EPA, taconite industry spar over air pollution regulation
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has stepped in to enforce regulation of Minnesota's taconite industry due to major air pollution in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and Voyageurs National Park, MPR News reports. The federal government is bound by a court agreement to approve a plan to reduce the haze by Nov. 15.
Taconite industry officials say the EPA wants them to adopt unavailable, untested and too-expensive technology, according to the Star Tribune.
U.S. Rep. Chip Cravaack tells the Associated Press that the EPA's tough standards could devastate Minnesota's mining industry and cost jobs. The EPA will hold a public meeting on the matter Aug. 29 in St. Paul.