Arne Carlson remains committed to protecting Minnesota’s waters. The former governor told WDIO on Monday that he thinks the University of Minnesota should do a study about the safety of copper nickel mining.

“It’s something industry should want, and the public. And it would need to prove it’s totally safe. We can’t compromise the integrity of healthy water. The world is already headed towards a serious water shortage,” Carlson said.

He also recently sent letters to the governors of Great Lakes states, warning them about what he sees as perils from the NewRange Copper Nickel Project.

NewRange sent a statement, which reads, “NewRange Copper Nickel is committed to advancing a responsible mining project to produce minerals crucial to the clean energy economy and products people use every day. Located on a former mine site in Minnesota’s Iron Range mining district, NewRange seeks to benefit the local watershed, therefore Lake Superior, during and after operation by cleaning up a legacy site. The company looks forward to continuing to earn public trust and engaging stakeholders and rightsholders about innovative water treatment capabilities to improve surface and ground water in the area.“