Author Archives: Save the Wild UP

Native Plant Walk along Woodland Road

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NORTHWOODS NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY OUTING

Proposed Kennecott haul road and North Country Trail
Michigamme Highlands, Marquette County, Michigan
Saturday, August 28, 10 AM Eastern (9 AM Central).

Leaders:
Emily Whittaker, Executive Director, Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve
Steve Garske, Invasive Plant Specialist, GLIFWC

This trip will begin near the southern end of the proposed mining haul road through the scenic Michigamme Highlands. We’ll drive the southern 2/3 of this gravel road. At the north end of the road we’ll take a hike along a seldom-visited and very scenic portion of the North Country Trail. This trail runs through an amazing variety of natural habitats ranging from open rock outcrops to northern hardwood forest and upland white pine and cedar. At the far end of the trail, we’ll visit a forest of  red oak and white pine, where a plant never before seen on an NNPS trip grows in perfusion! This area is also the heart of Michigan’s moose range, so there is a (small) chance that we could see a moose. This trip will also provide a chance to see a little of what the big mining companies are planning for this still-isolated and wild part of the UP.

What to bring: Hiking boots and clothing, bug dope (biting bugs were not bad at all as of last week) water, trail snacks, camera.

Directions: From Bruce’s Crossing, follow M28 and M28/41 east 68.5 miles to County Road FX, also known as the Wolf Lake Road. This road starts 1.5 miles east of the BP station in Humboldt. Follow the Wolf Lake Road north (with a short jog to the east at the beginning) from Hwy 28/41. From Marquette, drive west about 30 miles to Wolf Lake Road.

At the start of the Wolf Lake Road you should see a brown state sign with the words, “Access site – Wolf lake – Brocky Lake”. Go north 3.5 miles along this gravel road, where we will meet up for the rest of the trip. You can park off the road there if you wish to carpool. From here it is another 12.0 miles north along this road to the Dead River. (With reasonable care this gravel road is quite passable up to the river with a passenger car.) From the river we’ll walk 0.7 miles north to the start of the North Country Trail. The walk from the river to the easternmost hill on the trail and back takes about 2 hours at a moderate pace, so plan on 3-4 hours round-trip (including stops along the way).

PLEASE LET US KNOW IF YOU PLAN ON ATTENDING, SO WE CAN PLAN AHEAD AND SO NO ONE GETS LEFT BEHIND!

Contact Steve at:
asimina@alphacomm.net
715-682-6619 x 126 (GLIFWC)

or

Emily Whittaker
ydwp@yellowdogwatershed.org
906-345-9223

by Thursday, August 26th, if you plan on attending.

Concerned Citizens Take Action: Contact your Legislators

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Greetings All,

Below is an e-mail that was sent to several legislators.  The hope was that, because there was a scheduled debate for an oil drilling ban in the Great Lakes by Michigan legislators, a debate to protect the water, the legislators would gladly add the proposed amendment to suspend sulfide and uranium mining at the same time.

On Friday it was heard on public radio, in essence, that the resolution to be debated was a political maneuver and there is really no intention to debate an oil drilling ban.  If that is the case the legislators might be relieved if the debate is abandoned, along with any chances for an amendment to suspend sulfide and uranium mining activities. If the legislators start feeling some pressure from the public, they might feel the need to have the debate.

Session is scheduled to open on Wednesday, August 18th.  A decision must be made by the legislature before September 2nd in order for the drilling ban to be placed on the ballot.

Please read the e-mail that was sent and support it by contacting those legislators that received the proposal.

Thank you very much.

Richard Sloat

Michigan Representatives Contact Information

Also, sign a live petition at http://www.cleanwateraction.org/mi/

Greetings Legislators,

The DEQ/DNRE has presented itself as incapable and possibly unwilling to follow the law in presenting its approval of a potentially dangerous mining project.

QUESTION: “Did you apply this section of the statute to your analysis?”

