The Minnesota Independent

Taconite - Latest Stories

Agency approves U.S. Steel taconite permits despite some environmental concerns

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By Jon Collins | 10.26.11 | 6:00 am

Minnesota Pollution Control Agency officials resisted a push by environmentalists that the agency comply with a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency request that they upload Keetac data to a public database.

Minnesota’s North Woods … soon with 30 percent less haze!

By Chris Steller | 12.15.09 | 3:19 pm

The skies over Northern Minnesota’s signature natural areas will get 30 percent clearer — by 2018 — under new rules approved today by a 7-1 vote of the state Pollution Control Agency board.

Taconite Plant Changes Strategy on Study of Rare Lung Disease

By Dan Haugen | 12.18.07 | 10:26 am

The owner of a Silver Bay taconite plant is scrapping its own investigation into whether mining dust is to blame for elevated rates of a rare lung disease in northeastern Minnesota. Instead, the company says it plans to collaborate…

Silver Bay Taconite Plant Wants Old Asbestos Rule Clarified

By Dan Haugen | 11.29.07 | 6:16 pm

There’s a new dust-up in a decades-old dispute over asbestos releases from a Silver Bay taconite plant. Attorneys for Northshore Mining asked a federal judge in St. Paul on Thursday to either overturn or clarify a unique rule meant to…