UPDATED: PUBLIC NOTICE: DNR to hold virtual public meeting on Aquila mineral lease application Nov. 23

 

UPDATE: This map shows the parcels included in the direct metallic mineral leases Aquila Resources USA Inc has requested from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Click here for a larger map. (Map courtesy Michigan Department of Natural Resources)

LANSING -- Aquila Resources USA Inc, of Stephenson, Michigan, has requested direct, metallic mineral leases from the state of Michigan covering the following described Department of Natural Resources metallic mineral rights located within Holmes Township and Lake Township, Menominee County, Michigan, containing 1988 acres, more or less, further described as follows:

Leasable Development
T35N, R28W, Section 5, S1/2 SW1/4; SW1/4 SE1/4 (120 acres m/l); Section 8,
NE1/4; N1/2 NW1/4; SE1/4 NW1/4 (280 acres m/l)

Leasable Development with Restrictions
T36N, R28W, Section 32, S1/2 S1/2 (160 acres m/l)
T35N, R28W, Section 4, W1/2 W1/2 (166 acres m/l); Section 5, N1/2; N1/2 S1/2; SE1/4 SE1/4 (542 acres m/l); Section 6, SE1/4 (160 acres m/l); Section 7, NE1/4; NE1/4 NW1/4 (200 acres m/l); Section 8, SW1/4 NW1/4 (40 acres m/l)
T35N, R29W, Section 12, NE1/4; NE1/4 SW1/4, SE1/4 NW1/4 (240 acres m/l)

Leasable Nondevelopment
T35N, R28W, Section 6, NE1/4 SW1/4 (40 acres m/l)
T35N, R29W, Section 1, SE1/4 SE1/4 (40 acres m/l)

If approved by DNR, a lease to Aquila Resources USA Inc would grant the exclusive right to explore for the presence of metallic minerals in the described areas. A lease alone does not grant a lessee a right to mine.

UPDATE: Click here for a Parcel Classification Report.

Virtual informational public meeting

The DNR Minerals Management Section will hold a virtual informational public meeting regarding the lease application from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. EST (Noon to 3 p.m. CST) on Tuesday, November 23, 2021. Interested parties may join the meeting by going to
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/497847189230147852. Based upon the necessary technology to conduct a virtual meeting and offer two-way communication for public comment, registration is required for those who desire to provide public comment during the meeting.* Should you not want to provide public comment and desire to only observe the meeting anonymously, or if you do not have internet access, please use the phone option by dialing 1(631)992-3221 and using access code 614-394-882. This meeting will be recorded, and the recording will be made available to the public at Michigan.gov/Minerals.

UPDATED: A multi-agency panel will respond to written questions from the public regarding the lease application during this meeting. Questions may be submitted to DNR, Minerals Management Section, P.O. Box 30452, Lansing, MI 48909 or DNR-LeaseManagement@michigan.gov. Please include Aquila in the subject line. Written questions received by November 18, 2021, will be addressed during the meeting; questions received after November 18, 2021, will be answered via email.  Additional questions and comments will be accepted until Nov. 30, 2021. 

The meeting will also include a public comment period. Anyone wishing to participate in the public comment portion of the meeting will be allowed two minutes to speak.**

Editor's Notes:

* From Dale Burie, President of the Coalition to SAVE the Menominee River to those who register to join the meeting online: "You will receive a confirmation of your Registration from Kirk Lapham of the DNR Minerals Division. In that email you will find a "Join the Webinar" box. On November 23, click on the box to enter the Meeting. This DNR decision could be the turning point of the entire Aquila effort to transfer their interests in the Back Forty mining project to Gold Resources. We need your help to stop the renewal of Aquila's mineral leases." (While not mentioned in the above public notice, this is a renewal of Aquila's leases that are expiring.)

** Dale Burie adds that the Coalition to SAVE the Menominee River has provided, on their Web site, a page for concerned persons to submit comments opposing DNR renewal of the above-mentioned Aquila Mineral Rights. CLICK HERE to fill out an easy form with your comments that the Coalition will forward to DNR decision makers. You do not have to be a resident of Michigan to comment.

Oil and Water Don’t Mix: Response to Federal Court Decision on Enbridge Line 5

UPDATE: On Thursday, Nov. 18, President Biden will host an in-person meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau. Environmental advocates including the National Wildlife Federation, Oil and Water Don't Mix, and Clean Water Action are holding a press conference outside the Canadian Embassy at 10 a.m. EST to demand that President Biden support Governor Whitmer's move to decommission the Enbridge Line 5 oil pipeline. Please attend the press conference virtually via Facebook livestream at: https://www.facebook.com/oilandwaterdontmixcoalition

Oil and Water Don't Mix calls on President Biden to support the State of Michigan, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) in their suit in state court against Enbridge. (Photo courtesy Oil and Water Don't Mix)

Posted Nov. 16, 2021, on oilandwaterdontmix.org
Shared here with permission

The November 16 decision in U.S. District Court dismissing Michigan's motion to have the Line 5 shutdown case sent back to state court means that a foreign corporation has secured at least a temporary success in protecting oil profits at any cost -- even if that means keeping the Great Lakes at tremendous risk.

The court’s decision may appear to be a victory for Canada and Enbridge, but the reality is that Canadians and Michiganders who care about protecting the Great Lakes and our climate both lose with this decision.

Ultimately it may be up to President Biden to decide whether a 68-year-old oil Canadian pipeline is more important than the Great Lakes and his just days-old commitment to reducing fossil fuels by 45 percent by 2030. The fact is, we don’t have until 2030 to protect the Great Lakes from the twin oil pipelines in the Straits of Mackinac -- they are a ticking time bomb. If, as Judge Neff has decided, this is a federal matter and the people of Michigan have no voice, the president must now speak for us. President Biden has the power to withdraw the presidential permit for Line 5, save the Great Lakes, and honor his commitments to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. He should stand by Governor Whitmer and do it without delay. Time is not on our side. 

Click here to comment and take action.

Michigan Anishinaabek Caucus to hold virtual Town Hall on Line 5 issues Nov. 16

Editor's UPDATE: This event is delayed because of technical difficulties. It is being recorded via Zoom and the recording will be posted on the Anishinaabek Facebook page at a later time.

Water protectors demonstrate against Enbridge's Line 5 Tunnel project near the Mackinac Bridge. (Photo © Valerie Jean and courtesy Michigan Anishinaabek Caucus)

The Michigan Anishinaabek Caucus will host a virtual Town Hall on Line 5, Enbridge's 68-year-old pipeline under the Straits of Mackinac, from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. (ET) Tuesday, November 16, on the Michigan Anishinaabek Caucus Facebook page. Anyone on Facebook may attend this live event. (See UPDATE above.)

Dr. Kyle Whyte -- Citizen of the Potawatomi Nation, Anishinaabek Caucus member and professor of Environment and Sustainability at the University of Michigan -- will be convening a conversation on the Line 5 eviction, the proposed tunnel and the cultural site that was discovered last year under the Straits.

The town hall panel will feature Andrea Pierce, member of Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians and chair and founder of Anishinaabek Caucus; Dr. Martin Reinhardt, member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians and tenured professor of Native American Studies at Northern Michigan University; Biidaaban Reinhardt, member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians; Sean McBrearty of Oil and Water Don't Mix; and others.  

This is the third in a series of virtual Town Halls sponsored by the Anishinaabek Caucus during November, American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month.