MAKI: “I did not, no.”

When Joe Maki, head of the mining team charged with reviewing the permit application for Kennecott’s Eagle Project, was asked under oath, if the team had applied a key portion of Michigan ’s nonferrous metallic mining law (Part 632) to its analysis, he replied, “I don’t believe so, no.”

Recent calls by Michigan legislators for a permanent ban on oil and gas drilling beneath the Great Lakes ask for the strongest possible measures to protect the Lakes. These measures must include the entire Great Lakes Basin .  Ground and surface water contamination created by the mining industry ultimately affects the big lakes as well as local lakes, streams, and aquifers.

The Legislature must bring this issue up for debate.  The process by which the mine permitting team has operated is obviously flawed.  The current law is not being enforced and is inadequate for protecting the water, land and air for the citizens of Michigan and future generations.

We ask you to add an amendment to the proposed permanent ban on drilling beneath the Great Lakes , requiring the suspension of all non-ferrous and uranium mining activities while the Part 632 mining law and permitting process is reviewed.  Accompanying this review, a thorough investigation should be conducted into ongoing noncompliance at the Kennecott Eagle Mine Project.

During the 2008 court proceedings in Lansing, Maki admitted that the DEQ did NOT comply with Number 3 of Section 63205, in Part 632, which states that the applicant for a mining permit has the burden of establishing that the mining operation “reasonably minimizes actual or potential adverse impacts on air, water and other natural resources and meets the requirements of this act.”

These state regulators, charged with the protection of our natural resources and environment, did NOT follow the law.  MDEQ was presented with over 1,000 pages of unequivocal evidence that Kennecott’s sulfide mine proposal does not meet the state’s legal requirements and would result in profound pollution, impairment and destruction of air, water and other natural resources.  The evidence was simply ignored.

Mining expert Jack Parker wrote a 33-page report outlining severe problems with the underground portion of Kennecott’s Eagle Mine permit application.  The report, entitled KEMC Eagle Project:  A Fraudulent Permit Application?, details Kennecott’s rock sampling and rock testing procedures, which are NOT representative of the ore body; lack of sound mining analysis to prevent the mine from collapsing; doctoring of design data; absence of case histories; potential for mine fires; misinterpretation of surficial geology and of horizontal rock stresses; and other pressing issues. Inexplicably, MDEQ did not react.

In the introduction to his report Parker writes “After three years of studying the application and related documents my original opinion has not changed, but I would add a conclusion that either the writers and all of the reviewers were not experienced and competent in mining and geology, or that their intent was to deceive, to ensure that permits would be issued without delay. Maybe both.”

Parker is currently preparing another report emphasizing that further review of the application shows that the mine will be UNSTABLE, and that those who ignore the warning will share the consequences.

Since the DEQ/DNRE did not and still does not have the expertise to evaluate applications for mining permits and have allowed noncompliance with Part 632, they should issue no permits.  Current permits approved under Part 632 must be revoked, mining-related activities must cease, and the Eagle Mine Permit Application must be subjected to an independent scientific review. All reviews to date have NOT been independent.   All have been based on defective Kennecott interpretations of the raw data.

The mining industry has acquired mineral leases on over 1 million acres in the U.P.  The Upper Peninsula has 7.2 million acres in total, but due to the unique geological features of the Western U.P., current exploration and mining activities are concentrated in that area.  In essence, one third of the western portion of our peninsula may be affected by mining-related activities and the hazards which accompany it.  The cumulative effects from a multitude of poorly regulated mining projects could be devastating and irreversible.

In 2004, the EPA reported that 156 hardrock mining sites nationwide were on or had the potential to be on the National Priorities List (NPL) for cleanup under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), with potential cleanup costs of up to $24 billion dollars.

Production of acid mine drainage ( AMD ) may occur during mine operations and may continue for many years after mines are closed and tailings dams are decommissioned from operation; consequently, evaluation of AMD is often a long-term proposition which usually adds up to high costs for site characterization, monitoring and cleanup.

