Legislation that would essentially block certain types of mining on a large swath of federal land in the watershed of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness was passionately debated during a May 24 hearing of the U.S. House Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources.

The bill would prohibit sulfide-based mineral development in an area of Superior National Forest near the BWCA.

During the hearing, a Congressman from Wisconsin said the United States must either depend on slave labor or open the stalled Twin Metals sulfide-mining project on the edge of the Boundary Waters if the nation aims to have renewable energy sources as it shifts toward a green future.

Republican Congressman Tom Tiffany, who represents Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District, asked Julia Ruelle from the Kids for the Boundary Waters organization if she thought slave labor should be preferred over the Twin Metals project.

The audio in this short track includes segments from the May 24 hearing, as well as interviews with both Rep. Tiffany and Ruelle.