Letter: Give Earth a break

Editor's Note: This letter is a comment on our Dec. 16, 2011, article, "Dems turn out for Congressional Candidate Gary McDowell at fundraiser in Hancock."

IRON COUNTY, Mich. -- I’m sure Gary McDowell is a fine person but I feel he is a fence walker.

Asked about whether he agreed with the platform of the League of Conservation Voters, McDowell said he believes in a proper balance between economic opportunities and environmental protection.

"It's not either or," he said. "We have to protect the environment. We can do it. We've done it in the past and we have to continue to do that."

We have not protected our environment in the past. Yes, laws were passed, but the laws were written to let potential polluters legally pollute. The cumulative effects of the pollution are showing ever increasing signs of negative health effects. The dangers are more prevalent today with the mining and possible nuclear dump sites.

So, it is a matter of "either or." It’s time to give the Earth a break. Governments and politicians have catered to industry for at least a century. The dream of prosperity has denigrated our lives.

As stated in the article:

Toward the end of his talk, Gary McDowell answers a question on the Rio Tinto / Kennecott Eagle Mine, noting the importance of funding the Department of Environmental Quality to see that it's done right.

Well, can’t argue that but I would like to elaborate.

I called McDowell’s office with concerns others and I had with the Eagle Mine. He and nine other State Representatives were sent an e-mail detailing how the DEQ ignored enforcing the law, Part 632. As you may or may not know, the Eagle Project is proceeding full speed ahead. All the money in the world does not mean things will be done right if the law is not enforced.

If Mr. McDowell wins he can say all he wants about the DEQ. He will be in the Federal Government and will not have any control over the DEQ. McDowell had his chance as a State Representative.

I realize politicians need to say things in ambiguous appealing ways to get votes or stay in office. It’s the voters who should hold the politicians responsible.

I guess we need to ask ourselves if we are satisfied with "either or." Maybe we need to change the dream. Change the dream or at least have a common definition of the word prosperity in which the health of the Earth is foremost. With a healthy Earth all the rest will fall into place.

Rich Sloat
Iron County, Mich.

MDEQ Notice: Public meeting on Copperwood Orvana mining permit application to be Nov. 9

LANSING -- The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ), Office of Oil, Gas, and Minerals, will conduct a public meeting on the application for a mining permit for the proposed Copperwood Mine, submitted by Orvana Resources US Corp. The location of the proposed mine is in Ironwood and Wakefield Townships, Gogebic County, Michigan. The application was submitted under the requirements of Part 632, Nonferrous Metallic Mineral Mining, of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act, 1994 PA 451, as amended. The MDEQ received the application on September 23, 2011, and determined it to be administratively complete on September 26, 2011.

The purpose of the meeting is to provide an opportunity for interested parties to exchange information through informal discussions and formal comments on the application. The meeting will be held on November 9, 2011, at Gogebic Community College, Lindquist Student Center -- Courtside Dining Area, E-4946 Jackson Road, Ironwood, Michigan 49938, according to the following schedule:

6 p.m. to 7 p.m. -- informal meeting

7:15 p.m. to 9 p.m. -- formal public comments

Note: all times are Central Standard Time (CST)

The MDEQ will accept written comments on the application from interested persons until 5 p.m. Wednesday, December 7, 2011. Send written comments via US mail to: MDEQ, Office of Oil, Gas, and Minerals, 525 W. Allegan St., P.O. Box 30256, Lansing, Michigan 48909; or via email to DEQ-Copperwood@michigan.gov.

Another public hearing will be held later on the proposed permit decision.

A copy of the application may be reviewed at the following locations:

MDEQ Upper Peninsula District Office, 420 5th Street, Gwinn, Michigan 49841
Contact Tina Coluccio, 906-346-8520.

MDEQ Office of Oil, Gas, and Minerals, 525 W. Allegan St., Lansing, Michigan 48933
Contact Steve Wilson, 517-241-1542.

