Opinion ID: 1189066
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: 1976-2007: Post-Injunction Developments and State Regulation

Text: Following our en banc decision, Reserve proposed over $200 million in improvements and new construction to bring its Silver Bay facility into compliance with the terms of the modified injunction. In mid-1976, however, the MPCA resisted Reserve's proposed remedial measures by denying Reserve the permits necessary to construct and operate these improvements. Reserve sued in state court to compel the MPCA to issue the permits. The Minnesota Supreme Court ultimately resolved the dispute in Reserve's favor and remanded the matter to the state trial court for further proceedings. Reserve Mining Co. v. Herbst, 256 N.W.2d 808, 846 (Minn. 1977). The MPCA complied with the Minnesota Supreme Court's order by issuing the requisite construction and operating permits; however, in doing so, the MPCA incorporated the injunction's control city standard into the operating permits. The permits required that the ambient air shall contain no more fibers than that level ordinarily found in the ambient air of a control city such as St. Paul and that the fibers in the ambient air shall be maintained below a level which is injurious to human health or welfare in violation of Minnesota Statute Section 116.03(3). Reserve Mining Co. v. Minn. Pollution Control Agency, 267 N.W.2d 720, 722 (Minn.1978) (alterations omitted). Reserve objected to the MPCA's operating permit language in the remanded state action, and after the MPCA unsuccessfully tried to remove the dispute to federal court, see Reserve Mining Co. v. Minn. Pollution Control Agency, 434 F.Supp. 1191, 1193 (D.Minn.1977) (remanding the case to state court because [t]he question of standards and regulations imposed by state law is separate from the federal imposed ambient air standard), the state trial court amended the permits by modifying the control city standard, see Reserve Mining Co., 267 N.W.2d at 722. On appeal, the Minnesota Supreme Court reinstated the original control city standard in the operating permits. Id. at 727. After Reserve completed the improvements to the Silver Bay facility, the MPCA took air samples from Silver Bay and St. Paul in 1979 and 1980 to determine the cities' respective fiber counts. The test results showed that the fiber count in Silver Bay was less than that in St. Paul, thereby satisfying the control city standard in the injunction and the state permits. In October 1981, the parties stipulated to an administrative dismissal of the federal lawsuit, providing, however, that the federal district court would retain jurisdiction over the injunction. In 1989, Reserve sold its Silver Bay facility to the Northshore Mining Company (Northshore). The subsequent MPCA permits issued to Northshore contained the control city standard. In 2005, believing that the fiber count in St. Paul had decreased since 1980, the MPCA informed Northshore that it was going to resume testing in Silver Bay and St. Paul to ensure continuing compliance with the control city standard. In December 2006, Northshore filed an administrative permit application with the MPCA, seeking to strike the control city standard from its state permits. In its application, Northshore argued that the control city standard was no longer necessary for two reasons: (1) the 1979 and 1980 tests demonstrated the effectiveness of the earlier abatement actions, and (2) even if the current fiber count in Silver Bay was then greater than that in St. Paul, the current Silver Bay fiber count was nevertheless below a medically significant level. The MPCA denied the application in February 2007 because Northshore's request was a major permit amendment that required a more extensive application procedure. In May 2007, Northshore appealed to the Minnesota Court of Appeals, which affirmed the MPCA's decision. Northshore Mining Co. v. Minn. Pollution Control Agency, No. A07-0634, 2008 WL 2103550 (Minn.App. May 20, 2008) (unpublished). Northshore submitted a major permit amendment application in August 2008, and its efforts to secure the amendment are ongoing.