EPA releases latest Toxic Release Inventory (TRI)

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The EPA released new data this month at http://www.epa.gov/tri/

Click here for the TRI report where the following info was obtained. Go to page 21 of the .pdf for the Top 50 Polluters

Top 7 Most Highly Polluting U.S. Facilities, by Weight in Pounds (2006)

1) Red Dog Operations: Kotzebue, Alaska, 615.3 million
2) Kennecott Utah Copper Mine & Power Plant: Utah 102.5 million
3) Phelps Dodge Miami Inc.: Claypool, Gila County, Ariz. 59.5 million
4) Newmont Mining Corp. Twin Creeks Mine: Golconda, Nev. 56.9 million
5) Envirosafe Service of Ohio: Lucas County, Ohio, 53.3 million
6) Barrick Goldstrike Mine Inc.: Elko, Nev., 48.6 million
7) Kennecott Greens Creek Mining Co.: Juneau, Alaska, 44.5 million

Congratulations Kennecott, you placed twice in the Top 10!!

Press Release: Lawsuit filed against the MDNR

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For Immediate Release

February 28, 2008

Also see the Mining Journal article

Click here for the AP article 

Contact:

Michelle Halley, National Wildlife Federation, (906) 361-0520

Peter Dykema, Huron Mountain Club, (202) 282-5773

Paul Townsend, Huron Mountain Club, (313) 886-3487

John Baker, Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, (906) 353-4106

Cynthia Pryor, Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve, (906) 360-2414

Suit challenges legality of DNR, Kennecott lease

A failure by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to follow state law will be challenged before the Ingham County Circuit Court as a result of a suit filed today by opponents seeking reversal of a land lease with Kennecott Eagle Minerals Company.

It has been three weeks since the MDNR granted approval to the unprecedented lease that grants KEMC, a for-profit company with no ties to Michigan, exclusive use of 120 acres of state-owned land for a period of decades. KEMC is planning to construct surface facilities for a sulfide mining operation on the Marquette County property. Those challenging the decision say it violates the Michigan Environmental Protection Act, the Michigan Revised Judicature Act, and Michigan’s public trust doctrine.

Acting as co-petitioners in the suit, the National Wildlife Federation (NWF), Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, Huron Mountain Club and Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve are asking the court to declare the surface lease void, find that the conduct related to the surface lease would pollute, impair or destroy natural resources, and therefore instruct the MDNR and KEMC to halt any conduct related to the surface lease.

“The State of Michigan has never issued a lease of state lands similar in scope to this one in terms of the amount of land at issue, the period of years, the risky nature of the proposed activity and the long-term implications. This decision is a pivotal one for the future of Michigan’s public lands and this flawed decision cannot go unchallenged,” said Michelle Halley, attorney for NWF.

Halley and co-petitioners say that, by entering into the surface lease, MDNR violated its duty under state law to refrain from authorizing conduct that is likely to pollute, impair or destroy the air, water or other natural resources, or the public trust in those resources, if there is a feasible alternative. KEMC owns land in the vicinity that would meet the criteria of a feasible alternative.

The same petitioners have also filed suit challenging the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality’s decision to grant mining, groundwater and air permits for the same project. The first of those challenges will be heard by an administrative law judge on April 28, 2008.


Coaster Brook Trout Update

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We’ve had some requests for updates on the Coaster Brook Trout:

The Sierra Club and the Huron Mountain Club filed a petition to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to begin the investigative process of listing the Coaster Brook Trout as a Threatened and Endangered Species.  This petition filed in February 2007 was not addressed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in a timely manner and the petitioners filed suit because of the delay.  The petitioners and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are currently in discussion about when USFWS would be prepared to issue a decision regarding the original listing petition.

The Gold Is In Our Green!!!

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A recent article from MLIVE.com

“West Michigan’s abundant natural resources — forests, sand dunes, wetlands and water — provide a variety of benefits that are worth at least $1.6 billion annually, according to a new study.

Putting a dollar figure on nature, also known as green infrastructure, is a tricky business, technically and philosophically. But officials at the West Michigan Strategic Alliance sought to demonstrate that nature is valuable and that damaging it comes at a price.”

Click here for the rest of the article

Also, refer back to the Brookings Institue Report on the economic benefits of clean, healthy Great Lakes

It seems that it is becoming easier to assign value to nature for nature’s sake!

Take Action, Share Your Knowledge!

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Save The Wild UP has introduced a new feature to the website, a bulletin board

We now have a bulletin board for citizens to share their knowledge and opinion with others who visit the site.

We are especially interested in:

  • News from other communities that are facing the same types of challenges
  • Reports of mining and exploration activity around the Upper Peninsula
  • Community events held by local, county and state governments as well as organizational meetings
  • Issues, events, ideas that involve the Great Lakes
  • Bright ideas for new projects or to help improve existing ones
  • Legal or legislative news that will have impact on our Wild UP
  • Resources that may be helpful in our efforts to protect, preserve or conserve the Wild Upper Peninsula.

All comments are subject to our moderation…we ask for respectful and discretionary behavior while writing your posts.

