Three Questions for the Michigan DEQ on the Back Forty Project

By Louis V. Galdieri*
Posted Sept. 27, 2016, on Louis V. Galdieri's blog
Reprinted here with permission

Early in September 2016 the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality announced its intention to permit the Back Forty Project, an open-pit gold and zinc sulfide ore mine that Aquila Resources, a Canadian company, plans to develop near the headwaters of the Menominee River. In response to the MDEQ’s request for public comment by November 3rd, I’ve submitted these three questions. I’m posting them here so that others might consider them in the run up to the public hearing with the MDEQ in Stephenson, Michigan, on October 6th.**

1. In determining that the Back Forty Project application meets the requirements for approval under Part 632, did MDEQ take into account the cumulative effects of sulfide mining throughout the Lake Superior watershed? We know that the Back Forty project poses a significant risk to the Menominee River all by itself. With the mine in close proximity to the river, a flood, berm collapse, subsidence or a slide could destroy the Menominee River; to answer these serious concerns by asking the company to add a “synthetic, manmade liner under their waste/tailing rock facility,” as the DEQ has proposed, is to trivialize them. Other development that the mine will inevitably bring, including haul routes, power lines, lights, fueling stations, exhaust and machine noise, will leave a large industrial footprint and disturb the Menominee River and its environs in countless ways. At the same time, this mine will heighten the risk, in the long term, of large-scale environmental destruction posed by the resurgence of sulfide mining not just in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, but in Minnesota and Canada as well -- all around the lake and throughout the Lake Superior watershed. Has the DEQ completed or participated with neighboring state agencies and tribal authorities in a scientific study of the cumulative impacts of sulfide mining around Lake Superior? Has the DEQ issued guidance on how cumulative environmental effects should factor into its decision-making process for permitting new mines in Michigan?

2. Has MDEQ made any determination about the human rights implications of its decision to allow the Back Forty project to go forward? Human rights are not outside the DEQ’s bailiwick, no matter how hard it may try to exempt itself. Witness Flint. In the present case, the DEQ’s oversight is inextricably bound up with the state’s obligation to protect human rights abuses by third parties. Aquila’s Back Forty project is sure to disturb, and likely to desecrate, lands traditionally belonging to the Menominee and still held sacred by them; and making provisions for archaeological recovery and preservation of mounds and other sacred sites does not adequately address the basic human rights issues involved here. The headwaters of the Menominee River are central to the tribe’s creation story, marking the place where the Menominee people originated. Their very name derives from manoomin, or wild rice, which will not survive changes in sulfate levels or degradation of overall water quality. As tribal member Guy Reiter has said, "It’s no different than if an open-pit sulfide mine was put in Bethlehem for the Christians." Seen from this perspective, the Back Forty is not only an affront to Menominee history; it also puts the cultural survival of the Menominee people at risk. How will the DEQ factor such human rights considerations into its decision-making process?

3. What has the DEQ done to restore trust in its authority, and reassure the Menominee and people living downstream from the Back Forty project in Michigan and Wisconsin that it will exercise appropriate care? The Flint water crisis cast a long shadow, and reinforced the perception that "politics and poverty are big factors" in DEQ decision making. "The same attitude of disregard for citizens and the environment has repeated itself in DEQ decisions across our state for well over a decade," said Marquette attorney Michelle Halley after news of the Flint water crisis broke; controversy over the renewed Groundwater Discharge Permit issued by MDEQ at Eagle Mine and legitimate concerns about lax oversight at Eagle East help make her case. Like all government agencies, the Michigan DEQ should operate in sunlight. Already, however, troubling questions have been raised about the transparency of the Back Forty permitting process. For example, Al Gedicks, Executive Secretary of the Wisconsin Resources Protection Council, asks why the DEQ appears to be in a "rush" to grant the Back Forty permit. So as things now stand, the DEQ enjoys de jure authority in Michigan under Part 632, but it is unclear whether the DEQ still enjoys de facto authority, which could only derive from demonstrations of regulatory competence. How does MDEQ intend to quell public concern that it is compromised or incompetent, and reassure the public that it is a responsible steward?

Editor's Notes:

* Guest author Louis V. Galdieri is a filmmaker based in New York City. He and fellow filmmaker Ken Ross visited Houghton, Mich., in October 2013 and screened their documentary 1913 Massacre, about the Italian Hall tragedy. Since then he has posted several articles on his blog about present-day mining issues in the Upper Peninsula. (Inset photo: Louis V. Galdieri. Photo courtesy Louis V. Galdieri)

** The public hearing will be held from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. CST on Thursday, Oct. 6, at Stephenson High School gymnasium, located at W526 Division Street, Stephenson, Mich., to accept public comment on the proposed decisions. Click here for details on making comments.

Learn potential impacts of Back 40 sulfide mine: Save the Menominee River Speaking Tour forum July 23; canoe/kayak excursion July 29

(Image courtesy Save the Wild U.P.)

