On Thursday, April 16, 2026, the United States Senate voted 50–49 to strip environmental protections from the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness — 1.1 million acres of interconnected lakes, streams, and wetlands in northern Minnesota where the water is so clean you can drink it without a filter. The vote opens the door for a copper-sulfide mine to be built directly upstream of it, operated by a subsidiary of a Chilean mining conglomerate.
The vote was party-line. Every Democrat voted against it. Every Republican voted for it except Susan Collins of Maine and Thom Tillis of North Carolina. Josh Hawley didn’t show up.
Senator Tina Smith of Minnesota spoke on the Senate floor for nearly five hours to try to stop it. She failed by one vote.
What They Voted to Do
The bill — H.J. Res. 140 — uses the Congressional Review Act to revoke Public Land Order 7917, a 20-year mineral withdrawal enacted in 2023 by the Department of the Interior. That withdrawal protected 225,378 acres of the Superior National Forest — the headwaters of the Boundary Waters — from mining.
The withdrawal wasn’t arbitrary. It was based on a comprehensive environmental assessment by the U.S. Forest Service, completed in 2022, which concluded that sulfide-ore copper mining near the Boundary Waters would cause irreversible harm to the ecosystem and to downstream Voyageurs National Park.
The assessment included 675,000 public comments. Over 95 percent favored keeping the protections.
The Congressional Review Act lets Congress overturn federal agency rules with a simple majority vote, bypassing the 60-vote filibuster threshold. But it comes with a kicker: once a rule is overturned via CRA, no “substantially similar” rule can be issued without new legislation. This isn’t just removing a mining ban — it’s preventing any future president from reimposing one using the same authority. This is the first time the CRA has ever been used to kill a mineral withdrawal.
Who Benefits
The beneficiary is Twin Metals Minnesota, a subsidiary of Antofagasta, one of the largest copper mining companies in the world, headquartered in Santiago, Chile. The Luksic family, which controls Antofagasta, is the wealthiest family in Chile.
Twin Metals wants to build a copper-nickel mine on Birch Lake, a few miles from the Boundary Waters border. The company claims the mine would create 700 jobs over 25 years. Environmental groups point out that the mine’s waste would flow directly into the Wilderness, because that’s how water works in northern Minnesota — it hits the granite and flows downhill into the lakes and rivers that make the Boundary Waters what it is.
“History tells us that a mine like this in a place with the hydrology of northern Minnesota cannot be done without catastrophic water pollution issues. The mine waste will hit the granite and flow with the course of water into the Boundary Waters. And we’re looking at a 100-year project to clean it up.”
That’s from a conservation group representative quoted in Field & Stream. Not exactly a left-wing rag.
The Fight Isn’t Over
The resolution now goes to Trump’s desk, where he will sign it. Minnesota Rep. Pete Stauber, who introduced the House version, has championed the mine since its inception.
But Earthjustice has signaled it is “weighing legal options to stop” the mine, noting that the first Trump administration previously reinstated Twin Metals’ mining leases unlawfully — a move that was successfully challenged in court.
Conservation groups are also urging Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and the state’s Department of Natural Resources to cancel Twin Metals’ state mineral leases, which could stop the mine before it starts.
“There is no other way to say it than today is hard,” said Pete Marshall of Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness.
The Bigger Picture
This vote sets a precedent. If the Congressional Review Act can be used to revoke a mineral withdrawal — something that has never happened before — then no public land protection enacted by executive action is safe. Every national monument designation, every wilderness withdrawal, every environmental protection that wasn’t codified by Congress is now one CRA vote away from being stripped.
Earthjustice called it bluntly: “Congressmembers who voted to allow mining on the doorstep of the Boundary Waters have betrayed the millions of Americans who treasure this unparalleled wilderness, and they did so using a backdoor maneuver that’s unprecedented and legally questionable.”
675,000 people commented. Over 95 percent said don’t do this. The Senate did it anyway. By one vote. For a Chilean mining company.
That’s the party of conservation. That’s the party of America First. Selling America’s most pristine wilderness to a foreign corporation, one vote at a time.
Sources
- CBS News Minnesota: Senate voted 50–49 to end mining ban near Boundary Waters. Reverses 20-year ban protecting 225,000 acres from copper-sulfide mining. Senator Tina Smith spoke for nearly five hours. Twin Metals supports the legislation. April 16, 2026.
- Earthjustice: Senate voted along partisan lines to revoke mineral withdrawal. First time CRA used to kill a mineral withdrawal. Antofagasta/Twin Metals copper-nickel mine. 675,000 public comments, 95%+ in favor of protection. “Unprecedented and legally questionable.” April 17, 2026.
- Field & Stream: Boundary Waters described as home to clean-enough-to-drink water, Lake Trout, walleye. Chilean company Antofagasta. 675,000 comments in environmental review. Mine waste hits granite and flows into BWCA. “Looking at a 100-year project to clean it up.”
- Save the Boundary Waters: Senate passed H.J. Res. 140 on April 16. Twin Metals (Chilean-owned) to proceed with mining leases. Pollution would flow directly into the Wilderness, including Quetico Provincial Park and Voyageurs National Park. Also prevents future administrations from using same safeguards. April 17, 2026.
- U.S. Senate Daily Press: Official Senate record. H.J. Res. 140 passed 50–49 at 11:54 a.m. Collins and Tillis voted against. Hawley did not vote. April 16, 2026.