Cases / Mining · United States · 2023–2026
US Congress lifts 2023 mining ban on Minnesota's Boundary Waters
Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.
Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
Not on record
- The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
The 2023 mining ban protecting Minnesota's Boundary Waters was removed in 2026 through a Congressional Review Act resolution. At stake: protection of the area from mining pollution.
What?
The 2023 mining ban on Boundary Waters was removed through a Congressional Review Act resolution, Earthjustice reported. Earthjustice
Where?
Minnesota, USA Earthjustice
When?
2023 ban; removed in 2026 Earthjustice
Who?
Gained
None on recordLost
- Boundary Waters area — Loses protection from mining pollution, per Earthjustice Earthjustice
Harmed
None on recordWhy?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
How?
A Congressional Review Act resolution that removed the 2023 mining ban. Earthjustice
6 of 6 questions answered from the record
What happened
The record, in order.
The 2023 mining ban protecting Minnesota's Boundary Waters was removed in 2026 through a Congressional Review Act resolution, Earthjustice reported.
Earthjustice reported that the US Senate voted to strip the area's protection from mining pollution.
In court and with insurers
Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.
Lawsuits and rulings
No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.
Insurers
No insurer decision on record.
What we don't know
Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.
Record
- None on record Not stated in the sources reviewed: the vote counts, the signing date, or which mining companies or projects may now proceed.
- None on record Not stated in the sources reviewed: the acreage covered by the 2023 ban.
Did the harm stop?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Who paid?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Sources
Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts— Press and investigations✓ Communities and civil society— Researchers
Communities and civil society
Connected cases
Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
- Bears Ears national monument shrinkage (USA) United States · 2016–2026
- Earthjustice (NGO) — here: advocacy group reporting the removal; there: Reported the mining claims
- US coal ash ponds, groundwater contamination and EPA delay United States · 2015–2026
- Earthjustice (NGO) — here: advocacy group reporting the removal; there: Environmental law group
- US Endangered Species Act rollbacks 2025–2026 (God Squad Gulf exemption, critical habitat rules) United States · 2025–2026
- Earthjustice (NGO) — here: advocacy group reporting the removal; there: NGO that stated an intention to sue
- US Senate probes Nature Conservancy land sales to its own trustees United States · 2003
- United States Senate (Government) — here: voted to strip the protection; there: Opened the inquiry (Senator Chuck Grassley)