Kennecott’s Eagle Mine project is the first to be permitted under Michigan ’s new Nonferrous Metallic Mining Regulations, enacted in December 2004, but there are others in the works.  Kennecott owns mineral rights to nearly half a million acres in the U.P. and reports as many as six additional projects lined up.  Two other mining companies, Orvana and HudBay, are expected to begin the permitting process within the next two years.

With the recent increase in mining exploration and granting of new mineral leases by the DNRE, the people of Upper Michigan , and many below the bridge as well, have grave concerns about the adequacy of current environmental safeguards.

Opposition to “sulfide mining” in Michigan includes university professors, area physicians, religious leaders, environmental groups, Native Americans, and sportsmen’s groups.  In 2006, an organized petition drive collected more than 10,000 signatures objecting to the Eagle Project.

Recent articles and comments by Congressman Bart Stupak should have raised concerns from Michigan legislators about the hazards of non-ferrous metallic mining in Michigan .  As he points out, Kennecott should be required to pay for independent baseline hydrological and geological studies, equivalent to U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) standards.

There are economic considerations, as well.  Kennecott is being allowed to “high-grade” at the Eagle Mine site, as they did at the Flambeau mine, near Ladysmith , Wisconsin .  They plan to take only the richest ore, making the rest difficult for someone else to come in and mine. That does not meet the requirement to recover the resources responsibly. Taxes and royalties should be increased dramatically.  Adequate funding must be put in place, collected from the mining companies themselves, to provide for oversight and reclamation and to pay for damage done.

With debate scheduled to ban oil drilling in the Great Lakes, this is an opportune time for the legislators to add an amendment to the resolution, suspending all non-ferrous and uranium mining activities until the regulators get their act in order.

The flawed process demonstrated during the permitting of the Eagle Project has set a dangerous precedent, one that is likely to devastate our most precious resource, our fresh water, and the present and future generations that depend so much upon it.

Michigan ’s Constitution states, “The legislature shall provide for the protection of the air, water and other natural resources of the state from pollution, impairment and destruction.”  Please consider our request and act on it in a timely manner.  It is imperative that you do so.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Catherine Parker and Richard Sloat, on behalf of the concerned citizens of this state.

Enbridge CEO downplays long-term effects of spill

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Enbridge CEO:  “We are fully committed to returning this river back to the way it was before, if not better,” says Daniel.

Enbridge CEO meets the press

By Todd A. Heywood 8/12/10 11:17 AM  of Michigan Messenger

MARSHALL — In a 30-minute interview with the Michigan Messenger, Enbridge CEO Patrick Daniel pledged to return Talmadge Creek and the Kalamazoo River to the way it was prior to the oil spill, but he downplayed any long-term damage from the leak while experts say the effects on both wildlife and human life could be significant and long-lasting.

Over the weekend, local newspapers have reported on the potential long-term effects on the local ecosystems and on the fact that the oil spill has silenced the songs of frogs, which are so key to the web of life on the river. Experts say this is not uncommon with releases of toxic substances into waterways. Frogs, they say, are exceptionally sensitive to the chemicals. But Daniel seemed unconcerned about any long-term dangers.

“I don’t think it is [accurate that the ecology of the river will suffer long term], at least no significant ecological damage,” Daniel, 63, said. “The experts are going to be more believable on this than I, but any experience I have had with any spills that we have had in the past … is that there are few long term impacts.”

In the Detroit Free Press, experts said the rupture of Enbridge’s Lakehead Pipeline 6B in late July has likely decimated smaller animals in the ecosystem. Those smaller animals — frogs, smaller fish, insects — are the bottom to the ecological food chain. They are also most likely to have been negatively impacted by the more than one million gallons of Cold Lake Crude oil that flowed down Talmadge Creek and into the Kalamazoo River, impacting in all about 30 miles of waterway in Calhoun County.

