MARQUETTE -- Local groups opposing the recent decision by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to lease 120 acres of public land to Kennecott Minerals are planning a candlelight vigil in honor of the Yellow Dog Plains, where Kennecott plans to put a nickel and copper sulfide mine.
The Salmon Trout River flows through an area proposed for Kennecott Minerals' Eagle Project sulfide mine. The river contains a rare population of Coaster Brook Trout. (Photo © 2007 and courtesy lexup at Save the Wild UP) The vigil will take place at 6:30 p.m. on Valentine's Day -- Thursday, Feb. 14 -- at Harlow Park, off Washington St. in Marquette.
Please remember to dress for the cold. If you do not have a candle, one will be provided.
The event is sponsored by Yellow Dog Summer, Northwoods Wilderness Recovery, Keepers of the Water, and Save the Wild UP.
On Thursday, Feb. 7, 2008, at a Natural Resources Commission (NRC) meeting in Lansing, DNR Director Rebecca Humphries granted final approval of the Kennecott Eagle Minerals Company's (KEMC) Mining and Reclamation Plan and Land Use Lease, but with stipulations that Kennecott cannot break ground until all contested cases have concluded.
KEMC was seeking to construct surface facilities for their projected sulfide mining operation on 120 acres of state-owned property on the Yellow Dog Plains in northwestern Marquette County. The Director's decision came one month after a refusal to grant Kennecott's lease because of a failure to provide information on a number of critical questions.
Sufficient information is still lacking. Kennecott has failed to address subsidence concerns and leak prevention. These failures, aided by the State's inadequate monitoring fees (only $4,000 a year), leave the State of Michigan vulnerable to pollution and economic burdens.
According to Michelle Halley, attorney for the National Wildlife Federation (NWF), the amount set aside for monitoring will not cover costs of the most basic of water quality testing, collecting samples and on-site inspections.
"Experts tell us that this project is still fatally flawed, making the DNR land-lease approval even more appalling," Halley said. "The lease will leave the DNR and Michigan taxpayers vulnerable to bearing clean-up costs from pollution, and it would put the DNR in the inappropriate role of facilitating a mining district in the U.P."
Cynthia Pryor, executive director of the Yellowdog Watershed Preserve, also expressed her disappointment with the DNR decision.
"It is unfortunate that the DNR has forgotten the premise for which it was formed -- to protect and conserve our natural resources for use by the public. This decision turns state forest lands into an industrial outlet and our region into a paradise lost," she said.
Kennecott still has to obtain an underground injection permit from the Environmental Protection Agency.* Meanwhile lawsuits and contested cases are on-going in regards to Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) permits related to the Eagle Project. In addition, NWF and other concerned citizen groups plan to mount a legal challenge to the DNR lease approval.**
* Read more about
how the public can express views on the EPA federal permit requirements.
** Read the entire
NWF press release.
Editor's Note: This information is from Save the Wild UP. Learn more about sulfide mining on
their Web site.
A few of the miniature art works in the Miskwabik Ed Gray Gallery "Miniature Show" are pictured here. All entries are smaller than 5" x 5" x 5". (Photo © 2008 Ed Gray. Reprinted with permission.)
