"The mining plan is unsafe, and the DEQ’s decision to let it proceed is flawed, illegal and goes against the interests of the people of Michigan," said Michelle Halley, an attorney representing the National Wildlife Federation. "We will challenge this decision to protect Michigan from this dangerous form of mining that has proven to be unsafe to people, communities and wildlife in other states."
Keweenaw Bay Indian Community Tribal Council President Warren "Chris" Swartz and Secretary Susan J. LaFernier issued a statement expressing their disappointment with the decision in which the MDEQ ignores issues that "will be to the ultimate detriment of the waters and natural resources of (their) Tribe’s Ceded Territory and the Upper Peninsula."
The Eagle Mine would be adjacent to the Salmon Trout River -- one of the last mainland U.S. rivers used as spawning grounds by the Coaster Brook Trout.
The Salmon Trout River is near the site of the proposed Eagle Mine. (Photo © and courtesy Save the Wild UP.)"We are extremely disappointed with the Final Decision of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality approving the issuance of the Mining Permit and the Ground Water Discharge Permit to Kennecott for the proposed Eagle Project sulfide copper/nickel mine in the Yellow Dog Plains," the KBIC officers' statement says. "It is simply impossible to understand how the MDEQ approved these permits without addressing even 'one' of the hundreds of environmental problems with the proposed mine that have been identified by the Keweenaw Bay Community, the Natural Wildlife Federation, the Huron Mountain Club and the Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve during the course of the contested case proceedings."
The decision to issue two permits for the Eagle Project mine also flies in the face of a recent decision by Administrative Law Judge Richard A. Patterson, who concluded that the grounds on which the mine would be constructed -- in particular Eagle Rock, where Rio Tinto / Kennecott had planned to put the entry to the mine -- is a sacred site to native people that should be protected.
On the other hand, the Jan. 14 MDEQ Press Release stated the following:
"The announcement today (Jan. 14, 2010) follows a decision by former DEQ Director Steven E. Chester to remand the PFD (Proposal For Decision) back to the Administrative Law Judge in November, 2009, and asked that clarification be provided on a recommendation that the permit contain a condition that requires avoidance of any direct impact to a land feature known as Eagle Rock. That recommendation was premised on the conclusion that Eagle Rock needed to be considered a place of worship under Michigan's mining law. However, that legal issue was not briefed by the parties in the contested case prior to the issuance of the PFD, nor did the Judge give further detail as to how that conclusion would apply to the DEQ's decision under Michigan's mining law."
According to Eartha Jane Melzer of the Michigan Messenger, the DEQ has decided Eagle Rock, despite the fact that it is sacred to the Anishinabe (Ojibwe) people, cannot be considered a place of worship under Michigan law because it is not a building.**
Eagle Rock, a sacred site for the Anishinabe (Ojibwe) people. (Keweenaw Now 2009 file photo)The KBIC statement objects to the MDEQ's judgment on Eagle Rock and affirms they plan to appeal.
"The MDEQ’s decision that Eagle Rock is not a 'place' of worship after Administrative Law Judge Patterson recommended that provision be made to avoid direct impacts to Eagle Rock that may interfere with the religious practices thereon, also reveals that 'undermining' Native American religious practices and sacred places is also allowable by the state in order to protect the private interest of the mining companies. This determination is clearly contrary to the provisions of state law and we will appeal these decisions," state KBIC's Swartz and LaFernier.
The National Wildlife Federation criticized the timing of the decision, which was made before the administrative law judge had finished reviewing new information that the DEQ itself had requested to evaluate the risk the mine could pose to people and water quality. The decision comes days before the authority to decide on the mining permits would have been shifted to the newly appointed director of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment (DNRE).*
"Instead of leveling with the people of Michigan, the Granholm Administration has chosen to push a controversial decision forward without a full accounting," said Halley. "The result is a decision that short-changes the people, wildlife and economy of Michigan. We will appeal this decision and seek justice elsewhere."
In addition to NWF and KBIC, other groups opposed to the mine -- including the Huron Mountain Club and Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve -- also intend to appeal the decision, according to Halley.
"Any final decision on this mine and the fate of the Great Lakes is a long way off," said Cynthia Pryor of the Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve, a local group opposing the mine. "We will fight this project, because it is unsafe and because the process has been perverted, for as long as we can."
The KBIC statement also asked that the public become involved by learning about sulfide mining and its impacts:
The KBIC officers continue, "We also find it hard to understand that, on the one hand, President Obama has allocated $475 million dollars to restore the Great Lakes and confront serious threats to these waters and that, on the other hand, the State has once again determined, by issuing the Mining Permit and the Groundwater Discharge Permit to Kennecott for the Eagle Project, that the discharge to the waters, as authorized by the Part 31 permit, will neither be injurious to the public health, safety, or welfare or to any uses protected by Part 31, nor will likely cause pollution, impairment, or destruction of natural resources, or the public trust therein. We urge you to try and find a sulfide acid mine that has not caused any of these environmental problems anywhere in the United States, even in states that have strict mining laws.
"You, however, can make a difference in protecting, restoring, and guarding our most precious natural resources and the gift of water -- Our Great Lakes. We ask that you continue to become involved and educate yourselves to find out all that you can about sulfide acid mining and the proposed mines for the Upper Peninsula especially the Eagle Project in the Yellow Dog Plains," the KBIC officers state.
According to NWF, the permits allow a controversial mining project to move forward that would fence off a documented indigenous sacred site and allow the discharge of pollutants to ground water and surface water. The mine would change the nature of the region from valuable wildlife habitat to an industrial park.
The Eagle Mine is the first mine in Michigan that aims to extract metals from sulfide ore bodies. This type of mining -- known as hard rock mining in the West -- often produces, as a byproduct, sulfuric acid that can prove deadly to rivers, streams, fish and wildlife for decades after closure of the mine.
Editor's Notes: * On Jan. 13, 2010, Governor Jennifer M. Granholm announced Rebecca A. Humphries as director of the new Department of Natural Resources and Environment (DNRE), effective January 17, 2010. Created by Executive Order 2009-45, the DNRE will assume the powers and functions of the departments of Natural Resources and Environmental Quality, both of which are abolished by the executive order. Click here for the article on Michigan.gov.
** Read the article, "Controversial Kennecott mine permits OK’d at 11th hour," by Eartha Jane Melzer on the Michigan Messenger.
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