Asked if the reports of the silenced chorus of amphibians concerned him, he responded, “It concerns if that is the case. I also, though, would expect a full recovery from that and fairly quickly.”

But in other cases of major spills, that has not been the case. While the Exxon Valdez spill was much larger than this one, 21 years later the smaller fish that provide food for larger ones and were the basis of the local fishing industry have still not returned to the areas affected by the spill. In reality, the long-term effects from that spill have actually exceeded the predictions of scientists at the time.

And the long-term effects on human health could be severe, though difficult to quantify and pinpoint. Benzene is a known carcinogen, and the tar sands oil that spilled into Michigan waterways is known to contain much higher levels of heavy metals than regular crude oil.

It was on that issue — the type of oil being transported in the pipeline when it ruptured — that Daniel finally reconciled his own previous statements with what experts have said.

“No, I haven’t said it’s not tar sand oil. What I indicated is that it was not what we have traditionally referred to as tar sands oil,” Daniel said when asked about the Messenger’s report identifying it as such. “If it is part of the same geological formation, then I bow to that expert opinion. I’m not saying ‘No, it’s not oil sands crude.’” It’s just not traditionally defined as that and viewed as that.”

Enbridge has said the oil that was flowing through 6B at the time of the rupture was Cold Lake Crude, which must be mixed with a lighter petroleum product called diluent in order to thin it out enough to push through the line. Experts tell Michigan Messenger this mix can lead to various issues with the pipelines, including false readings and alarms from the remote sensing computer system used to control the network of pipelines.

“No, there really shouldn’t be any correlation between the type of crude and the impact on the pipelines,” Daniel said. He said the mixing of the crudes to thin them out makes that issue a non-issue.

What is more important, however, is the issue of corrosion on the line, Daniel said. But experts told the Messenger that the use of diluent does not increase corrosion in the pipes. Still, how the company handles corrosion is an important piece of the puzzle.

Under federal regulations pipelines are regularly inspected by a tool called an “intelligent pig.” The tool is a high tech version of an elongated rubber ball that is used to clean the lines called a “dumb pig.” The intelligent pigs carry ultrasound equipment and “an onboard computer,” Daniel said.

As they go through the lines they record the readings of the ultrasounds on the lines, and that data is then analyzed “much like x-rays or an MRI,” Daniel said.

“[Analysts] say ‘OK, here’s the signature of a potential problem,’” said Daniel. “Then we go in and either reduce the pressure and if it looks like it is threatening the safety of the line based on PHMSA [Pipelines Hazardous Material Safety Administration] standards we proceed with the dig and sleeve program. Or both.”

Anomalies in Lakehead Pipeline 6B were found that way earlier this year and Enbridge, as late as July 15, was negotiating with regulators at PHMSA about what a response to those readings should be. Daniel said that at the time of the Marshall incident, there was a “dig program” underway further up the line. In such situations, the company either places an additional thickness of steel around the line to reinforce it, or if the detected “anomaly” is large enough, they cut out the pipe and replace it.

The line in Marshall had no such anomaly detections, Daniel said.

As for the Line 5, which snakes across the state’s upper peninsula, across the straits of Mackinac down the East side of the state and across the St. Clair River to Sarnia, Ontario, Daniel said the line was functionally stable.

“Not that I am aware of,” Daniel said when asked if there were any anomalies detected on Line 5. He also said the spur from 6B to Toledo, Ohio had no issues either. The Michigan Messenger has filed Freedom of Information Act requests with the PHMSA seeking inspection reports for all of the pipelines in the state of Michigan, but has not yet received that material.

Daniel took pains to explain that every piece of metal has anomalies.

“There are anomalies in all pipelines — and in fact in all metal,” he said. The pigs help the company identify those issues, he said, and then the company proceeds to fix those which were identified as likely problems.

