Minnesota—in protecting freshwater resources and leading the way in creating a clean energy economy—has always been at the forefront of crafting responsible environmental policy. Sen. Smith carries this spirit to Washington and continues to fight for federal policies that seek to combat climate change, preserve clean air and clean water, and protect our most precious natural landscapes.
Despite the great work being done in states like Minnesota, environmental challenges persist every day. Terrible accidents like the Flint water crisis where cost-cutting measures led to dangerous levels of lead in Michigan homes, and sweeping challenges like climate change, make clear that the federal government has an important role to play in protecting our environment. Ignoring this responsibility would put our natural treasures, our public health, and even our economy at risk.
Part of this responsibility means fighting back against efforts to rollback responsible environmental policy. Decisions like pulling out of the Paris Agreement, a landmark international agreement to address climate change, and undermining a plan to reduce air pollution are both outdated and out of touch with what most Americans want. Sen. Smith will fight back against policies that threaten our environment and our public health, but she stands ready work with her colleagues on both sides of the aisle to make sure our environmental policies work better for Minnesotans and all Americans.
Latest Releases
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Demands Answers from Trump Administration on Actions Purportedly Allowing Sulfide-Ore Copper Mining Near the Boundary Waters
[ST. PAUL, MN] – U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) is demanding answers from the Trump Administration regarding its recent announcement about planned executive actions to allow sulfide-ore mining in the Rainy River Watershed, where waters flow into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW). The only sulfide-ore mine proposed in the area would be owned by Chilean mining conglomerate Antofagasta, a company with a questionable environmental record, and the minerals they intend to mine would be shipped overseas to be processed outside of the United States – most likely to China. In a letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Senator Smith questions whether the Administration allowed for public input, how rigorous their review of the scientific data and information was, and why the Department is seemingly contradicting its 2022 findings, which the U.S. Forest Service maintained as recently as December 2024, that mining in the area poses a serious risk to the integrity of the Boundary Waters. She requested a response from USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins no later than August 15th. “As you may know, significant majorities of Minnesotans believe the Boundary Waters should be protected from the risks of sulfide-ore copper mining, and the Trump Administration’s plan to allow this kind of mining in the Boundary Waters’ watershed is deeply unpopular. Also, long-standing scientific research and data – evaluated and reaffirmed by your own department – are overwhelmingly clear that sulfide-ore mining in this area poses a grave risk of polluting the Boundary Waters, potentially for generations,” wrote
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Announces Win in Fight to Protect the Boundary Waters
WASHINGTON, D.C — Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) issued the following statement after successfully fighting to remove a section in the House-passed One Big Beautiful Act which would have issued perpetual leases to a foreign mining company to pursue sulfide ore mining on the doorstep of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness: “Today marks a victory in our fight to protect the Boundary Waters. Buried deep in President Trump and Republican’s Big Beautiful Bill was a provision that gave a foreign mining company full permission to build a copper-nickel sulfide mine right on the doorstep of the Boundary Waters. I vowed to do everything in my power to protect this precious place. Today, I am relieved to announce that we were successful in forcing Republicans to drop this language attacking the Boundary Waters from the bill. “However, the fight is far from over. Donald Trump and House Republicans are determined to revoke the protections I worked to put in place and that Minnesotans have made clear they support. Republicans want to sell off our public lands to the highest bidder, and the Boundary Waters is no exception. “We need to pass my bill to permanently protect the Boundary Waters from sulfide mining. Minnesotans who love the Boundary Waters and want it to be there for our children and grandchildren need to continue to organize and use their voices. This win shows that when we speak out and stand strong, together we have the power to stop this.” ###
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Introduces Legislation to Protect the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness from Sulfide Mining
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) introduced legislation that would protect the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) from the threat posed by sulfide mining in the surrounding watershed. The Boundary Waters Wilderness Protection Act would permanently prohibit new sulfide ore mining on 225,504 acres of federal forest land in the Rainy River watershed, which drains into the BWCAW. “The Boundary Waters must be protected for today, and future generations. The impartial science and data show unequivocally that copper-nickel sulfide mining poses an unacceptable risk to the Boundary Waters. “Mining is an important driver of Minnesota’s economy and the pride of every
U.S. Senator Tina Smith to Bring Voyageurs National Park Ranger Fired by DOGE as Guest to President’s Address to Congress
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) announced that Kate Severson, a former Park Ranger at Voyageurs National Park in Northern Minnesota impacted by Elon Musk’s gutting of the National Park Service, will be her guest at the President’s Joint Address to Congress on March 4th, 2025. The indiscriminate mass firing of all probationary federal employees by Elon Musk and the “Department of Government Efficiency” forced the firings of more than 1,000 National Park Service employees. With these reductions in staffing, campsites and bathrooms won’t be cleaned, trails will become overgrown, trash won’t get picked up, and parks
U.S. Senators Tina Smith, Amy Klobuchar Reintroduce Bill to Secure Critical Federal Funding for Northeastern Minnesota Counties
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) reintroduced their bill to provide critical federal funding for northeastern Minnesota counties hosting federal wilderness lands. Cook, Lake, and St. Louis counties benefit from the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) as a world-renowned tourist destination, but they also forgo property taxes and other potential revenue streams. The bill would restore fairness to the longstanding Thye-Blatnik payment system and prevent massive cuts in county revenue now or in the future. “For decades, Thye-Blatnik payments have provided critical funding to northern Minnesota counties that host federal wilderness lands. This bill
U.S. Senators Tina Smith, Amy Klobuchar Celebrate Historic Investment in State’s Largest Electric Co-Op for Affordable, Clean Energy
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – Today, U.S. Senators Tina Smith and Amy Klobuchar (both D-MN), celebrated historic funding for clean, reliable and low-cost energy for rural Minnesotans. Connexus Energy will use funding secured by Senators Smith and Klobuchar to produce over 280 megawatts of clean energy through hydro, solar and wind energy that will lower costs for its 146,000 members in rural Minnesota while supporting 400 jobs. With $170 million in funding, these projects will reduce climate pollution by more than 1.1 million tons of harmful, climate-warming emissions each year. Minnesota’s electric cooperatives provide electricity to nearly one-third of the state. Connexus is based in
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