EPA staff union faults agency review of state’s mine permit

One of EPA’s employee unions is accusing agency leadership and Minnesota state regulators of suppressing EPA staff’s critical comments on a draft water permit for a controversial mine near Lake Superior, a process seen as a test case for EPA’s plan to speed permitting but that has drawn an Office of Inspector General (OIG) review. On June 18, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 704 released an email from a Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) official asking EPA...