With multiple investigations happening as a result of the spill, as well as the release of information from various sources, Daniel was asked if this pipeline spill had been too politicized.

“I haven’t really thought of it as political, in that we all want to rest assured that when we start this line back up, that it’s done safely,” he said. “I have to admit I have focused more on the facts and issues around it than I have on the sequencing of the word coming out. I’m really not that worried about it.”

But sometimes, such as when rumors swirled around that an Enbridge employee had been on the site of the leak on July 25, the night before it was discovered, Daniel admits he is frustrated. The NTSB investigation prevents him from discussing the specific information, such as the location of his company employees and trucks.

Even as some claim Enbridge’s public proclamations of wanting to do right are a public relations ploy, Daniel says he has moved to Michigan for the foreseeable future to continue to meet with residents and leaders and oversee the clean up and remediation of the river.

“We are fully committed to returning this river back to the way it was before, if not better,” says Daniel.

Congressional Hearings scheduled   http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/article/20100806/NEWS01/8060319/-1/RSS?obref=obinsite

Campers return to the Yellow Dog Plains

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RE: Yellow Dog Plains Encampment

For more information, read    http://stoptoxinsandotherpollutants.wordpress.com/

Wish List:

Firewood (most important item)
5 gal or larger water containers

Tools to split wood- awl, wedges, axe, sledge hammer, big bow saw

Rope 1/2 ” or 1/4″
Wood stove, walkie talkies, canvas walled tent for cold weather living quarters
Meat, ice, milk, eggs, butter, good peanut butter

August 5, 2010

Charlotte Loonsfoot,  906-236-9107

From Charlotte:

“On Sunday, after the walk to Eagle Rock we set up camp on the Yellow Dog Plains. It is a new camp to bring awareness to the world of how Sulfide Mining in the Great Lakes is going to pollute our fish, wildlife, and people. We are going to fish, hunt, and gather on our Ceded Territories of the Anishinaabeg people. We will be learning how to live off the land like our ancestors did before we were moved to reservations. By having this camp we are continuing our presence in opposition of the Kennecott Mine. We will not give up fighting to protect our water. Come join us to help preserve the health and safety of our future.”

All are welcome to camp or visit at the new location: AAA Road 1/2 mile east of  the mine entrance on the south side of AAA, there is blue flagging tape on the tree. This is private land owned by the Rydholm family, much of it older growth with ample shade and protection. The camp maintains a spirit of nonviolence and sobriety. Donations of food and supplies are welcome.

From Rorie, a resident of Minnesota and fellow camper at the site:

”The purpose of this statement from S.T.O.P.’s  (Stop Toxins and Other Pollutants)  spiritual encampment is to be open and forthright about our presence 1/2 mile from the Kennecott Eagle Mine site.

On August 1, 2010, we erected an encampment nearby the entrance to Kennecott’s  Eagle Mine site on private property with full permission from the landowners. The intention of this encampment is to maintain a continued presence nearby the site of desecration. The camp is being maintained according to Anishinaabeg beliefs and we have a sacred fire burning continuously. We are hoping and praying that the people making the decision to mine this sacred land turn their actions around. In the meantime we will be monitoring activity at the mine site.

Everyone in our camp is committed to non violence and sobriety. We welcome respectful dialogue around these (mining) issues. Our hope is for people from across all walks of life to come together to protect the land and water that sustains us all.”

For more information about the encampment, contact our office at 228-4444.

“Fish-Advisory” result of Cliff’s Selenium Contamination

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Aug. 5, 2010

Contact: Steve Casey, 906-346-8535 or Debbie Munson Badini, 906-226-1352

DNRE Releases Newsletter Detailing Selenium Reduction Efforts and Monitoring in Upper Peninsula

The Department of Natural Resources and Environment has released a joint newsletter with Cliffs Natural Resources, detailing several efforts to monitor and reduce selenium discharge into waters near the Empire and Tilden open-pit iron mines in the Upper Peninsula, DNRE officials announced today.

