Due to the extreme complexity of this issue and the many fronts going on simultaneously, here is an update of events that have taken place in the past year to date:
February 14, 2009. Rio Tinto officially defers the Kennecott Eagle Project until commodity prices rise. There has been little to no Kennecott activity on the Yellow Dog Plains since December, 2008.
February, 2009. Rio Tinto enters into an agreement with Chinese owned company Chinalco which meets huge opposition from stockholders and regulatory bodies alike. Rio Tinto has acquired huge debt due to the purchase of aluminum company (ALCAN) and is $39 billion in debt. Chinalco would give Rio Tinto the billions needed in exchange for minority interests in many mining operations and two board seats on the Rio Tinto Executive Board of Directors.
May, 2009. The Coaster Brook Trout Threatened and Endangered petition was denied by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Sierra Club and the Huron Mountain Club are still assessing an appeal.
June, 2009. Rio Tinto backs out of Chinalco deal and angers the Chinese. Rio enters into a joint venture with BHP Billeton in the mining of west end Australian Iron mines which will give Rio $6 billion dollars. Rio also issues a “rights” stock option to raise $20 billion to pay off debt. Rio also continues to sell many assets.
June 19, 2009. DEQ indicates that the Humboldt Mill permit decision will be indefinitely postponed until late fall – no date set.
July, 2009. The Chinese government arrests four Rio Tinto employees for spying of state secrets and bribing iron ore smelter officials to obtain strategic information critical to China’s negotiation with Rio Tinto in the setting of iron ore prices in China.
July, 2009. Judge Paula Manderfield dismisses DNR Public Trust case due to lack of Jurisdiction. This decision has been appealed by the petitioners (National Wildlife Federation, Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, Huron Mountain Club and the Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve, Inc) to the Michigan Court of Appeals.
August 19, 2009. Kennecott submits DEQ wetlands permit applications for wetland fill for their “south road” now called “Woodsland Road”. The DEQ indicated there will be public meetings and public comment taken. The road is proposed to exit the mine site onto the AAA, to the Clowery road and cross the Yellow Dog heading south, crossing several streams, rivers and wetland areas, including the headwaters of the Mulligan Creek, Dead River, Escanaba River and their associated tributaries and wetlands. The road would pass through Wildcat Canyon and join the Wolf Lake Road to Humboldt and US 41 and the proposed Humboldt Mill site. Kennecott and their partners (A.Lindberg and Sons, the Michigan Forest Products Council and John Jilbert) will host a public meeting on September 28th, 7:00 pm at the Ishpeming Township Hall). Kennecott will additionally need to file an addendum to their existing mining permit, obtain permission before continuing with the construction of this road. This should involve public comment.
August 17, 2009. Joe Cram, a local businessman in Big Bay, gathers petition signatures and convinces Powell Township to write a letter to the Marquette County Road Commission to not cut the tree canopies along CR 510 and the AAA due to the installation of electric to service the Kennecott Eagle Mine. The Marquette County Road Commission voted unanimously to support the resolution that any electric run to the Eagle Mine site will be buried in the roadway, thus saving the tree canopy. The community of Big Bay was in support of buried service to keep the canopy in place for aesthetics and tourism interests. A letter written in September 2008 to the DEQ and the DNR, assured that Kennecott must submit addendums to their mining permit for any new haul road and electric run to the mine site.
August 18, 2009. DEQ Contested Case decision made by Judge Patterson. The judge sided with Kennecott and the DEQ on all matters except the use of Eagle Rock as the portal for the mine. He has recommended that the portal be moved elsewhere and that the Rock not be fenced in and therefore, accessible by native and non-native alike. He indicated the Rock was sacred to the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community and should not be used as a mine portal. The petitioners, (NWF, HMC, KBIC, YDWP) have until October 2nd to submit their written exceptions to Judge Patterson’s rulings. These, along with the Judge’s recommendations, will be forwarded to DEQ Director Steven Chester for his final ruling. If he concurs, Kennecott must develop a new mining plan moving their portal from Eagle Rock. The petitioners, in all likelihood, will file an appeal of this judge’s ruling to Ingham County Circuit Court.
September, 2009. The U.S. EPA has not yet set dates for Kennecott to obtain UIC permits for the proposed Eagle Mine. KBIC, along with several Midwest tribes, have entered into consultation with the EPA concerning Eagle Rock. The EPA has to issue a proposed decision on any permits and have public comment before issuing them to Kennecott. The DNR has stipulated that the project cannot continue on state land until all permits are obtained, including the EPA permits.