPMA), mineral withdrawals are allowed. The Secretary of the Interior is supposed to notify both Houses of Congress of withdrawals of 5,000 acres or more. 

On January 12, Rep. Pete Stauber (MN-8) introduced a Congressional Review Act (CRA) disapproval resolution (H.J. Res. 140). This targets the 20-year mineral withdrawal in the Superior National Forest (SNF). Stauber has been a long supporter of opening up the area to more mining and reversing the withdrawal. Since 2023, Stauber has introduced legislation that would allow Twin Metals to reinstate its mineral leases.

If passed by both Houses and signed by Trump, the resolution could overturn the Biden administration’s 2023 ban on new mineral leases within the SNF. Twin Metals has been trying to reinstate two mineral leases and build a mine complex miles from the BWCAW border. Supporters of the mining industry argue that a new copper-nickel mine near Birch Lake could boost the economy and increase employment opportunities.

Opponents say the Trump administration’s actions set an unprecedented precedent and threaten clean water, particularly in watersheds flowing into the BWCA. They say it could undermine future public land policies. Legal experts note that the CRA has historically been used to overturn agency rules, not public land withdrawals, making this approach highly unusual.

Jordan Schreiber, director of government relations at the Wilderness Society, said, “Mining in the headwaters of the Boundary Waters would pollute one of the crown jewels of America’s public lands and pose a toxic threat to the Wilderness and the approximately 250,000 people who visit it each year. Congress should reject this legislative scheme, which relies on unprecedented treatment of a public land order, and defend this critical landscape for present and future generations.”  

Locally, Ingrid Lyons, executive director of Save the Boundary Waters, said, “Using the Congressional Review Act to attack these protections also creates a reckless precedent that would allow Congress to retroactively target virtually any public land action as a ‘rule.’” If enacted, the resolution would not only overturn the current withdrawal but could also permanently restrict the Department of the Interior from issuing a similar protection in the future without congressional approval, a move critics say would handcuff future administrations.

Under the CRA, Congress has 60 legislative days to approve or reject the notice. However, mining leases would still require approval from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to proceed.