Not perfect, but good enough: Scandia council accepts Zavoral EIS

• Tweet
• 
• 
• 

• Tweet
• 
• 
• 

Richard Leider reads a letter from former Vice President Walter Mondale at the Scandia meeting.

The Zavoral Mine EIS is complete.  Let the next step begin.

At a special meeting on Sept. 25 the Scandia council voted 4 to 1 to accept the environmental impact statement.

Chris Ness cast the only no vote.

The audience included more than 50 residents and interested parties.

Employees from Tiller Corporation were on hand, plus members of the community group Take Action–Preserve Our Scandia, the St. Croix River Association, and the National Park Service.

The Zavoral Mine is located near the St. Croix River, just east of where TH-97 ends at TH-95, about two miles north of William O'Brien State Park.

All who spoke at the public hearing urged the council not to accept the EIS, saying it failed to adequately address traffic, noise and water quality concerns.

Before voting, the council made sure that any future conditional use permit for the mine could include additional mitigation measures, not just those listed in the EIS.

Council members also discussed mechanisms for halting mining, in case something catastrophic happens or the city is dissatisfied with the operation. In addition to a conditional use permit, the city issues an operating permit each year. The annual operating permit can be withheld until problems are resolved.

Council members who voted yes indicated that they question some conclusions in the EIS, but felt that it is time to move on.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation finding that no traffic change is needed at the intersection of TH-95 and TH-97 was especially criticized.

The council was charged with determining whether the EIS meets three criteria: does it address significant issues raised in the scoping document, does it provide responses to substantive comments received, and was it prepared in compliance with the Environmental Policy Act.

Before voting, Sally Swanson said, "I think it meets the criteria."

Jim Schneider added, "It needs to end somewhere."

Mayor Randall Simonson assured the audience that the council was not rubber-stamping the mine proposal by accepting the EIS.

Simonson listed his own concerns with reopening the mine, including the fact that Scandia's current comprehensive plan does not allow mining at that location.

Now that the EIS is final, the next step is for Tiller Corporation to submit a complete conditional use permit application for review by the planning commission.

Читать полностью или написать коммент.. Про установку спутниковых тарелок в Московской областиhttp://tarelka-tv.ru/