Gogebic Community College Library, E-4946 Jackson Road, Ironwood, Michigan 49938

The application may also be viewed on the Internet at
http://www.michigan.gov/deq/0,4561,7-135-3311_4111_18442-262826--,00.html

Opinion: Elected officials ignore potential health threats, cleanup costs from mining

By Margaret Comfort*

Recently, I received a tear-off flyer from a Michigan legislator, requesting that I "check off the issues that interest you": a. Social Security, b. Tax Reform, c. Second Amendment, d. Medicare, e. Economy and Jobs, f. Border Security.

My number one choice, "Environment and Clean Water," was not on his list.

If we do not include "Environment and Clean Water" in the top six, we will make little progress on "Economy and Jobs," "Social Security," and "Medicare." I question the wisdom of our current elected public servants' hell-bent obsession to board the run-away train for another "mining boom." It'll be a boom alright -- a boom right in the 'ol noggin. Some will get jobs for a few years, maybe even 10 years. But then what? Of course, these so-called public servants will be long out of office by then (hopefully sooner).

But why should they worry? Let the working man deal with it -- just like when greedy corporate executives sold off our manufacturing base and auto industry to other nations, where items could be produced cheaper (i.e., more money in the pockets of the big-whigs) and we were left standing in the unemployment line.

Ready for another round? Ready to sign up to be the third-world "colony" yet again?

Mining is inherently unsustainable. Minerals are NOT renewable. Any temporary gain (in terms of jobs) will serve only as a temporary stop-gap measure. Although some fortunate folks will jump for joy with that good-paying job, what are we going to do when the pot is empty? Furthermore, the potential for damage to the environment and our "new gold" (water -- soon to be more precious than gold) far outweighs the temporary economic benefits such industry will bring.

This is NOT grandpa's type of mining. This is sulfide hard-rock acid-mine-drainage (AMD) polluting mining. This pollution is difficult, if not impossible, to clean up. Do you want to drink it? What, no health insurance after you lost that temporary job? Well -- now that you are sick -- prove it. Prove that you were poisoned.

Good luck.

When concern is voiced to a legislator or public official, the Chatty-Cathy answer is: "Michigan has the toughest mining laws in the nation" and "well, our regulatory agencies are on top of it." No, we don't and, no, they aren't.

In fact, Michigan's non-ferrous mining law, known as part 632, has plenty of loop-holes. Companies are only required to conduct an in-house EIA (environmental impact assessment). No independent study is required. If a company is able to by-pass (skirt around the Spirit of the Law) the Clean Water Act, then its waste water only has to meet "safe drinking-water standards," which may not support aquatic resources such as juvenile fish. Many existing waters in our beloved U.P. far exceed this "standard." Would not it behoove us to promote legislation to safeguard the purity with which we are blessed?

Furthermore, the DEQ itself has admitted that it doesn't have the staff, financial resources, or technical expertise to do the job. The EPA, the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act are currently on the chopping block. Various entities are trying to decimate them.

It would also behoove us to inquire whether any of these multinational corporations (be it Kennecott, Orvana, HudBay, Aquila, others) intends to extract, if discovered, URANIUM. Let us recall the horrors suffered by thousands of Navajo -- genetic mutations, birth defects. The legacy goes on and on.

The western world's so-called magic bullet (our savior, technology) still hasn't cleaned up the water eminating from the Midnight Mine on the Spokane Tribe Reservation, the AMD from the Buck and Dober iron mines in Iron County, nor the dioxin-laced Tittabawassee River downstream from Midland. Our magnificent state already has plenty of Superfund sites and brownfields to go around. We do not need to create any more; nor do we need to try and mask or greenwash the ones we already have.

Disturbingly, there is increasing intelligence data indicating these multinationals may intend to do just that: find a way to extract economically viable quantities of uranium compound from these ore bodies. Has triuranium octoxide been discovered in your neighborhood? near your camp? near your favourite fishing hole? near our beloved Lake Superior or Lake Michigan?

Get smart. Get informed! What are the chemical compositions of a representative sample of the company's drilled cores? Does the DEQ know? Shouldn't the DEQ know? They are supposed to be the regulatory agency! Such information should NOT be deemed a "company secret."