From Save the Wild U.P.: 

MARQUETTE -- Grassroots opposition to Aquila’s Back Forty metallic sulfide mine next to the Menominee River will sponsor its fourth public forum on the cultural, environmental and economic impacts of the proposed mine at 10 a.m. on Saturday, July 23, in the Wausaukee, Wis., Town Hall (N 11856 Hwy 141). Save the Menominee River Speaking Tour sponsored previous forums in Marinette, Wis., and Menominee and Stephenson, Mich. The event is free and open to the public.

Speakers from groups including the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin, the River Alliance of Wisconsin, the Front 40 citizens group and the Wisconsin Resources Protection Council will present information about mining impacts, including the endangered sturgeon population in the Menominee River, and invite public comments about the proposed open pit mine.

Save the Wild U.P. to host activist trainings

Michigan’s Department of Environmental Quality is expected to hold a Public Hearing on the Back Forty proposal later this summer (TBA). Citizens can learn how to speak out at public hearings in "lunch and learn" activist trainings sponsored by Save the Wild U.P. (SWUP) from noon to 3 p.m. on Monday, July 18; Monday, July 25; and Monday, Aug. 1. followed by a social hour at the Ore Dock Brewing Company’s upstairs public space, 114 W. Spring St. in Marquette.*

Canoe/Kayak Excursion July 29

For those interested in a closer look at the proposed mine site, the River Alliance of Wisconsin is leading a canoe/kayak excursion on the Menominee River on Friday, July 29, to learn about the mine and appreciate the beauty of this river. Starting at the White Rapids dam, east of Amberg, Wis., and northwest of Stephenson, Mich., the excursion will visit significant native American archaeological sites and do a "paddle-by" of the proposed mine site. The River Alliance will be joined by officials from the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin and the Front 40 citizens group.  The Menominee River takes its name from the Menominee Indians of Wisconsin whose creation stories start at the mouth of the Menominee River. According to Guy Reiter, a Menominee tribal member, "the creator gave us responsibility for watching out for that water thousands of years ago." Click here for more details and registration.

For more information contact: Guy Reiter (715) 853-2776 anahkwet@hotmail.com or Ron Henriksen (906) 563-5766 menomineeriver.com.

* Editor's Note: See Save the Wild U.P.'s recent article, "Public Comments to MDEQ: 98 percent Opposed to Back Forty!"

Save the Wild U.P.: Will Michigan DEQ reject fraudulent Back Forty mine permit?

"Don’t Undermine the Menominee River!" -- an informational forum reviewing the Back Forty sulfide mine proposal and what’s at stake -- will take place from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2016, in the Shiras Room of the Peter White Public Library in Marquette. (Poster courtesy Save the Wild U.P.)

From Save the Wild U.P.
Posted Feb. 5, 2016, on savethewildup.org
Reprinted with permission. 

MARQUETTE --  Grassroots environmental group Save the Wild U.P. (SWUP) has announced that they will be asking Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) to reject Aquila’s Back Forty mine permit application. SWUP is raising alarming questions about false or contradictory statements made in Aquila Resources’ Back Forty mine permit application. Aquila plans on developing an open pit sulfide mine on the Menominee River, extracting rock, processing ore -- containing lead, zinc, copper, gold and other heavy metals -- with flotation, cyanide and smelting, and dumping their waste on the banks of Upper Michigan’s largest watershed.

The Back Forty mine permit application -- over 37,500 pages, including the environmental impact assessment -- is currently under review by the MDEQ. Concerned citizens, regional environmental organizations, and the Menominee Tribe of Wisconsin are also scrutinizing the permit.*

When reviewing any mine proposal, one basic question must be answered: "What is the proposed Life of Mine (LOM)?" In order to correctly calculate a mine’s risks, benefits and cumulative environmental impacts, an accurate LOM estimate is essential. According to Aquila’s permit application, "The (Back Forty) Project will be an open pit mining operation" and the “Life of Mine (LOM) operation is planned to be approximately 7 years."

This is misleading. Elsewhere, Aquila describes the Back Forty project as having a "16 year life of mine (LOM), of which 12.5 Mt is open-pit and 3.6 Mt is underground." Back Forty is described as a 16 year mine in Aquila’s press releases, in communications with the Menominee Indian Tribe, and in letters to investors and local community leaders. According to their Project Fact Sheet: "we support a transparent process(…) visit our website at aquilaresources.com/projects/back-forty-project for more information." Visitors to Aquila’s website find a 16 year mine described.

"Apparently, the only folks who haven’t been told about Aquila’s 16 year open pit and underground mining plan are the DEQ regulators who are busy at this very moment, reviewing Aquila’s application for a 7 year open pit mine," said Kathleen Heideman, SWUP president.