The DNRE and Cliffs Natural Resources began to partner on the selenium issue after monitoring by Cliffs Natural Resources revealed elevated selenium levels in water discharges from the Empire and Tilden mines, which are partially owned and managed by Cliffs Natural Resources. While selenium exists naturally in the environment and in small amounts is essential to life, in excess it can become toxic to humans, fish and birds.

Key information detailed in the newsletter, which is the second in a series of updates planned by the DNRE and Cliffs Natural Resources, includes the following:

•       Efforts by Cliffs Natural Resources to reduce the amount of the selenium that enters the waters surrounding the Empire and Tilden mines. The company is investigating how to best reduce selenium discharges, with a project already under way that is expected to reduce selenium discharges by more than 10 percent.

•       A recently updated fish consumption advisory for Goose Lake in Richmond Township, issued by the Michigan Department of Community Health. The MDCH has advised the public to eat no more than 12 meals per year, or on average, one meal per month, of northern pike and/or white sucker from Goose Lake, due to elevated levels of selenium found in fish fillets collected from the lake.

•       New data from the DNRE that indicate elevated selenium levels found in fish from water bodies near the Empire and Tilden mines. The levels exceed the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed limits on selenium and may indicate a potential adverse impact on aquatic life.

•       An ecological study by Cliffs Natural Resources evaluating the hatching success of birds that nest in the area surrounding the Empire and Tilden mines. The nests of waterfowl, including wood ducks and mergansers, will be monitored, as well as smaller passerine bird species, including tree swallows, bluebirds, wrens and chickadees. Selenium can have an adverse affect on hatching success; the study will assess whether or not selenium concentrations near the mines are having that affect.

•       A proposal by the DNRE, unrelated to the selenium issue, to reduce the Total Maximum Daily Load of phosphorus loading into Goose Lake to improve water quality. A history of algae blooms, fish kills, low dissolved oxygen levels and odor problems has indicated that Goose Lake is not meeting water quality standards. Goose Lake’s phosphorus problems originated with the discharge of raw sewage into the lake by the city of Negaunee, a practice that was discontinued more than 50 years ago.

“We are pleased to once again be partnering with Cliffs Natural Resources to provide this information to the public,” said DNRE Water Resource Division regional manager Steve Casey. “The selenium issue is of importance to human and environmental health, and we hope the public will take a moment to review the newsletter online to learn more about what the DNRE and Cliffs Natural Resources are doing to monitor and resolve this issue.”

The newsletter can be viewed online at http://www.michigan.gov/dnrewater. For more information, contact Steve Casey at 906-346-8535.

The Department of Natural Resources and Environment is committed to the conservation, protection, management, and accessible use and enjoyment of the state’s environment, natural resources and related economic interests for current and future generations. Learn more at www.michigan.gov/dnre.

Tina Coluccio
Department of Natural Resources & Environment
Water Resources Division & Office of Geological Survey
420 5th Street
Gwinn, MI  49841
Ph:     (906) 346-8520
Fax:    (906) 346-4480
ColuccioT@michigan.gov

Artist Reception: Paintings and Photography from the Yellow Dog

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Painting by Kathleen Mooney

YELLOW DOG – Wilderness at Risk!

Public Reception – THURSDAY, August 5th from 6:00 – 8:00 pm

Artist Presentation at 6:30

Michigan artist, Kathleen Mooney is featured at the PeterWhite Public Library’s Arts and Culture Center from August 4th – 28th, 2010. Kathleen’s series of paintings and photography was created in response to the impending destruction of wilderness areas in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula near Marquette – including the Yellow Dog River.

The Yellow Dog series raises awareness and supports the work of those working to reverse the Michigan DEQ decision to grant a permit to mine in the area northwest of Marquette. The series also reminds us of the value of our wilderness areas to our health, spirits and our threatened ecosystems.

