Milepost 7: A 2100 acre toxic basin only miles from Lake Superior

As a futurist, I am deeply concerned about the long-term safety of Milepost 7–a large basin containing toxic residue–which sits only miles from Lake Superior outside of Silver Bay, Minnesota. As the Star Tribune has reported, the dam containing the basin could very well be at risk of breaking. If it does, human lives will be lost, property destroyed, and Lake Superior–a source of fresh water for tens of millions of people–will be greatly jeopardized.

The problem has been known in some small circles for decades but no one seems to be doing anything about the issue.

To rectify this matter, I have taken the liberty of writing and sending the letter below to Lourenco Goncalves, the CEO of Cleveland Cliffs–which is the company responsible for creating this problem.

To my knowledge, the company has absolutely no plan to deal with this massive toxic lake. The company, I fear, simply intends to leave it for future generations to deal with. To me, this is unacceptable.

Below is the letter, I wrote to Mr. Gonclaves. I encourage you to do the same.

If you feel as though a single letter won’t make a difference I offer you the words of Edmund Burke: “No one made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could only do a little.”

 

February 6, 2025

Mr. Lourenco Goncalves
CEO, Cleveland Cliffs
200 Public Square
Suite 3300
Cleveland, OH 44114

Dear Mr. Goncalves:

As the CEO of Cleveland Cliffs, I would like to know what your company’s long-term plan is for cleaning up Milepost 7 in Silver Bay, Minnesota.

As a capitalist, you cannot believe that leaving this cost to U.S. taxpayers is fair. As a grandfather, you cannot believe it is fair to bequeath the problem of cleaning up this mess to your grandchildren. And, as a Christian who understands we have a sacred responsibility to exercise wise dominion over the earth and its resources, you cannot believe it is faithful to simply leave unattended for 10,000 years a massive toxic basin that sits only miles from the world’s largest known source of freshwater.

I look forward to learning how you and Cleveland Cliffs intend to handle this serious issue.

Sincerely,

Jack Uldrich