Furthermore, if corporations stand to profit BILLIONS from these "projects," would not it behoove the state of Michigan to demand a fair share of the pie? Shouldn't we DEMAND adequate financial assurance from the parent corporations (not just from their subsidiaries)? They must have a very strong incentive to do their utmost to not leave us and future generations of Michiganders with a big mess and a big bill. We are so hopelessly desperate right now that we foolishly settle for a few measley ten-twenty million rather than hundreds of millions in assurance.

A messy clean-up could end up costing millions per day.

Who is going to insure US -- the citizens of Michigan? What is the legal liability to us, the taxpayer? Have you, citizen, considered this? Remember: hindsight is 20/20. Turn on your brain, open your mouth, ask questions and demand answers. Do NOT settle for mediocrity. The corporation is hoping you will. Fool them! Wake up and smell the coffee!

While well-greased, politically savvy, and slick multinational corporations wine and dine our public servants, become their good buddies, and are deemed "stakeholders" to our regulatory agencies and departments, we, the EVERLASTING TRUE STAKEHOLDERS of the land and water, can't even get an answer to our questions -- nor can we get our elected officials to think, probe, and examine!

Our elected officials owe it to the People of the great State of Michigan to examine the facts, point out and question deficiencies, demand appropriate a priori financial assurances, and promote the development of a sustainable future for all citizens.

Wake up Michiganders! Demand it!

*Margaret Comfort, author of this article, is a resident of Marquette County.

Kennecott Forum, Part 2: Comments on Eagle Rock, mining permit

By Michele Bourdieu

Campers at Eagle Rock, where Rio Tinto /Kennecott plans to put the portal to the Eagle Mine. Access to Eagle Rock has been denied to the public, including Anishinaabe (Ojibwa) people who consider it a sacred site, since May 27, 2010, when two campers were arrested here. The identity of Eagle Rock as a place of worship is a point of contention in the contested case against Kennecott and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. (Keweenaw Now file photo taken May 25, 2010)

MARQUETTE -- Court proceedings for the appeal of the contested case against Kennecott Eagle Minerals Company (KEMC), a subsidiary of Rio Tinto, and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) are taking place today, June 9, 2011. The four Appellants in the case -- National Wildlife Federation (NWF), Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (KBIC), Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve and Huron Mountain Club -- are appealing the State of Michigan's approval of the first mining permit granted under Part 632 of Michigan's Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act, MCL 324.63201 et seq.

The Permit allows Kennecott to mine a four-million ton "sulfide" ore body located directly beneath the headwaters of the Salmon Trout River, a pristine trout stream originating in the Yellow Dog Plains and flowing to Lake Superior. The portal for this nickel and copper "Eagle Mine" will be located at the base of Eagle Rock, a sacred place of worship for Petitioner Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (KBIC).

At the fourth of a series of community forums held by Kennecott in April 2011, several public comments on the safety of the mine, the impacts on water and air quality and the violation of the Anishinaabe (Ojibwa) sacred site were made and recorded. Keweenaw Now presents here the second part of our series on this April 26 Forum held in Marquette.*

Chuck Brumleve, a geologist representing KBIC, who has studied Kennecott's mining permit in detail, spoke directly about the expert testimonies that have been made on the design of the mine for the permit now under appeal.

Geologist Chuck Brumleve speaks at the April 26, 2011, public forum sponsored by Rio Tinto / Kennecott Eagle Minerals Co. (KEMC). Brumleve notes experts have pointed out flaws in the design of the Eagle Mine and questions the State of Michigan's approval of the mining permit. (Video clips courtesy Allan Baker)

Michelle Halley, attorney for the National Wildlife Federation, responding to discussion on conflicts of interest, commented briefly on the fact that the judge in this contested case works for the MDEQ.

Michelle Halley, National Wildlife Federation attorney, speaks at Rio Tinto / Kennecott's April 26 public forum.

