BY JOHN FLESHER

AP environmental writer

TRAVERSE CITY — A company preparing to build a nickel and copper mine in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula wants to change its wastewater treatment system in a way that could negate the requirement for a federal permit, officials said Tuesday.

Kennecott Eagle Minerals Co. has asked the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment to modify a 2007 state permit authorizing underground discharge of treated wastewater from the mine planned for rural Marquette County.

Originally, the company proposed injecting the treated water back into the groundwater through a network of soil-covered infiltration pipes. The new plan calls for keeping the pipes on the surface and covering them with Styrofoam insulation and a liner. The treated water would still be pumped into the groundwater.

That would make it easier to inspect and maintain the system while providing better distribution of the treated water, said Robert McCann, a spokesman for the department, which will hold a March 11 public meeting on the proposal in Ishpeming.

There would be no change in the piping apparatus itself or the quality of the water sent underground, which would be treated to drinking standards, Kennecott spokeswoman Deb Muchmore said. Both designs are “common and effective,” she said.

Muchmore said although the primary reason for the proposed change is to improve the system, Kennecott may look into whether it also would nullify a requirement for a separate federal groundwater discharge permit.

“The company is evaluating this as a possible option” but has made no decision, she said.

Kennecott already has applied for the federal permit, the final regulatory hurdle before the mine can be built. The company hopes to begin construction this year.

Environmental Protection Agency officials said Tuesday they were still reviewing the application.

It’s too early to say whether Kennecott’s proposed change would make the federal permit unnecessary, said Rebecca Harvey, chief of the agency’s regional branch in Chicago that oversees underground water discharges.

The company has given the agency information about the would-be modification but “they haven’t made any formal request of us,” Harvey said.

Michelle Halley, attorney for the National Wildlife Federation, said there was little doubt Kennecott’s biggest motive was to sidestep the EPA.

“Why else would they be doing this?” Halley said. “There’s no other reason to change the treated water infiltration system at this point.”

If Kennecott wants to make the change, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment also should require an update of its separate mine construction and operation permit, which the department approved last month, Halley said. Her group plans to file suit this month challenging that decision.

Environmentalists are fighting the mine, believing it would pollute the groundwater and nearby rivers. The company says it will protect the environment.