Author Archives: Save the Wild UP

DEQ details mine air quality hearing

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MARQUETTE – Michigan Department of Environmental Quality officials have released details on an upcoming air quality permit public hearing and comment period for Rio Tinto’s Eagle Mine project.

The mining company has made several changes on-site since its original air use permit application was approved in 2007. Some of the modifications listed by the DEQ included eliminating on-site ore crushing, adding an enclosed aggregate storage building and eliminating a fabric filter dust collector.

An informational session and public hearing have been scheduled for March 12 in the Huron Room of the University Center at Northern Michigan University. The information period will be from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. DEQ staff will be available to answer questions. The public hearing will begin at 7 p.m.

The Eagle Mine site north of the city of Marquette in Powell Township is seen in this recent aerial photo. (Rio Tinto photo)

“The sole purpose of the hearing will be to take formal testimony on the record,” the DEQ said in its hearing announcement. “During testimony, questions will not be answered; however, staff will be available to answer questions outside the hearing room.”

A written public comment period is in effect on the draft permit conditions, which is required by state and federal regulations.

Written comments received during the comment period will be considered in the final permit decision.

Mail comments by March 12 to: Mary Ann Dolehanty, Permit Section Supervisor, Michigan DEQ, Air Quality Division, P.O. Box 30260, Lansing, MI, 48909-7760. Comments may also be submitted from the web page: www.deq.state.mi.us/aps/cwerp.shtml. (click on “Submit Comment” under the Rio Tinto Eagle Mine LLC, Permit to Install No. 50-06B listing).

After resolving any issues raised during the public comment period and the hearing, a final decision will be made by the DEQ on the permit application.

A DEQ fact sheet is available on the issue, the public comment announcement and other information is also available at: www.deq.state.mi.us/aps/cwerp.shtml.

John Pepin can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 206.

Gedicks, Blouin: New Wisconsin iron mining bill will be devastating to the environment

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Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC) should be paying Isthmus contributor Larry Kaufmann for his able job of parroting their misleading talking points on the new mining bill introduced last week by GOP mining cheerleaders. The “new” version of AB 426, the Strip Mine Giveaway Bill (AB 1/SB 1), is essentially the same bill from last session. A new network of more than 80 state, regional and national organizations immediately asked legislators to reject this extreme legislation that guts state mining laws for one company’s destructive proposal.

The legislation will create a streamlined, less protective ferrous (iron) mining regulatory program for what will be the largest open pit iron mine in the world, based on no scientific evidence to justify treating iron mining different than other metallic mining. If Gogebic Taconite (GTac) proceeds with their proposal, Phase 1 alone would be larger than the acknowledged largest taconite (iron) mine in the world, the Hull Rust Mahoning Mine in Hibbing, Minnesota. The taconite ore body here runs 22 miles in length, meaning that the expansion of mining after Phase 1 could result in an even larger mine with additional impacts on rivers, streams, wetlands and groundwater.

Over 900 million tons of wastes and tailings (over 35 years of Phase 1) will be dumped in the wetlands and streams of the Bad River watershed, and could produce the same acid mine drainage that has resulted in fish advisories for mercury and a wild rice dead zone for 100 miles downstream from Minnesota’s Mesabi Iron Range in the St. Louis River watershed.

The main proponents of the bill, including GTac, WMC and the Wisconsin Mining Association (WMA), have consistently misled legislators with claims that the iron ore in Ashland and Iron counties is more environmentally safe compared to metallic sulfide mining and thus requires separate regulations. They claim that since this is an oxide ore and not a sulfide ore, it can’t produce acid mine drainage and poison local water supplies with dissolved toxic metals such as mercury, arsenic and lead.

Science proves mining proponents are making a false claim. Oxide ores can contain the same sulfide materials (pyrite) that cause acid mine drainage. The Wisconsin Geological Survey and the United States Geological Survey have reported that pyrite is associated with the ore and waste rock in 1929 and 2008, respectively. Independent geological studies have confirmed that there are significant sulfides in pyrite in the waste rock adjacent to the ore. The independent geologists estimate that just one cubic kilometer of the waste rock could contain the pyrite equivalent of 10 billion gallons of sulfuric acid of car battery strength.

In other words, GTac’s claim that ferrous mining should be regulated separately is based on an artificial distinction without scientific merit. Legislators who voted for AB 426 were deliberately misled by GTac, WMC and WMA about the safety of taconite mining and cast votes based on unproven mining industry rhetoric over scientific fact.

