The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) seeks public comment on a draft industrial wastewater permit that provides various improvements to better protect the environment and human health at Northshore Mining Co.'s taconite processing facility and tailings basin in Silver Bay, Minnesota.
The draft permit includes:
- Water monitoring that takes into account various sources and effects of discharge, with limits to protect areas downstream.
- A revised fluoride limit to align with the primary drinking water standard.
- Monitoring for dissolved mercury in accordance with the MPCA’s mercury strategy.
- Monitoring for nitrogen in accordance with the MPCA’s nutrient strategy.
- Updated facility description to reflect internal operational changes.
- Requirements for groundwater and surface water monitoring in the area around the tailings basin.
The permit will cover the E. W. Davis Works plant area in Silver Bay, steam plant, fluoride treatment system, the Mile Post 7 tailings basin area, water treatment plant, pipelines, rail lines, and related sites. It also includes the former Silver Bay Power Co. steam electric generating plant, which was idled in 2019.
Comments and public meeting
To ensure sources of pollution comply with the Clean Water Act, the MPCA drafted a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System/State Disposal System permit for this facility and invites the public to comment on it via SmartComment. The 45-day comment period began on March 28. The MPCA will consider comments as it revises and finalizes the permit.
An in-person public informational meeting regarding this permit will take place April 23, 2025, from 6-7:30 p.m. at Reunion Hall, 97 Outer Drive, Silver Bay, MN 55614.