Letter: Tribal members, allies carry water 31 miles in response to Copperwood Mine

Participants in the Sept. 14, 2024, Gichigaming Water Walk arrive at the shore of Lake Superior in Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park, adjacent to the proposed Copperwood Mine site, at the conclusion of their 31-mile Walk. (Photo © Sol Anzorena and courtesy Protect the Porkies)

The Gichigaming Water Walk was Gogebic County’s largest environmental justice event in over a decade. On September 14, 2024, members from multiple Tribal Nations along with non-Native allies carried water 31 miles from the town of Ironwood, Mich., to the shore of Lake Superior in the Presque Isle Scenic Area of Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park. The Gichigaming Water Walk was a collaboration between Tribal Members and the Protect The Porkies campaign and was held in response to the proposed Copperwood Mine, which if developed would share a border on two sides with Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park and erect the closest metallic sulfide waste facility to Lake Superior in history.

Around 60 participants gathered beside the Montreal River at the Michigan/Wisconsin state line, a starting point chosen to symbolize that both water and its contamination know no borders. As the procession passed along Highway 2 through the towns of Bessemer and Wakefield and continued down County Road 519, the number of participants swelled to more than 80. Among them were members from the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, Lac Vieux Desert, Bad River, Red Cliff, the Menominee, Lac du Flambeau, Lac Courte Oreilles, and Little Traverse Bay band, as well as faculty and students from the Native American Studies and Environmental Studies departments at Northern Michigan University. Residents of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota were in attendance, along with many residents from towns throughout Gogebic County.

Water Walkers enter Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park. (Photo © Sol Anzorena and courtesy Protect the Porkies)

Although the Gichigaming Water Walk was held in response to the proposed Copperwood Mine -- a Canadian company's plan to ship Michigan's copper out of country and leave behind over 30+ million tons of mine waste containing mercury and arsenic next to Lake Superior -- it's important to note that the event was not a protest. Water Walks are a Native American ceremony held to honor the connection to the Land, the Lifeforms, and the Water which connects us all together. The first Water Walk was a procession around the entirety of Lake Superior held twenty-one years ago by Grandmother Josephine (Josephine Mandamin), who passed her teachings directly on to the organizers of Saturday's event, including Edith Bardo, former Bad River Tribal Historic Preservation Officer (THPO), and Siobhan Marks of the Lac Courte Oreilles band.

"As Native people, we recognize the Earth as our Mother, and her lifeblood is the Nibi that runs through her veins as rivers, lakes, streams and oceans. Extracting her for profit while risking the health and well-being of our lands, water, and all of creation is a serious offense to our Mother and the Creator. That is why we walk in prayer for her and for our Water." -- Siobhan Marks / Zeegwun Noodinese, Descendent of Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa

Charlotte Loonsfoot, Water Protector from the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (Photo courtesy Charlotte Loonsfoot) 

The Gichigaming Water Walk unfolded peacefully, but it was not without its hecklers. At one point in the town of Wakefield, a man on a motorcycle accused a Native American participant of being a "paid protestor" who "isn't from here" and "needs to get a job." When informed that 98.55 percent of all extracted material from the Copperwood Mine would not be copper but waste, the individual replied, "And how exactly do you know that?"  thus highlighting the general lack of public knowledge regarding the Mine, which is typically supported on the basis of "jobs" without concern for water contamination, disruption to outdoor recreation, and the perpetuation of the boom-and-bust cycle shown by multiple studies to leave communities more impoverished after mines close than before they open (1, 2). But when offered a pamphlet to learn more, the man replied adamantly, "I won't read it."