The biggest lie coming from WMC and mining proponents and repeated by Kaufmann is that the law “doesn’t alter a single water-quality, groundwater or air-quality standard.” The nonpartisan Legislative Council’s memo to legislators on the bill reveals dozens of instances of exemptions or reduced applications of current environmental law for this company’s proposal. Even Wisconsin DNR’s mining administrator, Ann Coakley, stated “there are a lot of changes that could easily be seen as weakening of environmental regulations,” as reported in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

For example, current mining law (a compromise hammered out with mining companies) already allows a groundwater sacrifice zone where pollution is allowed up to 1,200 feet in all directions from the edge of a waste site or mine. The bill allows DNR to double that boundary to 2,400 feet if the company’s design can’t meet the 1,200-foot standard. The numerical standard for groundwater pollution may not change, but the amount of polluted water would be dramatically increased.

The bill requires the DNR to approve water withdrawals in any amount, from any location, regardless of whether the withdrawal will cause lakes, ponds, streams, rivers, wetlands or wells to go dry. It allows the company to fill lake beds and dump wastes into sensitive wetlands, shorelands and floodplains. It exempts the company from meeting local zoning approvals. It removes the contested case hearing before the permit decision is made, which deprives the public of their right to have the company’s claims and DNR decisions reviewed while under oath.

The bill limits state regulators’ ability to adequately review the proposal by imposing arbitrary time deadlines of 420 days for permit decisions, and places an unreasonable cap on the costs of review. The creation of an artificial deadline for permit decisions alone virtually guarantees that federal agencies such as the Army Corps of Engineers will initiate analysis independent of the state due to the federal trust responsibility to protect resources of Native Americans. The Bad River Band of Ojibwe also has sovereign authority under the Clean Water Act to protect its wild rice from mining pollution. This means that regardless of any new bill passed here, federal permit decisions are unlikely to be made for many years in the future.

There is no debate that this proposal will cause enormous and devastating effects on the air, land and waters of the Bad River watershed of Lake Superior, even if it somehow meets current environmental standards, let alone the gutted regulations in the bill. It is no exaggeration to state that mining proponents are lying to legislators and the public about the impacts of this legislation.

by Al Gedicks and Dave Blouin

Al Gedicks is the Executive Secretary of the Wisconsin Resources Protection Council and the author of Resource Rebels: Native Challenges to Mining and Oil Corporations. Dave Blouin is the Mining Committee Chair for the Sierra Club – John Muir Chapter and co-founder of the Mining Impact Coalition of Wisconsin. “Citizen” is an opinion series that presents the views of the author. If you would like to reply, please comment or consider submitting an op-ed in response.

This article originally appeared in The Daily Page: http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=38846

To the editor: EPA was right

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To the Journal editor:

The recent denial of Marquette County Road 595 is good news for the people of Michigan.

It is a start in stemming the tide of the large amount of corporate welfare being pumped into this seemingly never ending project and its exhaustive tax payer funded approval process.

Moreover, it has been quite clear for some time now where the transportation route is going (AAA-510-550 to Marquette and beyond). Didn’t our local public officials read the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality approved permit?

From what I understand, the County Road Commission would have inherited the maintenance of CR 595 in perpetuity. Currently, the County is responsible for maintaining a public road system that stretches nearly halfway across our country (over 1,400 miles including state and county primary/secondary roads).

As existing roadway infrastructure continues to decline, the county was hoodwinked by corporate interest to argue, at our cost, that a new road was necessary and turned a blind eye to the fact they are years behind in maintaining existing transportation infrastructure.

The onus was put on local and State public officials, and corporate interests to prove that the new road was going to be in the best interest of the people and the environment. That onus was simply not met.

Blaming the denial of CR 595 on the EPA or (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) is misguided and disingenuous. As for jobs, upgrading of the existing transportation route to the tune of $45M plus the annual maintenance work should employ a goodly number.

These are those “good jobs” so highly touted by U.S. Rep. Dan Benishek, R-Crystal Falls. My only question is: once the existing road upgrade is complete who will be responsible for the annual maintenance?

You can bet it won’t be the mining corporation and we’ll continue to see corporate welfare, in some form or another, pumped into the project for years to come.

Jeff Knoop, Negaunee

Printed in the February 3rd, 2013 edition of the Mining Journal.