Significantly, the 16 year LOM is described in Aquila’s current NI 43-101 report, required by Canadian Securities Administrators.

"Aquila’s NI 43-101 report should be used by Michigan regulators to truth-test whether this company is being 'open and transparent' concerning the Back Forty project," said Michelle Halley, Marquette attorney and member of Save the Wild U.P.’s advisory board.

Diagram from Aquila's NI 43-101 report. (Image courtesy Save the Wild U.P.)

Is Aquila lying To state regulators? Should DEQ Care?

Aquila’s application asserts that mining and milling facilities are scaled to accommodate the life of the mine. By minimizing LOM, the company can misrepresent all of the mine’s impacts, including tailings capacity, size of waste rock storage areas, total limestone needed for neutralizing total waste rock, total need for importing and storing cyanide and other chemicals used in the processing of the ore, total crushing and processing throughput, milling equipment capacity, water treatment plant capacity, dewatering and draw-down estimates, air pollution quantities, noise, pit backfilling estimates, remediation planning, post-closure timelines, and more.

"The Back Forty mine application raises more red flags than I can count -- critical oak savannas, sturgeon fisheries, treaty-protected natural resources, and indigenous archaeological sites will be threatened or destroyed by this mining operation," said Alexandra Maxwell, SWUP’s executive director. "Sulfide mines are known to pollute indefinitely. This mine doesn’t belong on the Menominee River."

Aquila's application indicates the project will not include underground mining. Click on image for larger version. (Figure courtesy Save the Wild U.P.)

By claiming that "no underground mining" will occur, Aquila’s application sidestepped valid regulatory concerns under Michigan’s Part 632 rules governing sulfide mining. In the application checklist, underground items were marked "not applicable," and Aquila skipped questions about Subsidence, Impacts to Public or Private Water Supply Wells, Closure of Openings and more, stating "project does not include an underground mine as such contingency planning for subsidence is not required." In the permit application, Aquila flatly states "underground mining was considered but rejected (…) underground mining is not a prudent alternative for this ore body. The shallowness of the ore body, specifically the shallow ore zones, heavily influences the effectiveness of open pit mining."

Heideman noted Aquila has ruled out underground mining only in their permit application, not in other documents.**

"Are they talking out of both sides of their mouth?" she asked. "It undermines their credibility."

"The Aquila Back Forty project must not be permitted on the basis of a fraudulent permit application for a short-lived open pit mine, only to have the company request endless revisions until Back Forty’s open pit gradually morphs into an unrecognizable and potentially unregulated underground mine," warned Maxwell.

The Back Forty mine permit application for a 7 year mine appears misleading and inaccurate, at best, and fraudulent at worst. Aquila’s clear intent -- expressed in every document except their mine permit application -- is to develop a 16 year mine. Tacking on a subsequent underground mining phase could increase the mine’s life by a factor of 129 percent, forcing dramatic and non-public-involved revisions to every aspect of the permit application currently under review by the State of Michigan.

"If Aquila affirms that this 7 year open pit LOM is accurate, and defends the permit application, all public statements containing the Back Forty’s 16 year life of mine estimate should be viewed as baseless or fraudulent statements, designed to attract investors and gain greater political and community support," said Heideman.

Maxwell added, "Misinformation about the 'life of mine' has infected this permit application. We are asking DEQ regulators to act promptly to dismiss Aquila’s mine permit application, given the inaccurate statements. Public trust in our regulatory process is at stake."

DEQ Public Comment Deadline extended; info sessions to be held

Public Comment Deadline has been EXTENDED to February 16! -- Concerned citizens and other interested persons are urged to submit written comments by mail or e-mail until 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2016. Mail your comments to MDEQ Back Forty Mine Comments, Office of Oil, Gas, and Minerals, 1504 West Washington Street, Marquette, Michigan, 49855; or by email to Joe Maki: makij3@michigan.gov.

Save the Wild U.P. and Front 40 will host "Don’t Undermine the Menominee River!" -- an informational forum reviewing the Back Forty sulfide mine proposal and what’s at stake. The forum will take place from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2016, in the Shiras Room of the Peter White Public Library in Marquette.

NEW:  DEQ Information Session -- MDEQ staff have been asked to hold an additional educational session for the public, concerning Aquila’s Back Forty Mine Permit Application. This meeting is tentatively schedule to take place at 7 p.m. CST on March 9, 2016, at the Lake Township Hall Co. Rd. 577/G-12, Stephenson, MI 49887. For confirmation, contact Joe Maki: makij3@michigan.gov -- for directions, contact Lake Township at 906-753-4385.

* Concerned citizens are invited to TAKE ACTION by signing a letter from Save the Wild U.P. asking Michigan DEQ to deny Aquila Resources’ Back Forty mine permit application, in light of serious and fundamental misrepresentations. Click here to read and sign the letter.

** See Aquila's Web site for statements about the underground mine.