St. Paul, MN—State Representative Roger Skraba, R-Ely, issued the following statement today in opposition to House File 329. The proposed bill would implement mining restrictions on state land in the Rainy River Watershed which lies within Rep. Skraba’s legislative district.
“Future and current mining operations on the Iron Range would be severely limited if this bill were to become law,” said Skraba. “This would mean lost jobs, lost wages, lost tax revenue, and lost investments in the communities that we call home. To date, the bill’s authors have not approached me to talk about the ways their proposal would negatively impact our communities and the area I represent. For more than a century, we have safely and responsibly mined in Northern Minnesota while maintaining high standards of water quality and preserving our forests. We have done it before, we are doing it now, and we will do it in the future.”
Skraba is serving his first term in the Minnesota House of Representatives, representing House District 3A which includes the Rainy River Watershed.
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