Sponsored by the Lake Superior Art Association and Fire and Water ART!

For more information, visit     arts@mqtcty.org or call 228-0472

Kathleen Mooney

PO Box 56 – 219 West Main

Lowell, MI 49331

616-890-1879

www.kathleenmooney.com

Water for Life

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U.N. assembly asserts water rights, some disagree

July 28, 2010

By Patrick Worsnip

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – The U.N. General Assembly asserted a global right to water and sanitation in a resolution on Wednesday, but more than 40 countries abstained, saying no such right yet existed in international law.

Some 884 million people lack access to safe drinking water, more than 2.6 million have no basic sanitation and around 1.5 million children under age 5 die each year from water- and sanitation-linked diseases, sponsors of the resolution said.

The non-binding measure, presented to the assembly by Bolivia, said the right to safe and clean drinking water and sanitation was “a human right that is essential for the full enjoyment of life and all human rights.”

And in a clause that appeared to put the onus of rectifying the situation on rich countries, it called on states and international organizations to “scale up efforts” to provide drinking water and sanitation for all.

The resolution passed with 122 votes in favor, none against and 41 abstentions. The abstainers were mainly developed countries, although European Union members Germany and Spain voted for the measure.

Abstaining countries argued that an independent expert, Portuguese lawyer Catarina de Albuquerque, was due to report to the Geneva-based U.N. Human Rights Council next year on countries’ obligations related to water and sanitation.

They accused sponsors of the resolution of seeking to preempt her findings.

U.S. delegate John Sammis said the resolution “falls far short of enjoying the unanimous support of member states and may even undermine the work underway in Geneva” and charged that sponsors had rushed it through.

British delegate Nicola Freedman said London “does not believe that there exists at present sufficient legal basis under international law to either declare or recognize water or sanitation as free-standing human rights.”

Washington-based advocacy group Food & Water Watch, however, backed what it called a landmark resolution.

“It’s time to reach consensus that the world’s poor deserve recognition of this human right without further delay or equivocation,” it said in a statement that accused the United States of “obstructing recognition of the human right to water.”

(Editing by Eric Beech)

Read more http://www.un.org/waterforlifedecade/reference.html

DNRE reassurances fail to convince environmentalists, skeptics

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Will Michigan be able to afford the possible mess?

http://michiganmessenger.com/40044/dnre-reassurances-fail-to-convince-environmentalists-skeptics

By Eartha Jane Melzer 7/26/10 8:13 AM

This first mine to be permitted under Michigan’s non-ferrous metallic mining law — the Kennecott Eagle Minerals Company nickel sulfide mine west of Marquette — continues to draw concerns and criticism.

Michigan has dwindling resources for environmental regulation and its environmental and natural resources divisions are undergoing transformation and downsizing.

In an interview with Michigan Messenger this month state Department of Natural Resources and Environment spokesman Bob McCann — formerly spokesman for the Department of Environmental Quality — offered a dismal picture of how the state would regulate the mine. He said that the controversial nickel sulfide mine, like other businesses in Michigan, might be inspected once a year or less due to dwindling state resources. He also stated that Michigan has no system to pay for regulation though assessing fees, and that the $17 million financial assurance bond put up by Kennecott was expected to be enough to close up the mine if the company disappeared, but that any environmental damages that the mine might produce would have to be pursued in court.

McCann has now left DNRE and current spokeswoman Mary Dettloff says that McCann was mistaken about how the state will treat regulation at the mine.

Dettloff said that Michigan mining law requires that the mine be inspected at least quarterly. She said that these inspections will be carried out by the Office of Geological Survey specialist in the Gwinn office — Joe Maki.

Michigan does assess a “surveillance fee” based on the amount of material mined in order to fund oversight of the mine, she said.

According to the law that fee is equal to, “not more that 5 cents per ton of material mined from the mining area as reported under section 63213(1)(d), but not less than $5,000.00, for each calendar year the mine is in operation and during the postclosure monitoring period.”