"Today we hear sayings in all forms of social media that 'this is life' or 'that is life.' All those sayings stemmed from these water walks, which gave global recognition to a fundamental fact, "Water is Life." When will we as humans realize that? When we’ve contaminated the last drop? Then what will we drink to live?" -- Guy Reiter / Anahkwet, Member of the Menominee Nation 

Eagle Staff carrier and Water carrier pass in front of the site for the proposed Copperwood Mine. (Photo © Sol Anzorena and courtesy Protect the Porkies)

The lack of education regarding Copperwood is in large part due to local media's unwillingness to cover the perspective of environmental and outdoor recreation advocates. Although articles have been published throughout Michigan, Wisconsin -- and even internationally in Britain's The Daily Mail -- media from Gogebic County has made no attempt to objectively cover the Protect The Porkies campaign, despite a petition of 45,000 signatures expressing multiple concerns regarding the proposed Mine. The Ironwood Daily Globe still has not made a single mention of the campaign and did not attempt to cover this Gichigaming Water Walk -- the largest environmental justice event in Gogebic County in over a decade -- and the only coverage from the Wakefield/Bessemer Pick and Axe (a publication run by a single individual) was a February article with the headline, "Outside forces step up fight against Copperwood, our community."

Such an accusation of "outside forces" is almost comical in the context of a Canadian company seeking to extract Michigan's copper, and it also does not seem account for the founder of the Protect The Porkies campaign residing in Wakefield Township, or the hundreds of Gogebic County residents who have signed the petition. More importantly, anyone descended from European settlers -- so-called "white people" -- may well be labeled "outside forces" compared to the Indigenous cultures who have inhabited these lands for tens of thousands of years without contaminating the water, many members of which were present at this Walk.

"We pray for the water because it cannot speak for itself. We let it know that we love it. We respect it. We care for it. We appreciate the life it brings forth. And we ask the Creator of all living things to protect it from harm. How that will happen, we don’t know, but we ask for it to happen." -- Edith Leoso, Member of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa 

Water Walk organizer and former Bad River Tribal Historic Preservation Officer (THPO) Edith Leoso on the shore of Gichigami (Lake Superior). (Photo © Sol Anzorena and courtesy Protect the Porkies)

But the purpose of the Gichigaming Water Walk was not to divide, but to unite. None are "outside forces" when it comes to Water, which comprises 99 percent of the molecules in all of our bodies. Ensuring the integrity of the streams, groundwater, and Lake Superior -- largest freshwater sea on Earth -- is in the best interests of everyone.

The mining company claims it will take measures to prevent environmental harms, but the most comprehensive study conducted of American copper sulfide mines found that every single one of them contaminated water, even when complying with regulations.

The Copperwood Mine is opposed by a great many who do not usually speak out on mining issues. A metallic sulfide mine at the juncture of the Porcupine Mountains  (the largest mixed old-growth forest in the Midwest), the North Country Trail (the longest of all national hiking trails), and Lake Superior (the largest, cleanest, and wildest of all Great Lakes), is simply an abysmal location for such an operation. This is not an environmentalist perspective -- it's common sense.

Signed,

Tom Grotewohl
Founder of the Protect The Porkies campaign and resident of Wakefield Township

Editor's Note: For more information on Protect the Porkies and the campaign to protect the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park from the proposed Copperwood Mine, go to https://protecttheporkies.com/

State of Michigan grant approval for Copperwood Mine reveals rifts in environmental movement, need for dialogue

By Brian Noell, Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve*

View of the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park, now threatened by the proposed Copperwood Mine project, a metallic sulfide mine adjacent to Lake Superior. (Photo by Protect the Porkies and courtesy Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve)**

On Tuesday, March 26, the Michigan Strategic Fund (MSF) board voted unanimously to approve a $50 million grant to Canadian-owned Highland Copper to aid in development of a metallic sulfide mine adjacent to Lake Superior and Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park. Although the result was not unexpected, it and the subsequent public relations effort are revealing, and I would argue, important for those considering themselves environmentalists to ponder.***

Thanks to the efforts of the grassroots coalition assembled in opposition to the grant, the members of which spoke eloquently at the March 26 and February 27 meetings as well as in writing, the MSF board attached significant conditions to the award. The money is to be paid out as a reimbursement, not an outright gift, and only applies to Highland Copper itself (unless MSF gives its consent), ensuring that the company does not pocket the money and abandon the project to another entity. Moreover, there is an infrastructure construction requirement and an obligation to create jobs (yet to be determined, though press releases are touting 380 as the number). Both provide a level of accountability to the local community that might not have existed had activists not pointed out the speculative nature and generally negative net economic effects of mining development in rural America.

