Stauber Introduces Legislation to Nullify Mineral Withdrawal in Northern Minnesota

Today, Congressman Pete Stauber (MN-08) introduced a resolution disapproving of Interior Secretary Haaland’s withdrawal of 225,000 acres of the Superior National Forest from mining, which effectively bans the mining of minerals like copper, nickel, cobalt, taconite, and more.

“Mining is our past, present and future in northern Minnesota, despite an endless war on our way of life from the Biden Administration,” said Congressman Stauber. “Under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, Congress can override an administrative withdrawal of over 5,000 acres. Secretary Haaland’s 225,000 acre ban on mining in the Superior National Forest qualifies as a trigger to this Congressional authority laid out in statute. Congress is exercising its authority to roll back this misguided ban and secure our domestic mineral supply chains. It is well past time for elected officials, not appointed bureaucrats, to dictate how and when America’s abundant resources and public lands are utilized.”

Section 204(c) of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 states that a withdrawal by the Secretary of the Interior of 5,000 acres or more shall terminate and become ineffective “if the Congress has adopted a concurrent resolution stating that such House does not approve the withdrawal.” This resolution, squarely within Congress’s authority, is a tool provided in statute to reverse an administrative withdrawal of land from mineral development.

Full text of the bill can be found here.