To the editor: EPA does job

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To the Journal editor:

The Mining Journal headline on Jan. 5 (“Road decision polarizing”) left me shaking my head, but not surprised. The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality’s decision not to issue a permit based upon the EPA’s objections to County Road 595 was not polarizing.

The Marquette County Board’s decision to pressure the Marquette County Road Commission to submit what many consider a fraudulent permit for the construction of a “county road” is what has been polarizing.

The polarization could be seen at the two public hearings held on this permit. At both the DEQ hearings in Ishpeming Township and at the EPA hearings held in Marquette, there was a polarizing divide between the elected and appointed officials and the public. Almost all public servants were in favor of the road, while public comment submitted by citizens was against construction at a ratio of close to 2:1.

The ratio at the EPA hearings would have been more pronounced, but many citizens left realizing they would not get to speak. The politicians, going first, took up one hour and ten minutes of the allotted 3 hour time.
This proposed road, like the “Woodland Road” before it, was a pretense for a Kennecort Haul Road as it is frequently referred to in public. The Board and Road Commission should have opposed the transportation plan in the original permit.

The politicians should have raised their voices when Kennecott quietly had the DEQ amend the original permit from “a railhead north of Marquette” to the current Wright Street route. The board and commission were given close to 1,000 signatures from citizens opposing that route which they ignored – until 6 years too late. They then tried to use it to bolster their argument for 595.

There were many well founded objections to this permit. Other federal agencies accurately objected that this was a haul road for Kennecott/Rio Tinto and not a county road. There were better alternative routes identified that would have met with less EPA objection, but Rio Tinto let it be known that if it did not get its way they were going to “take their football and go home”.

Do not blame the EPA for doing their job. The EPA has restored my confidence that some of our public bodies do not bow to political and special interest pressure. The blame for any polarization should sit squarely with the Marquette County Board and the Marquette County Road Commission.

Gene Champagne

Big Bay

Printed in the January 31st, 2013 edition of the Mining Journal

Wisconsin’s Mining Deregulation: Bad for our health, environment, and economy

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By SWUP Board Member Steve Garske

In their zeal to facilitate a massive open-pit mine in the Penokee Range of northern Wisconsin, the Wisconsin legislature has introduced mining bills in the state assembly (AB1) and senate (SB1). Newly-elected state senator Tom Tiffany (R-Hazelhurst) claims to have written “the bill”. The bill is nearly identical to AB426, which (despite denials by Republicans) was clearly written in large part by Gogebic Taconite (GTac). GTac is a wholly-owned subsidiary Cline Mining Corporation, which is controlled by billionaire Chris Cline of Florida. Last year the senate version of AB426 was defeated 17-16, when Senator Dale Schultz (R-Richland Center) joined all 16 Democrats in voting against it. Despite a majority of the state’s voters going Democratic last November, strategic redistricting by Republicans allowed them to retain control of the assemble and the senate, the latter by a margin of 18-15. The mining bill will be voted on in both the assembly and senate committees on Wednesday, February 6. From there it will go to the full legislature.

GTac has proposed mountaintop removal mining of a 4.5-mile long and up to 1 mile wide and 1000-foot deep swath of the Penokees, extending eastward from the Ashland-Iron County border. This would be “Phase 1” of a projected 22.5-mile long open pit mine stretching from about 8 miles west-southwest of Mellen, east-northeast to Upson. Phase 1 alone would result in an open-pit iron mine rivaling the Hull-Rust-Mahoning taconite mine near Hibbing, Minnesota in size. That mine is considered to be one of the largest open-pit iron mines in the world.

Proponents claim that AB1 and SB1 will not change any of the state’s environmental laws. What they don’t mention is that while these bills don’t repeal the state’s surviving environmental laws directly, they basically exempt GTac and other mining companies from following them. The same proponents have repeatedly claimed that GTac can mine “sustainably,” “without hurting the environment.” (At the initial January 2011 informational meeting held at Northland College in Ashland, GTac representative Matt Fifield actually said that they would put the land “back the way it was”!) How the company can dig a miles-long trench through one of the most scenic and pristine areas of the state, pile the overburden on up to 5 square miles of county forest land to the immediate south, obliterate miles of headwater streams, rivers, and wetlands, and send acid mine drainage downstream into Lake Superior, all without “hurting the environment,” though, is an open question.