Most importantly, MSF is requiring Highland Copper to raise $150 million before the state money is disbursed, a significant hurdle for a company whose valuation is presently less than the $50 million grant itself. Indeed, the company has owned Copperwood for 10 years and already has successively pushed back construction timetables because of undercapitalization.

Also instructive is the public relations exercise that followed the grant announcement. The unanimity of business groups, Northern Michigan University, local government, state representatives, and the Governor herself, was touted in press releases. Job creation, infrastructure improvement, economic development, and securing resources for electric vehicles and other technologies (ideally to be built in Michigan) were in the forefront. Although there will be an undeniable short-term economic impact if the project clears all the monetary and regulatory hurdles it faces and manages to produce ore, one can question the actual number of jobs for locals the mine will create as well as the sustainability of the development an operation predicted to produce only for 11 years will bring. And what about the market for copper itself, which is notoriously volatile and will largely determine the level of ore production, a common phenomenon that results in the type of "flickering" that keeps traditional mining communities in perpetual want?

Official press releases and local media coverage of the grant announcement were unquestioningly cheery and, even when mentioning opposition, omitted the substance of those objections. Extraction beneath Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park and potentially within 100 feet of Lake Superior itself, for example, as well as construction of a 323-acre tailings facility perched on a slope leading to the big lake and in view of the North Country Trail, Lake of the Clouds Overlook, and Copper Peak were passed over in silence.****

The Lake of the Clouds -- one of the most scenic views in the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park. The view to the right of the photo (west and south) could be impeded by the proposed 323-acre tailings facility, originally estimated to be about 14 storeys high. (Keweenaw Now file photo)

The roll-out of the MSF grant is illustrative of a crossroads being approached in the environmental movement, when destruction of wild lands adjacent to a lake containing 10 percent of the world’s fresh water and an iconic state park is justified in the name of green energy, central to keeping the economy humming in the age of climate change. Political coalition-building underpins the project, which dovetails nicely with conservative priorities to rebuild extractive industries and provide jobs in a region suffering economic hardship and decades of population decline.

This map shows the proposed Copperwood Tailings Disposal Facility (TDF), outlined in orange, lower center of map. For a larger version go to page 53, Fig. 1-2, of Highland Copper/Copperwood Resources' 2018 proposed Part 632 mining permit amendment. The TDF is on a slope, leaning toward Lake Superior. (Keweenaw Now file Screenshot courtesy Copperwood Resources, Inc.)

From a political perspective, this is a winning strategy for both sides and even seems like a path out of our climate dilemma. But what are the costs? Green energy is not green if the result is the fouling of the world’s largest body of fresh water, which also is vital to addressing the effects of climate change. And what of the more sustainable recreation economy that the MSF’s own bosses, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, are also pushing in their "Pure Michigan" campaign? 

This map shows the proximity of the projected Copperwood Mine and its Tailings Disposal Facility to the historic North Country Trail, indicated by the bright green line. (Map courtesy Protect the Porkies.)

Perhaps most importantly, the mainstream narrative that celebrates sustainability, prosperity, and green energy in connection with the development of Copperwood ignores the burden future generations will bear from mineral extraction on the banks of our largest great lake. Maintaining decaying infrastructure and preventing the release of the accumulated waste into Lake Superior will be this project’s longest legacy, adding more than 30 million tons of toxic material to the already steep bill of climate change itself.

Green energy, it turns out, is fraught with trade-offs. For now, however, state and corporate PR apparatus have the information advantage, working hand-in-glove with a local media lacking the resources and perhaps inclination to question the rosy picture being painted for them of "environmentally friendly" industrial projects.

It appears to fall to organizations and news sources outside the establishment echo-chamber to put these questions before the public and for us all to do some tough thinking about the costs of the "green" economy’s rapid growth.  If we begin to see the problem in a multi-faceted way, perhaps a path forward will emerge that includes in the calculus even the effects of our actions on behalf of a warming planet.

Editor's Notes:

* Guest author Brian Noell has given Keweenaw Now permission for republishing this article he wrote for the Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve.

