(Corrects number of FOIA requests in paragraph 2 to six,instead of two dozen) By Valerie Volcovici WASHINGTON, June 20 (Reuters) - A conservation group onThursday sued the Trump administration for withholding documentsrelated to its decision to cancel a 20-year ban on mining in aMinnesota wilderness area and open it up to copper production. The Wilderness Society filed the lawsuit in a Washington,D.C., federal court to force the Trump administration to respondto six of their two dozen Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)requests for documents detailing its decision to open up theBoundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness to sulfide ore coppermining. The group requested FOIA records last September from theDepartment of Agriculture, U.S. Forest Service, Department ofthe Interior and Bureau of Land Management but received noresponse.
USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue announced last September thatthe Forest Service would cancel the ban on mining in the areaand terminated the environmental impact study on mining on theBoundary Waters.
"We believe that the documents in question will confirm whatwe all know, which is that the science and public opiniondefinitively show that copper mining poses an unacceptable riskto this iconic wilderness area," said Allison Flint, a lawyerfor the Wilderness Society.
Last month, the BLM renewed hard rock mineral leases in the wilderness area to Twin Metals Minnesota LLC, a subsidiary ofChile's Antofagasta . Conservation and local groups, as well as some Minnesotalawmakers, have for years opposed the idea of opening up thearea near the Boundary Waters to mining because of theenvironmental risk it poses to the area's gray wolves, blackbears, and moose and a variety of fish. The Canadian government also raised concerns about theimpact mining could have on Canada's water quality andecosystems, since the leases would be in shared U.S. andCanadian watersheds, during the comment period on theenvironmental assessment. Maya Kane, an attorney representing the Wilderness Society,said the agencies failed to comply with FOIA's statutorymandates by withholding documents, which limits public access toinformation about the environmental impact of opening up thepopular wilderness area. Twin Metals CEO Kelly Osborne had said the Trump decision toopen up the area for mining was "very good news for us and forthe communities in northeastern Minnesota who look forward tothe hundreds of jobs and major economic development this minewill bring." (Reporting by Valerie VolcoviciEditing by Phil Berlowitz)
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