BGOV Bill Analysis: H. J. Res. 140, Minnesota Mining Access

A Biden administration order preventing mining leases in northern Minnesota for 20 years would be repealed using the Congressional Review Act under H. J. Res. 140.

The order currently prevents mineral and geothermal exploration and development on roughly 225,504 acres in the Superior National Forest in northern Minnesota.

Conflicts over mining leases in the region date back across multiple presidencies. The Trump administration in May 2018 reinstated leases for mining near Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, the nation’s most-visited federal wilderness area. The Obama administration had allowed the leases to expire after finding that drainage from a proposed ...