Letter from YDWP Explaining Flaws in Alger Delta / Kennecott Plan

July 10, 2008

Mr. Tom Harrell
Alger Delta Cooperative Electric Association
426 N. 9th St.
Gladstone, MI 49837

RE: Kennecott Eagle Minerals Company Electric Service

Dear Mr. Harrell,

As we discussed at our meeting with the Marquette County Road Commission and other interested parties, it is important for Alger Delta to recognize the legal issues regarding the upgrade of existing service along CR 550 and the extension of existing services with the installation of new service along CR 510 and CR AAA to the Kennecott Eagle Mineral Company (KEMC) proposed mine site on the Yellow Dog Plains. As we discussed, the following of Non-Ferrous Metallic Mine permit statute (commonly known as Part 632) pertain to this project:

R 425.103(a) the definition of ‘mining activity’ includes (iv) Beneficiation; (x) Construction of haul roads; and (xi) Construction of utilities or extension of existing utilities.
R4 25.202 Environmental Impact Assessment shall be required for: (q) Existing and proposed infrastructure and utilities
R 425.204 Reclamation Plan (iii) ‘all . . .infrastructure . . . constructed as a result of the mining activities shall be removed, unless they are converted to an alternate use in accordance with the proposed final land use.’
Kennecott is currently not permitted to do any work related to the project since the permits are not final due to:

1. Ongoing Contested Case proceedings with the State of Michigan regarding the mining permit,
the air permit and the ground water discharge permit
2. The unmet requirement for KEMC to obtain an Underground Injection Control permit from the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
3. The lease from the State of Michigan allowing KEMC to use state land for this proposed
operation is not finalized

It is the opinion of our organization and of our attorneys, that Kennecott’s current mining application and the subsequent permit issued, do not permit for the work Kennecott has contracted with Alger Delta in the extension of power to the proposed mine site. The current mining permit stipulates the use of diesel generators at the site, not electrical service provided by a utility. Subsequently, KEMC has not submitted an amendment request to the DEQ changing the existing permit as required by the statute and rules of the Non-Ferrous Metallic Mine permit process (commonly known as Part 632). Under these rules the following language applies as taken directly from the Part 632 rules:

R 425.206 Amendment of permits.

Rule 206. (1) A mining permit may be amended at any time to address changes in the mining operation, natural or humanmade conditions, or technology, or to correct an oversight. An application for amendment of a mining permit shall be submitted on a form prescribed by the department, signed by the permittee or an authorized representative of the permittee. The application shall include revisions of any of the following that are affected by the changes:

(a) The environmental impact assessment.
(b) The mining, reclamation, and environmental protection plan.
(c) The contingency plan.
(d) Federal, state, and local permits and licenses that are anticipated to be required.
(e) Provisions for financial assurance required under R 425.301.
(f) Other terms and conditions of the mining permit.
(2) A permittee may submit a request to the department to amend a mining permit.
(3) The department may require a permittee to submit an application for amendment of a mining permit if the department determines that the terms and conditions of the mining permit are not providing the intended reasonable protection of the environment, natural resources, or public health and safety.
(4) Within 30 days after receiving a request to amend a mining permit, the department shall determine whether the request constitutes a significant change from the conditions of the approved mining permit. If the department determines that the request is a significant change, then the department shall submit the request for amendment to the same review process as provided for a new permit application in R 425.211(4).

Under this rule, an amendment to the current permit is necessary in order for the work Alger Delta plans to be legal under Part 632. It is our opinion that Alger Delta would be working as an agent to KEMC and therefore, may be responsible for violations of this law.

At this time, we urge Alger Delta to rethink their planned work to the upgrade and extension of services for Kennecott Minerals until the following conditions are met: 1) the mining permit is final, (2) the conditions of the state lease are met allowing KEMC to begin working on the mine and (3) Kennecott addresses the necessity of amending their mining permit. Until these conditions are all accomplished, any work performed by Alger Delta to extend existing service or to install new service on CR 550, CR 510 and the CR AAA roads to service Kennecott Minerals – will be in direct violation of the Part 632 statute and rules.

If you would like to discuss further, please contact me at 906 360-2414.

Sincerely,

Cynthia Pryor
Executive Director
Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve, Inc
P.O. Box 5, Big Bay, MI 49808

cc: Mr. Jon Cherry – Kennecott Eagle Minerals Company
Mr. Stephen Chester – MI Department of Environmental Quality
Ms. Rebecca Humphries – MI Department of Natural Resources
Ms. Michelle Halley – National Wildlife Federation
Ms. Susan LaFernier – Keweenaw Bay Indian Community
Mr. Peter Dykema – Huron Mountain Club

Kirtland’s Warbler Survey Informational Meeting

Date: June 5th, 2008
Time: 7pm
Place: Peter White Public Library-Dandelion Cottage Room, Marquette, MI

Information about the federal Kirtland’s Warbler Survey Program will be given along with maps of jackpine stands and survey information. The survey will be focusing on singing males. Christie Deloria Sheffield, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Biologist and Kirtland’s Warbler Survey leader for Marquette County, will be in attendance and available for questions. If you would like more information, call Nancy Moran at the Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve (906-345-9223).

Lansing hearings put U.P. wilderness on trial

Written by LAWRENCE COSENTINO
Wednesday, 21 May 2008

On the morning of April 28, a roomful of lawyers in the basement of Lansing’s vast Constitution Hall blinked at slides of a snow-covered cabin next to a woodland stream and beaver pond.