Dettloff also said that the $17 million actually is supposed to cover the costs of any environmental remediation work needed after the mine is closed, and her assessment appears to be backed up by the statute.

The new information from DNRE does not reassure critics of the state’s approach to the mine.

It’s not clear what the mining inspections will entail. Those familiar with inspections at other UP mines are not reassured by the state approach, and some don’t trust the state to follow the statute because they feel the state has already violated the statute in issuing permits for the mine.

Michelle Begnoche is spokesperson for U.S. Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Menominee), who represents the Upper Peninsula.

“Regardless of whether that is supposed to cover just the costs of closing the mine, or the remediation, Representative Stupak is concerned that it is not enough,” she said.

Addressing water pollution can be very expensive, as evidenced by other contaminated sites in northern Michigan. In Petoskey, where the Bay Harbor resort development was built atop land contaminated with cement kiln dust, she said, the party responsible for clean up — CMS Energy — has estimated that cleanup costs will require $93 million.

Stupak has also warned that Michigan does not have adequate resources to monitor the mine and that state regulators did not require the company to conduct baseline environmental assessments of the area around the mine. This, he said, will make proving environmental damage very difficult.

Independent mining consultant Jack Parker, has raised numerous concerns about the planned mine.

“I recognize that inspections are meant to be quarterly,” he said, “but given the environmental records of both Rio Tinto and Kennecott Eagle Mineral Company, I would require constant monitoring, daily, with support from other experts on such matters as disposal of waste water at the mine, the mill and the transport system.”

Parker noted that some mines have been known to sprinkle toxic waste along gravel roads as a cheap and effective way to reduce dust.

An appropriate inspection regime for a mine run by Kennecott, he said, should involve at least one technically-oriented inspector who would be stationed at the mine full time.

This is a level of oversight far beyond what is planned by the state.

“I believe that overall our law is pretty good,“ said National Wildlife Fund attorney Michelle Halley. “But a law is only as good as it is enforced. Right now the way the state is applying its part 632 enforcement does not even exist.”

Halley, along with attorneys for the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, the Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve and the Huron Mountain Club, has filed suit against the DNRE in Washtenaw County, arguing that the permits issued to Kennecott are flawed and should be overturned.

Under Michigan mining regulations, “a permit can be granted only if the applicant demonstrates that the mining operation will not pollute, impair, or destroy the air, water, or other natural resources or the public trust in those resources in accordance with the Michigan Environmental Protection Act.”

Those suing the state argue that during the permitting process the state failed to require Kennecott to conduct an environmental inventory around the mine or address the mine’s cumulative impact.

“[Kennecott’s] permit includes no contingency plans for the most predicted and potentially fatal failures, omitting perhaps the most important mechanism for protecting humans and the environment,” the group writes.

They warn that the permit does not include “discussion of subsidence or crown pillar failure; discussion of catastrophic events or wastewater treatment plant closure for a substantial period of time; contingency for significantly increased inflow to the mine; contingency should the MVAR air filtering system not work; or contingency addressing contaminated water leaking into aquifers from the underground mine.”

This lack of contingency planning, they say, is particularly disturbing and dangerous in view of the fact that an expert retained by the state to examine the mine plan, David Sainsbury of HCItasca Consulting, warned that “analysis techniques used to assess the crown pillar stability of Eagle Mine do not reflect industry best-practice.”

The mine opponents also say that the state improperly allowed DEQ policy advisor Frank Ruswick to issue a final approval of the permits as the state Departments of Environmental Quality and Natural Resources were in the process of merging earlier this year.

Kennecott Eagle Minerals General Manager Jon Cherry did not return a call seeking comment for this story, nor did DNRE mine specialist Joe Maki.

Mary Dettloff of DNRE said that because of the ongoing litigation against the state, it would not be prudent to discuss concerns about how the permits were issued.