Senate votes to revoke Boundary Waters mining protections via CRA

The Senate voted 50-49 to revoke a 20-year mineral withdrawal protecting 225,378 acres of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness watershed from copper mining, using the Congressional Review Act in its first-ever application to overturn a public land order. Two Republican senators, Thom Tillis and Susan Collins, broke with their party citing irreparable environmental harm. The vote primarily benefited Chilean copper mining company Antofagasta, which had sought access to the Minnesota watershed since 2016.