Open Letter to Wisconsin Legislators by SWUP Board Member Steve Garske:

As a resident of Marenisco, Michigan and the Lake Superior watershed, I hereby register my opposition to AB1/SB1. Please make my position as part of the record for the public hearing. I also request confirmation that my registration of opposition has been received.

I was born and raised in Wisconsin, and now live in western Upper Michigan, about 50 miles east of the proposed GTac mine site. Unlike the legislators who will be deciding the fate of AB1 and SB1, I along with my friends and neighbors will be directly and adversely affected by passage of these bills.

Many from northern Wisconsin have pointed out the fact that like their predecessor (AB 426), AB1 and SB1 will allow virtually unrestricted mountaintop removal of the Penokee Range. They’ve pointed out that a 4.5 mile long, 1 mile wide trench would be dug through the hills, streams and wetlands that form the headwaters of several rivers including the Bad River (and that would only be “Phase 1” of a 22.5-mile long project). They’ve pointed out that despite claims by GTac officials (who to this day refuse release the drill cores in their possession for inspection), the existing geological evidence indicates that the overlying Tyler Formation is full of pyrite and other sulfide-bearing minerals, which will send acid mine drainage down what’s left of the Bad River, the Tyler Forks River, and other rivers flowing to Lake Superior. They’ve pointed out that acid mine drainage will contaminate the Bad River, in all likelihood destroying the wild rice beds of the Kakagon Sloughs. They’ve pointed out that the land and water the Bad River Tribe of Ojibwe and other local residents depend on for their health and livelihood will be degraded and destroyed. They’ve pointed out that mining economies are boom-and-bust, and always end in a bust. But there’s one bit of information you may not be aware of.

In December 2012 a fellow from West Virginia named Bob Kincaid came to Ashland County to give a presentation on the effects of mountaintop removal mining on West Virginia communities. He was a well-spoken, friendly, 60-ish gentleman, and he had a lot to say. He began by pointing out that he was a 8th or 9th generation (depending on which side of the family he traced) West Virginian, and that his father and grandfather were both underground coal miners. He said that about 4000 people now die every year in WV coal country from the effects of mountaintop removal coal mining. Most of these casualties are not coal miners, but local residents trying to survive amid the devastation around them. Most die from lung silicosis or various types of cancer. He said what’s being mined (coal vs iron in this case) makes little difference. The silicosis is caused by rock dust from blowing up the mountaintops with explosives, and the cancer is caused mostly from toxins from the tons of explosives detonated every year. He went on to say that (coincidentally), roughly 4000 people are employed in the industry in WV. So for every mountaintop coal mining job, one person dies per year as a direct result of mountaintop removal mining. If a miner is employed for 20 years, an average of 20 people will have died so they could have that job. He said these numbers are now backed up by peer-reviewed scientific studies. He said when he heard about the GTac proposal and the fact that Cline Group (a major player in the West Virginia coal fields) was behind it, he had to come to Wisconsin and warn us.

If you pass AB1/SB1 and GTac is allowed to mine, people in northern Wisconsin will die. It may not happen right away. But 10 years or 20 years down the road and beyond, residents of northern Wisconsin (and western Upper Michigan) will die as a direct result of the mountaintop removal mining that AB1 and SB1 will allow.

Please consider carefully before making a decision. I ask that you act in the best long-term interest of the people of northern Wisconsin and the western UP, and vote AGAINST AB1 and SB1.

Steven C. Garske
Board Member
Save the Wild UP

**SOLD OUT** For Love of the Land, Our New Concert Series

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I’m delighted to announce Save the Wild UP’s new 2013 Concert Series, “For the Love of the Land.” Please join me on Saturday, February 16th at 7 p.m. for our first event at the Marquette Federated Women’s Clubhouse.

This will be an elegant evening with a concert by pianist Charles Neville — original scores inspired by birdsong. We’ll be giving away an array of door prizes from our local sponsors. There’s also a silent auction with local pottery, hand-made books, and more. A tempting array of wine, hors d’oeuvres and desserts will be served. And to top it off, local group The Door Cats will sing love songs dedicated to our true love— the wild UP.

This event is a great opportunity to meet our new Executive Director, Alexandra Thebert, and hear about SWUP’s 2013 “Keeping It Wild” campaign. Alexandra moved back to her home to Marquette last year to be “be closer to these great northwoods,” and adds great organizing and communications experience to our team.