KBIC member Charlotte Loonsfoot, who helped organize a month-long camp at Eagle Rock last year until she was arrested while praying on top of Eagle Rock on May 27, 2010, also spoke at the April 26 forum. Loonsfoot spoke about the spiritual aspects of this sacred site. She has requested permission to conduct Anishinaabe ceremonies at Eagle Rock. However, since the company intends to blast an entrance to the mine under the rock, they have not been receptive to her request.

Charlotte Loonsfoot, KBIC member, speaks about the spirits that, according to Anishinaabe beliefs, inhabit Eagle Rock.

Jeffery Loman, also a KBIC member, who works in Alaska as deputy director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Regulation and Enforcement, challenged those in the audience of about 150 people at the forum to think about future generations when dealing with this mining company.

KBIC member Jeffery Loman, deputy director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Regulation and Enforcement in Alaska, speaks about the effects of the mine on future generations.

Speaking immediately after Loman, Carla Champagne, a resident of Big Bay, a town not far from the mine site, challenged Matt Johnson, Kennecott manager of external affairs, who facilitated the forum, on his explanation of where the company plans to drill.

Carla Champagne of Big Bay challenges Matt Johnson on his description of where Rio Tinto / Kennecott plans to drill to access the ore body.**

An extensive section of the Appellants' Brief against the mining permit approval for the Eagle Mine is devoted to evidence that Eagle Rock is a place of worship for the Anishinaabe people. The Brief describes what will happen if and when Kennecott drills under Eagle Rock: (The following excerpt omits reference notes.)

"The Mine Will Desecrate Eagle Rock As A Place Of Worship

"Kennecott's mining operations will involve the drilling and blasting of a 'portal' or tunnel directly through Eagle Rock. Before blasting begins, Kennecott will expose the base of Eagle Rock by removing earth with a bulldozer or excavator. Numerous large bolts will be drilled into the surface of Eagle Rock, and the rock will be covered with wire mesh and sprayed with 'Shock-Crete.' Kennecott will then use explosives to blast a tunnel through Eagle Rock. Steel arches will be installed and these arches will open a gaping hole emanating from the base of Eagle Rock.

"An 8-foot high chain link fence has been constructed around the mine's surface facilities at Eagle Rock as detailed in Figure 4-2 of the Permit application and required by the Part 632 Permit. Community members' access to and use of Eagle Rock will be (in fact as of this writing, have been) eliminated by this fence." (Appellants' Brief, pp. 48-49)***

Kennecott's fence near Eagle Rock. (August 2010 file photo)

Catherine O'Donnell of Marquette spoke about her family's participation in labor unions and reminded the audience that workers' rights, defended by labor unions, actually began with Native Americans' treaty rights.

During the April 26 public forum Catherine O'Donnell of Marquette speaks about workers' rights.

According to the treaty rights of Anishinaabe peoples on their ceded territory, it would seem from the evidence given in the Appellants' brief that mining activity at and near Eagle Rock would indeed prohibit people from these activities they have been free to do in the past:

"Unchallenged testimony on the record establishes that members of the Community and other anishinaabe tribes frequently access and use Eagle Rock and the surrounding 'mining area' and 'affected area' for worship, hunting, fishing, gathering of berries and medicines, and other activities such as the use of springs for drinking water, and that those activities will be impacted by mining operations." (From Note 17, pp. 57-58 of the Appellants' Brief)**

Notes:
* See our first article in this series, "Residents concerned about water quality question Rio Tinto-Kennecott at community forum," posted on May 3, 2011.

** Carla Champagne, along with her husband, Gene Champagne are part Concerned Citizens of Big Bay, who have filed a Petition for Contested Case Hearing with the State Office of Administrative Hearings in Lansing, Michigan. The group contends that the DNRE/DEQ failed to require a Part 632 Amendment in the construction and extension of electric service from Marquette, Mich., to the Rio Tinto Eagle Mine site, located eight miles from Big Bay. See our Feb. 22, 2011, article: "Concerned citizens file contested case: Kennecott Eagle Mine."

*** Click here for the Appellants' Brief on the contested case against the DEQ permit for Kennecott.