The Agency head can accept or overrule the ALJ. The hearing resulted in a 40 page opinion. If accepting its recommendation, the DNR head would not have to say much beyond it being well reasoned and correct. To overrule it some fault in the analysis or fact finding would need to be pointed out.
The above is true, since either side will put a final DNR ruling into litigation. So, this is a positive step to environmental advocates, a defeat for Stauber and his mining minions.
The opinion: https://mn.gov/oah/assets/2004-37824-northmet-dnr-permit-mine-report_tcm19-601732.pdf
In a nutshell, the opening two pages summarize things:
It is the DNR's Reactive Mine Waste Rule which is adjudicated, so in the final conclusion the ALJ recommends to the DNR Commissioner, no one else:
IV.
Conclusion Based on the foregoing, the Commissioner should find that PolyMet’s proposed bentonite amendment is not a workable practical reclamation technique and does not satisfy the requirements of Minnesota’s Reactive Waste Rule. As a result, the Commissioner should DENY a permit for the NorthMet Project.
J. E. L.
While politicians may advocate or straddle the issue, the DNR Commissioner is on the hot seat do decide what is best for the State, for all of the people of Minnesota, and the hope is a sagacious and clear decision with that in mind will result.
And then the lawyers litigate further starting with a Court of Appeals review of whatever final agency decision is made. Bless the lawyers, bless them all.
Will this ultimately result in a wood stake driven decisively through the heart of the Undead Beast once the Minnesota Supreme Court rules? We hope. We wait to see.
________________UPDATE________________
Polymet is a politically charged issue. Reporting notes:
“It’s time for the Governor as well as Minnesota’s state agencies to take a hard look at whether it is time to pull the plug on the PolyMet mine project.” Paula Maccabee, an attorney for the environmental group WaterLegacy, said in a statement.
NewRange spokesman Bruce Richardson said Wednesday that the company was “reviewing the ruling and evaluating our options.” The company says it can produce copper, nickel and platinum-group metals needed for the clean energy economy without harming the environment while creating jobs for northeastern Minnesota.
Other environmental groups also welcomed the ruling. They say the risks of acid mine drainage from [disturbing] the sulfide-bearing ore under northeastern Minnesota pose unacceptable risks to the environment and human health.
The issue in this case was whether the bentonite clay liner that NewRange plans to use to seal its waste basin would adequately contain the reactive mine waste, known as tailings, and keep oxygen and water out. The judge concluded that it was not a “practical and workable” way to render the tailings nonreactive or to keep water out of them over time.
“The crux of the issue is simple: Will the method to contain the waste work? The evidence is clear, and the judge’s ruling is clear: No,” said Chris Knopf, executive director of Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness.
Several other major obstacles to the project also remain unresolved. [...]
Ultimately agency heads report to the governor. Walz is going to have to end his straddle. That is the political reality underlying the legal futzing. And then the courts will proceed. Hopefully Walz makes a decision of conscience. A long-term correct decision.
McCollum is willing to shepherd a bill through Congress to protect unique natural resources and protect tribal treaty rights, however a bill proposal gets worded. The problem is that McCollum's party is not the House majority party at present, and even if it held a numerical majority, diversity of opinion could sink a McCollum proposal. That route succeeding would be a longshot, but it would be the wood stake if enacted.