** Visit protecttheporkies.com to learn more about the sulfide mining threat to the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park and to read and sign the petition against the Copperwood Mine project.

*** The Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park, near Ontonagon, Mich., was recently named the most beautiful state park in the US.

**** See this video that shows failure of tailings dams.

Copperwood applies for permit to construct Tailings Disposal Facility; public comments due Aug. 1, 2018

By Michele Bourdieu

Highland Copper subsidiary Copperwood Resources, Inc., has applied to the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality for a Part 315 Dam Safety permit for constructing the Tailings Disposal Facility (TDF) (outlined above in orange, lower center of map) for the Copperwood Mining Project near Wakefield. Click on map for slightly larger version or go to page 53, Fig. 1-2, of Copperwood Resources' proposed Part 632 mining permit amendment for a larger version. (Screenshot of map courtesy Copperwood Resources, Inc.)

GAYLORD, Mich. -- Thomas Repaal, Copperwood Resources, Inc., 310 East US Hwy 2, Wakefield, Michigan 49968, has applied to the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) Water Resources Division Gaylord Field Office for a permit under authority of Part 315, Dam Safety, of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act, 1994 PA 451, as amended (NREPA).

The applicant proposes to construct a 320-acre Tailings Disposal Facility (TDF) as part of the Copperwood Project
underground copper mine. The final TDF will be constructed of earth fill and will include approximately 9.29 million cubic yards of material for the embankments. The project is located in T49N, R45W, Sections 6, 7, and 8; Wakefield and Ironwood Townships; Gogebic County, Michigan.

Jim Pawloski, DEQ Water Resources engineer in the Gaylord office (Hydrologic Studies and Dam Safety Unit), said the Part 315 permit is required because of the size and height of the proposed TDF -- 320 acres and up to 130 feet high.

Pawloski told Keweenaw Now Copperwood's Part 315 application is essentially the same as the one they applied for and received previously.

"It's actually a new application because the previous one expired after five years," Pawloski said.

Further description from the summary of activities in the Part 315 permit application form:

"The TDF embankment will be comprised of three zones of soil fill, the innermost of which is a low permeability recompacted soil fill. In addition to these three embankment zones, a HDPE geomembrane liner will be installed on the upstream face of the embankment to control tailings water seepage. Construction of the TDF will also impact 51.25 acres of wetland, which will be mitigated on-site and through preservation off-site. The TDF will also require the filling of 16,557 linear feet of stream and creek; provisions have been made to intercept all upstream flow and route it around the TDF through the construction of stream channels using natural stream channel design. The downstream watershed will be left intact and undisturbed. Upon closure of the mine, the TDF will be capped, reclaimed, and returned to a natural, self-sustaining ecosystem. The cap will consist of a geosynthetic separation layer, a capillary break layer, a soil cover layer, and a vegetative support layer. Once reclaimed, the TDF will provide approximately 320 acres of grassland habitat with drainage directed north into existing stream channels."*

In their description of the TDF, the applicant also notes, "The sediment in the tailings and contact water will settle out in the TDF, and the water will be collected via decant structure piping and transferred to the on-site wastewater treatment plant."*

The scenic North Country Trail passes very near the south side of the TDF.

Doug Welker of Atlantic Mine, a member of a local North Country Trail chapter, helps maintain the North Country Trail and enjoys hiking in Upper Peninsula areas of the trail.

This drawing shows Stage 3 of the proposed Tailings Disposal Facility (TDF) with base liner grades. Note streams to the north and the proximity of the North Country Trail to the south of the TDF (arrow above the letter A on south side points to the scenic trail). For a larger view go to page 70, Fig.5-4, of Copperwood Resources' proposed Part 632 mining permit amendment.

"I have commented publicly on this issue in the past," Welker told Keweenaw Now recently.  "My biggest concern is the scale of the tailings basin and the lack of a spelled-out 'worst case scenario,' should the tailings basin fail. Our 'new climate normal' will likely feature more intense rainfalls than the model the company is using to project tailings basin-related safety."