Rico Torreano, a burly corrections officer at Marquette Branch Prison in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, took the witness stand to open an epic sequence of hearings on the proposed Eagle Mine, set to dig in about 25 miles west of Marquette and a mile away from his home.

Read more >

UP Citizens Address Rio Tinto Board in London

Written by Gabriel Caplett

London, UK  –  Four citizens from  Michigan’s Upper Peninsula attended Rio Tinto’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Center (QEII), in London, England.  Speakers included Susan LaFernier, vice-president of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (KBIC), Gabriel Caplett from Yellow Dog Summer and Northwoods Wilderness Recovery, and Cynthia Pryor, from the Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve.  Fran Whitman, from Friends of the Land of Keweenaw (FOLK), attended but was unable to speak in front of the assembly.

To the crowd of roughly 300 shareholders and journalists, LaFernier addressed the threat to Native American ceded treaty rights with the US government, from 1842 and 1954 treaties.  Rio Tinto chairman, Paul Skinner, interrupted LaFernier’s introduction, instructing the tribal leader to ask only one question, although a shareholder had just previously been able to ask three questions.

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Mine opponents speak at Rio Tinto meeting in London

LONDON, ENGLAND – Four community leaders took their opposition to the proposed Upper Peninsula sulfide mine to the United Kingdom today when each spoke at the annual meeting of London-based Rio Tinto, the mining giant and parent company of Kennecott Eagle Minerals Co.

Before a gathering of thousands, Susan LaFernier, vice president of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, was joined by Cynthia Pryor, Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve; Fran Whitman, Friends of the Land of Keweenaw; and Gabriel Caplett, Northwoods Wilderness Recovery. Each possesses either a share of stock or a proxy allowing them a voice at the meeting.

“We hope to bring an understanding to the Rio Tinto board of directors and shareholders that the citizens of our region and across the state of Michigan do not support their sulfide mining venture on the Yellow Dog Plains,” Pryor explained in an interview just days before the meeting. “We will present them with every citizen and group resolution or petition signed in opposition to this mine.”

In her presentation, LaFernier will explain the tribe’s sense of responsibility for human health, air, water, land and cultural resources, including Eagle Rock, a location of spiritual importance to Native Americans in the region.

“I will inform the Rio Tinto board about our rights as written in the 1842 and 1854 treaties with the United States. These are rights we have always had as first owners of the land,” the tribal official explained. KBIC has opposed the mine since 2004, when the Tribal Council adopted a resolution in opposition to the project.
“The Rio Tinto board should understand that the opposition is not a few radicals, as they have been led to believe, but a large and well-organized coalition involving thousands of people across the state,” Pryor said.

Caplett says the scope of Kennecott’s plans for the Upper Peninsula demands action. “Rio Tinto has multiple projects planned for our water-rich area.  These projects would affect the Great Lakes, which contains roughly one-fourth of the world’s freshwater.  Other companies are planning metallic mineral projects, as well as uranium operations, and are encouraged by weak new mining laws that were heavily influenced by Rio Tinto’s agenda.”

The message of the Upper Peninsula foursome wasn’t the only one heard in opposition to Rio Tinto projects throughout the world. Activists from Argentina and West Papua also appealed to shareholders to take a closer look at projects in their respective countries.

Following the Rio Tinto annual meeting, LaFernier spoke on behalf of the group at a public meeting hosted by Amnesty International UK’s Human Rights Centre.

Save the Wild UP Awarded Grant from Freshwater Future

The environment in the Upper Peninsula recently received a boost when Save the Wild UP was awarded a grant from Freshwater Future (formerly great Lakes Aquatic Habitat Network and Fund). The $3,500 grant was awarded to help protect the Upper Peninsula from major risks to the health of some of the Great Lakes region’s most precious groundwater and surface water habitats. This project will research the legal mechanisms landowners can utilize to control mining exploration or mining activity under their surface land ownership, as well as protect habitat. Results will be used to help educate the public on mineral rights ownership and their role in protecting aquatic ecosystems.

Freshwater Future builds effective community-based citizen action to protect and restore the water quality of the Great Lakes basin. They work towards this goal by providing financial assistance, communications and networking assistance, and technical assistance to citizens and grassroots watershed groups throughout the Great Lakes basin. Grassroots organizations and citizen initiatives in both the U.S. and Canada are eligible for funding in the two annual funding cycles.

“With so many great proposals for important work throughout the Great Lakes region, the decision making process was difficult as always,” said Jill Ryan, Executive Director of Freshwater Future. “The 20 applications we reviewed presented unique and thoughtful ways to engage local communities in protecting local rivers, lakes, and wetlands. Save the Wild UP was one of just 10 that received funding in this grant cycle,” said Ryan.

SWUP’s mission is to protect Michigan’s Upper Peninsula from unsustainable development, environmental degradation, and dangerous contamination through public awareness and education. The grant from Freshwater Future will help accomplish this mission by helping to protect headwaters habitats in the Lake Superior and Lake Michigan watersheds from the risks of alteration and contamination by nonferrous metallic mining, particularly sulfide mining processes.

If you would like more information on this project, contact Save the Wild UP, 906-228-4444.

Coasters Considered For Federal Protection

“TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service took a step Thursday toward placing the coaster brook trout, which once thrived in the upper Great Lakes, on the endangered species list.

A petition filed by two groups in 2006 made a strong enough case to justify a formal review, the service said in a Federal Register notice. The Sierra Club and the Huron Mountain Club sued the agency in December for failing to act earlier. Officials blamed the delay on budget restraints.”

Click here for the rest of the story
Click here for more information on Coasters from NMU Fish Biology Lab