Metallic Sulfide Mining Update
In December 2007, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources removed the last stumbling block to Kennecott’s mining application when it approved the lease of 120 surface acres for a mine portal and the construction of surface structures, noting only one stipulation: digging could not begin until the EPA granted an Underground Injection Permit.
Days later, Kennecott announced its interest in mining half a dozen other sites in the western U.P. In February 2008, four groups—The Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve, National Wildlife Federation, Huron Mountain Club and the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community—filed suit against the MDEQ asking the state agency to revoke the permits, citing irreparable environmental harm if the mine went forward.
In March 2008, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agreed with a petition filed by The Michigan Sierra Club, Huron Mountain Club and Marvin Roberson that listing coaster brook trout under the endangered Species Act may be warranted (see Take Action).
In late April, the earlier mentioned groups will argue before Ingham County Circuit Court in an effort to reverse the Department of Environmental Quality’s multiple permit approvals, citing violations under the Michigan Environmental Protection Act. - Editor