Former Gov. Carlson warns of Great Lakes contamination from mining, political impotence: ‘Mining companies have incredible power over both political parties’

(KWNO)-The power and influence of mining companies could be detrimental to the Great Lakes, according to former Minnesota Govenor Arne Carlson. Carlson has written to the governors of the eight states bordering the Great Lakes, warning of what he calls the dangers of proposed sulfide mining near the Lake Superior watershed.

“Mercury and arsenic will continue for centuries. Any kinds of contaminants and poisons that enter the water in Lake Superior will inevitably affect all the other Great Lakes,” says Carlson, who served as governor of Minnesota from 1991 to 1999.

Carlson, generally considered a moderate Republican, has gained little traction with the Democratic Walz administration, and of the eight Great Lakes states only two (Ohio and Indiana) have Republican governors. Carlson says “mining companies have incredible power over both political parties.”