If you would like to volunteer at our Feb 16th event or sign up your organization as a hosting sponsor, please email info@savethewildup.org or call (906) 662-9987.

Thank you for your support, I look forward to seeing you there!

Margaret Comfort
President, Save the Wild UP

New focus needed

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January 11, 2013 | The Mining Journal

To the Journal editor:

As a citizen of Marquette County and city, I would like to point out that only one elected official actually stayed for the entire EPA hearing in October: (now former) Marquette County Commissioner Mike Quayle.

The officials all submitted their carbon copy letters of support and then left the hearing. Had they bothered to stay, they might have learned why well over 200 (probably more like 300) of us stayed and listened to comments and made comments.

And they would not be acting now as if they were speaking for the community.

The road for the mine will now be in plain view and our ability as the public to actually know what is going on is greatly enhanced. The fear tactics have not prevailed and Rio Tinto will have to be more accountable to our community.

And thank you federal standards that don’t allow local sale of our heritage by politicians seduced by playing with the big boys. The jobs that would have been created would have been very short term and in a very limited sector of our economy.

Only a few … would have benefited. Let’s focus on jobs to improve our world not destroy it.

Lucy Wilcox

Marquette

 

New director hired, web focus for SWUP

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By John Pepin | The Mining Journal

The environmental group Save the Wild U.P. is closing its office along North Third Street in Marquette, shown here Thursday. The group has hired a new executive director and is focusing its attentions on the Internet. (Journal photo by Matt Keiser)

“The website is a key part of our identity,” said SWUP board member Kristi Mills. “Savethewildup.org receives a high volume of traffic, and is a clearing house for information about sulfide mining and diverse issues impacting natural resources in the Upper Peninsula.”

Jon Saari of Marquette, another SWUP board member, said some other environmental groups in the region a thriving without a central office.

“I will miss the sign on Third Street, but the change really makes sense at this time,” Saari said. “In the era of Facebook, the brick-and-mortar office model has become less advantageous and efficient.”

SWUP board member Kathleen Heideman said the group -which is dedicated to the preservation of the Upper Peninsula’s unique cultural and natural resources- is “thrilled to be taking this step.”

“It aligns really well with our base (of) concerned citizens who are widely dispersed across the Upper Peninsula, but easily reached via social networking,” Heideman said. “Nonprofits are always being challenged to stretch their resources. The decision to ‘go virtual’ means we’ll have more to work with; we’re allocating resources to fund our ideas.”

The group has hired Alexandra Thebert as its executive director. Thebert grew up in Marquette. She worked in Chicago for a national health care non-profit organization, but wanted to “move back home to the beautiful U.P.” She is a former organizational and communications consultant who has had experience working with political campaigns.

“We are poised to expand our efforts across the U.P. to educate and engage new people,” Thebert said.

Some recent activities of the group included meeting with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 Director Susan Hedman and Michigan Department of Environemtnal Quality Director Dan Wyant to share concerns on the now-defunct Marquette County Road 595 project, sponsoring the 2012 “Water is Life” educational tour throughout the central and western U.P., and providing testimony at hearings for the proposed Copperwood Mine in Gogebic County.

Throughout the current year, Save the Wild UP’s “Keeping It Wild!” campaign will focus on environmental issues awareness, expanded educational forums, U.P.-wide community outreach and special projects integrating the arts with environmental concerns.

For more information, contact Save the Wild U.P. at: info@savethewildup.org or (906) 662-9987.

John Pepin can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 206.

Fallout from County Road 595 decision continues

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By John Pepin | Mining Journal

MARQUETTE – More reaction has followed the recent decision of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality not to issue a wetlands fill permit for Marquette County Road 595.

The $82 million project would have built a 21-mile north-south road from County Road AAA to U.S. 41, providing a more direct route for Rio Tinto to haul nickel and copper from its Eagle Mine to the Humboldt Mill. In addition, the road was to provide safety, recreational and economic development benefits and opportunities for county residents.

Marquette County Road Commission Engineer-Manager Jim Iwanicki said the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s refusal to remove objections to the project prevented the DEQ from issuing a permit which had the required federal backing.

On Dec. 4, the EPA removed its objection to the road agency’s alternative route analysis, but left objections in place over wetlands mitigation issues and other items, which needed to be satisfied within 30 days. Iwanicki and the DEQ said there was not enough time remaining to resolve the outstanding issues, given the EPA’s requirements.