While most user know what that entails, here is a general code of ethics for using this bulletin board:

We reserve the right, but no responsibilty, to review, edit, move, or delete any content submitted by users, in our sole discretion, without notice, including but not limited to the following reasons:

  • Do not post obscene, hateful, offensive, abusive, harassing, threatening or profane material
  • Do not post junk mail, aka Spam
  • Do not engage in personal attacks, but we encourage respectful debate
  • Please consider using your own name for this forum, it keeps everybody honest
  • Nicknames attempting to impersonate other users will be removed
  • Do not post an e-mail address or other contact information belonging to another person.
  • Do not post information that encourages criminal activity of any kind
  • Do not attempt to impersonate others
  • Try to post your messages in the most appropriate category, if you believe that we do not have a category that fits your information, tell us and we may create a new one
  • Do not use multiple user names and do not answer your own posts using another user name
  • DO USE THIS FEATURE TO LEARN, TEACH, DISCUSS!

“What’s that Sucking Sound?”

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It is the sound of michigan’s water being sold to the highest bidder if Michigan’s Senate gets their way!

Click here to take action

“…some Michigan politicians are supporting proposals that would allow up to 25% of some of our inland rivers and streams to be available for export to thirsty states and nations! Maybe they don’t realize that our lakes, rivers and aquifers—our drinking water sources—are all connected in the Great Lakes system. “

Michigan’s toxic clean-up $$ are gone

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From the Detroit Free Press:

“The DEQ is working on cleanups at 450 sites now, but may have to shut them down by the end of the year and lay off 80 to 125 employees unless a new funding source is found.

The state has been telling communities it cannot accept new sites. The depletion of the cleanup fund is ironic with Detroit hosting a national brownfields conference in May to showcase the state’s achievements.”

Click here for the rest of the Freep article

Read another related article in the Freep 

Citizens Disrupt Kennecott’s Community Advisory Group

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In an effort to symboli ze Citizen’s frustrations with Kennecott’s policy of only allowing citizens to ask questions to individuals during bathroom breaks at Community Advisory Group meetings, local citizens present at Kennecott’s recent meeting stood up and demanded that Kennecott and the board listen to their questions, concerns and comments.  

Many citizens were dismayed that, while Kennecott intended to outline its plans, at the meeting, for building a road going from the Eagle Project, toward Humboldt, and plans to mill its product in Humboldt, that the company waited until DEQ and DNR approval to announce these initiatives.  State agencies did not require information regarding transportation, power and processing in Kennecott’s application.  Also, the public was never briefed on these new projects or given an opportunity to comment on them as they were being formulated.  The State has allowed Kennecott to keep secret its plans for road construction, ore processing and power.  This has afforded Kennecott the ability to minimize the public’s perceived impact of its proposed mining project.

The citizen action was organized by Yellow Dog Summer, which intends to rally the massive regional citizen opposition to Kennecott’s Eagle Project through a series of events.  According to one member, “Our State agencies and Governor have abrogated a mandate to protect Michigan’s natural resources and the public trust. Yellow Dog Summer believes the decision now rests with the public.” Yellow Dog Summer follows strict rules of non-violence developed by the Women’s Peace Camp at Seneca, New York, in 1983:

* Our attitude will be one of openness and respect toward anyone we encounter;
* We will not engage in physical or verbal violence toward anyone we encounter;
* We will not bring or use any drugs or alcohol other than for medical purposes;
* We will carry no weapons; and
* We will not run.

Click here to read an article about the meeting 

Click here to read and watch TV-6 coverage of the meeting 

Click here to read more about the group, Yellow Dog Summer

Michelle Halley, NWF Lawyer, Resigns from Kennecott’s Community Advisory Group

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Please read the following letter from Michelle Halley to Kennecott about her resignation from the community advisory group.

February 22, 2008

Mr. Jon Cherry

Kennecott Eagle Minerals Company

Marquette, MI 49855

Via: HAND DELIVERY, CAG meeting

Dear Mr. Cherry and CAG Members:

Today, I resign from KEMC’s Community Advisory Board. I believe that KEMC’s applications are fatally flawed; the company has chosen to ignore these flaws which endanger both the environment and human health, including that of workers. I now represent NWF in litigation to challenge the permits on those grounds.

Further, the name “Community Advisory Group” is a misnomer. The company has ignored the opinions of the vast majority of this community, and while this group is made of upstanding citizens and honest people, this group does not represent the public’s views and opinions on this matter.

The structure of this group, in that the public majority opinion is not represented, nor are members of the public allowed to speak here, is an insult to democracy. Again, the KEMC-imposed artificiality of the “community” component of this group is a charade in which I will not participate.

The clencher has been the recent development with the electrical lines and the Alger Delta Co-op. KEMC and Alger-Delta were in negotiations for approximately one year before the public knew a word of it, even through the very well-known public comment period on the applications. The regulations require the applicant to assess infrastructure, existing and proposed. These tactics violate the regulations and are not transparent — and I do not choose to be associated in any way with these tactics.

Sincerely,

F. Michelle Halley

Attorney and Senior Manager for Lake Superior Restoration and Protection

Kennecott Wants to Build a Processing Facility

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From the WLUC-TV6 website.

Kennecott plans milling facility

The old Humboldt mine may come back to life.

Posted: Friday, February 22, 2008 at 5:10 p.m.

HUMBOLDT — TV6 has learned that Kennecott Minerals is considering turning the old Humboldt Mine into an ore milling facility.

Follow this link for the rest of the story.

http://www.wluctv6.com/news/news_story.aspx?id=99380

Keep posted for more information on this and other disappointing developments.