Marquette County Road Commission to meet on Kennecott's road proposal Oct. 19

MARQUETTE -- The Marquette County Road Commission (MCRC) will meet at 6:30 p.m. tonight, Monday, Oct. 19, in the Ishpeming Township Hall (note location change). The MCRC will either vote to accept Kennecott Minerals Company's Proposed South Road plan for their proposed Eagle Project sulfide mine or defer the decision until a later meeting.

At a public hearing held Sept 28, a group of 20 citizens voiced their concerns about the proposed route and urged the commission to postpone their decision until Kennecott 1) amends their mining permit and 2) obtains all of the necessary permits to do their mining business.*

This massive road project is expected to do the following:

• degrade and destroy the wilderness highlands of Michigamme Township
• displace wildlife
• open thousands of acres to intensive logging, sulfide mining and other development
• threaten the ecological health of sensitive wetlands, streams and rivers.

Citizens opposed to the road project can take action by attending the meeting Monday night or, if unable to attend, can call MCRC, Jim Iwaniki, today, Monday, and voice their concerns: 906-475-4491 Ext. 200.

*See a map of the road and draft minutes of the Sept. 28 meeting on SavetheWildUP.org

Michigan Ballot Initiative moves forward

Michigan Save Our Water Committee has officially announced the submission of a ballot initiative petition that calls for tougher laws to protect the Great Lakes, inland lakes, rivers and the rest of the environment from contamination caused by some types of mining.

Read an overview explaining the Ballot Initiative on miwater.org.

See the Oct. 18, 2009, article, "Mining initiative foes, backers set for long battle," in the Marquette Mining Journal.

Visit SavetheWildUP.org for more updates on the sulfide mining issue.