The Marquette County Board voted unanimously Tuesday to send a letter of thanks to Iwanicki for his efforts contributed to the permit application process.

“He did a tremendous amount of work on this over the last year and a half,” said board Chairman Gerald Corkin.

Commissioner Deborah Pellow said Iwanicki “worked very diligently on this and I think he deserves a big thank you. He worked long and hard to try to make this come to fruition and it didn’t happen.”

Pellow said ultimately, there was some problems with some agencies that didn’t want the project to move forward.

“It’s unfortunate for the western end of Marquette County,” Pellow said. “It’s an $80 million project lost. It’s approximately 400 jobs for a couple years lost to the western end of Marquette County and the western end of Marquette County could have used this. But it’s not going to happen.”

State Sen. Tom Casperson, R-Escanaba, said regulatory agencies seemed to have an intentional agenda against the mining-related project, which he said was “uncalled for.”

“I’m disappointed,” Casperson said. “I think it’s something that’s hard to even put into words.”

Casperson said it wasn’t like the road commission was trying to “slip something through,” or rushed to get something approved.

“It wasn’t as much about the road as it was about the agenda,” Casperson said.

U.S. Carl Levin, D-Detroit, is in Afghanistan this week and was unavailable for comment on the County Road 595 issue. Levin has followed the development of the project and, like U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Lansing, supported the road being built.

“Senator Stabenow remains committed to working with the community on this and other efforts to help create local jobs and spur economic growth,” said Stabenow spokesperson Matt Williams.

Rio Tinto had agreed to fund the County Road 595 project, provided the permits required could be obtained and construction started by May 2013. Without the road commission’s permit being issued, Rio Tinto has shifted its focus and money to helping the road commission upgrade existing roads, which Rio Tinto will use to truck ore to the mill.

The DEQ previously approved Rio Tinto trucking ore from the Eagle Mine along County Road AAA to County Road 510 and then County Road 550 to Marquette and then along Sugarloaf Avenue to Wright Street to County Road HQ to U.S. 41 to M-95 to County Road 601 to the mill.

The cost to improve the existing roads is roughly $45 million, with work expected to start this summer in anticipation of the mine’s first production in 2014. Rio Tinto will fund the majority of the cost, continuing to provide road construction jobs in the county, but shifting them to its eastern portion.

Marquette County Commissioner Steve Pence said it was “understandable that local officials were upset because the safest and most economical route to transfer minerals from the Yellow Dog Plains to the Humboldt Mill will not be constructed due to unresolved environmental issues.”

“But it is wrong to blame the EPA for rejecting a hastily concocted plan that reflected a multinational corporation’s sense of entitlement, which trumped concerns as important as those embodied in the Clean Water Act,” Pence said. ” In an area where any job is a highly sought prize, it is easy to politicize and condemn those who dare say there are important and competing concerns which mitigate against a ‘quick fix’ which is no fix at all.”

Pence said it is “regrettable when government officials presume the worst about those who are sworn to uphold regulations and laws which reflect the national will. It ends with the public distrusting all who (serve) in government.”

Pence said the road commission pursued County Road 595 “hastily” and “with inadequate foresight,” “without due regard to many critical issues, including how the road would be maintained in the event no one agreed to long-term maintenance and snow removal.”

“As local officials who do not want our every action judged as political, unwise or incompetent, we should avoid castigation of the EPA as both shortsighted and wrong,” Pence said. “Absent clear and convincing proof that the EPA had an agenda that was anti-jobs – rather than being legitimately concerned with our most precious resource, water – we should be restrained in our criticism and consider our own eagerness to please anyone who promises jobs, of marginal pay and limited duration.”

Margaret Comfort, president of Save the Wild U.P., said the environmental group is relieved the DEQ decided not to grant the permit, but is “well aware the fight isn’t over yet.”

“This has been a David and Goliath struggle. Activists throughout the Midwest are watching this issue,” Comfort said. “Would the EPA and the DEQ accommodate one of the world’s largest mining companies and allow them to build a haul road through fragile wetlands? This is a victory for working people and all citizens across the U.P. Big business lost this round.”

Kathleen Heideman, a Save the Wild U.P. board member, agreed.

“This boondoggle was a corporate driveway dressed up as a public service. Rio Tinto has a lot of nerve to set up the county road commission to build their private infrastructure,” Heideman said. “Taxpayer money should never have been spent lobbying for Rio Tinto’s haul road, period.”

John Pepin can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 206.