Minnesota DNR accepting comments on environmental review documents for proposed U.S. Steel Keetac Tailings Storage Facility Project (published September 2, 2025)

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is accepting comments until 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 2 on an environmental assessment worksheet related to the U.S. Steel Keetac Tailings Storage Facility Project, located in St. Louis and Itasca Counties.

U.S. Steel has proposed to modify the existing tailings storage facility for its Keetac taconite mining operation. Activities would involve vertically raising the existing dams and dikes using downstream and modified centerline construction methods, which would extend the dam and dikes beyond the current tailings storage facililty’s footprint. The project would also construct a new access road, as well as a new industrial building and infrastructure for tailings separation and tailings dewatering.

The infrastructure would produce coarse tailings for use in dam and dike construction and thickened fine tailings for discharge to the tailings storage facility. The project proposes revisions to the existing tailings basin, but there are no proposed revisions to mining activities or taconite processing facilities.

A copy of the environmental assessment worksheet is available on the project page of the DNR website.

A print copy may be requested by calling 651-259-5522.

The environmental assessment worksheet is also available for public review at the following locations:

• Keewatin Public Library, 125 W. Third Ave., Keewatin, MN 55753
• Duluth Public Library, 520 W. Superior St., Duluth, MN 55802
• DNR Library, 500 Lafayette Rd., St. Paul, MN 55155
• Minneapolis Central Library, Government Documents, Second Floor, 300 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis, MN 55401

The environmental assessment worksheet notice was published Tuesday, Sept. 2 in the EQB Monitor, a publication of the Environmental Quality Board.

Comments on the environmental assessment worksheet must be submitted no later than 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025.

• Email comments should be sent to [email protected] with “Keetac” in the subject line.
• Mail comments should be sent to:
  • Becky Horton, EAW Project Manager
  • Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
  • 500 Lafayette Rd., Box 25
  • St. Paul, MN 55155-4025

Anyone who provides a mailing address or submits comments via email will receive a copy of the subsequent decision document, which will include responses to comments. Because all comments and related information are part of the public record for this environmental review, commenters’ names as well as email or postal addresses will be published and publicly available as they appear in the materials commenters submit.