Because of the impacts to wetlands and the re-routing of streams planned for the construction of the TDF, the Part 315 permit is related to other DEQ Water Resources permits.

On July 17, 2018, a public hearing was held at Gogebic Community College on the renewal of Copperwood's permit application for Part 301, Inland Lakes Streams; Part 303, Wetland Protection; and Part 325, Great Lakes Submerged Lands.

James Caron of DEQ Water Resources, who chaired the July 17 public hearing, said about 66 people attended the hearing and most of those who made comments were in favor of granting those permits. Only one person spoke in opposition -- Chuck Brumleve, environmental mining specialist for the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (KBIC), who presented the tribe's opposition to the application.

Brumleve told Keweenaw Now he was surprised to be the only person expressing environmental concerns at the hearing. He noted the local government representatives who spoke were all in favor of Copperwood's project.

Native Americans' objections to Copperwood plans

According to Brumleve, the tribe is presenting several objections to Copperwood's present project. Here are a few of their concerns:

-- They object to the fact that the company plans to store all the tailings on the surface rather than backfilling the mine with at least some of the tailings so that the size of the TDF, wetland impacts and stream diversions could be reduced -- thus reducing the height of the TDF and its visual, aesthetic impacts as well (presently DEQ officials admit that, should the TDF reach the anticipated height of 130 feet, it would be visible from the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park). Backfilling is a well established technology for this type of underground mine and was even recommended by the mining company's consultant in 2012.

-- Another possibility for reducing the size of the TDF, reducing the wetland fill, and possibly avoiding stream diversion (apparently not included in the company's plans) would be to transport tailings from the Copperwood Mine to the White Pine tailings basin.

-- The tribe has also cited studies that question the company's claim that the streams and wetlands are not connected to groundwater. They note the company has not heeded warnings from experts, made in comments in 2012, that contaminated mine water could discharge from the underground mine workings to the surface.

-- The proposed water intake from Lake Superior raises concerns about tribal treaty rights, since the mine and the intake are located within the 1842 Ceded Territory. Potential impacts on treaty-guaranteed tribal fishingand nearby spawning areas should be studied before permits are granted.

Today, July 26, is the DEQ's extended comment deadline for the Part 301, Part 303 and Part 325 permit.**

Public comments on Part 315 application due by Aug. 1, 2018

The public may submit comments on this Part 315 application by 5 p.m. on Aug. 1, 2018. Written comments will be made part of the record and should reference the application number HNE-DAD2-17YT1. Objections must be factual, specific, and fully describe the reasons upon which any objection is founded. Unless a written request is filed with the DEQ within the 20-day public comment period (which began July 12, 2018) the DEQ may make a decision on the application without a public hearing. The determination as to whether a permit will be issued or a public hearing held will be based on an evaluation of all relevant factors, including the public comments received and the effect of the proposed work on the public trust or interest, including navigation, fish, wildlife, and pollution.***

Asked why only two documents concerning the Part 315 application are available on the DEQ's MI Waters Web site (the Public Notice and the Joint Permit Application Form), Pawloski said the other documents are too large for the Internet system.

"We've decided to make documents available upon request," he told Keweenaw Now.

The entire copy of the public notice package may be requested by calling 989-731-4920 or may be viewed at the DEQ Water Resources Division Gaylord Field Office, 2100 M-32, Gaylord, Michigan 49735. Written comments may be mailed to this office and must be received by 5 p.m. on Aug. 1, 2018. To comment on line, click here to download, from the MI Waters Web site, the complete Public Notice (PN Copperwood Mine) and the Joint Permit Application Form (DEQ and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers). Click on Add Comment to submit comments. You may also comment by email to Jim Pawloski at pawloskij@michigan.gov; however, comments on line through MI Waters are preferable.

Notes:

* See the Joint Permit Application Form (DEQ and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers), pp. 1-3. Click here to download this Application Form.

** See our July 13, 2018, article, "UPDATED: MDEQ to hold public meeting/hearing on proposed Copperwood mining permit amendment, water permit updates."

*** See the Public Notice (PN Copperwood Mine). Click here to download it.