Kennecott Minerals Co. currently lacks all major state and federal permits required in order to open and operate its proposed Eagle Project metallic sulfide mine on the Yellow Dog Plains, in Marquette County.

Recently, the company purchased the site of the old Humboldt Mill, in Humboldt Township, that was used to crush ore from Callahan Mining Company’s Ropes Gold Mine decades ago.

Although Kennecott has yet to submit a permit for its processing complex, Eagle Project manager, Jon Cherry, claimed, at an October 6 meeting, that the mill will be operational by 2010.

Local Save the Wild UP Director, Kristi Mills, said “For Kennecott to announce that it is moving forward with its Eagle Project and Humboldt mill plan is grossly pre-mature when you consider the big picture. They have neither the legal permits nor public consent to boast their achievements.”

According to Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) deputy director Jim Sygo, at Humboldt, “There are Waters of the State issues, and the site is a facility under [Part 632, the new metallic mining law], which will generate significant issues to permit this site.”

In a July, 2008 letter, Sygo acknowledged “that the reopening of the Humboldt processing facility would require a separate permit.”

Sygo also acknowledged that Kennecott “would have to apply for an amendment of the Mining Permit for construction of a new haul road and would likely need permits under Part 301, Inland Lakes and Streams and Part 303, Wetlands Protection…as well.”

Regarding the company’s plans to power the mine, Sygo said that Kennecott “would have to apply for an amendment to its Part 632 Mining Permit before beginning activities to extend electrical service from CR 550 to the Eagle Project mine site.”

A mining permit for the Humboldt facility will require State review of Kennecott’s application and public hearings before approval would be considered.  Construction of their own haul road and extension of electric utilities will require Kennecott to amend its Mining Permit, effectively restarting the permitting process with public hearings and another DEQ decision.

To further complicate its plans, Kennecott lacks a required underground injection permit from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has also requested that the EPA conduct studies relating to the endangered Kirtland’s warbler and the threatened Canada lynx before issuing a decision on Kennecott’s federal permit.  The USFWS has suggested that potential mining affects to the native Coaster Brook Trout could also complicate Kennecott’s application process. The USFWS will issue a 12 month finding on the petition on December.

The Marquette County Planning Commission will hold a public meeting on June 4th, 2008. According to planner, Eric Anderson, “This hearing is part of the process to incorporate the Hazard Mitigation Plan into the County’s comprehensive plan. In addition, we will be encouraging cities and townships in Marquette County to adopt the plan.

The Plan has many flaws, including noting the sensitive nature of the Yellow Dog Plains regarding ground subsidence and erosion yet not listing Kennecott’s Eagle Project as a potential hazard to the area. The Plan does, however, consider opponents of the project to be a hazard.

Please read the full Plan at the Planning Department’s website.

Click HERE for an article critical of the Plan.

Location: commission chambers, second floor of the Henry Skewis Annex of the Marquette County Courthouse complex
Date and time: Wednesday, June 04 2008, 7:00pm – 8:00pm

MARQUETTE — After today’s three scheduled environmental witnesses, testimony in a downstate contested case hearing is expected to shift to witnesses for the Kennecott Eagle Minerals Company and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.
The hearing, which is entering its third week of testimony in Lansing, is considering a challenge to a DEQ decision to grant Kennecott permits for its nickel and copper mine in northern Marquette County.
The National Wildlife Federation, Huron Mountain Club, Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve and Keweenaw Bay Indian Community are challenging the DEQ issuance of those mining and groundwater permits.
“At the conclusion of week two, we feel very confident about our case,” said Michelle Halley, an attorney with the National Wildlife Federation. “We’ve demonstrated that there will be a lot of pollutants that Kennecott has not considered and they will spread beyond the boundaries predicted by Kennecott.”
Friday’s testimony concluded with Mac Strand, a stream ecologist. Strand testified about the potential impacts to stream ecosystems, including fish and insects.
“Dr. Strand testified about potential impacts to the whole aquatic system of the Salmon Trout River,” Halley said. “He said the Yellow Dog River would be in a vulnerable position as well.”
Jon Cherry, general manager of the Eagle Project, said since the inception of the proposed mining project, “Kennecott has prepared for the building, operation and reclamation of the mine using the highest standards and most advanced technologies available for mineral resource development in the world today.”
“In seeking permits from the state of Michigan for the Eagle project, Kennecott demonstrated that the proposed design met or exceeded stringent standards established in the new state law and regulations,” Cherry said.
Witnesses scheduled to testify today for the plaintiffs include Glen Miller, who will discuss the purported inability of the mine’s proposed wastewater treatment plant to handle the quality or quantity of water going into it.
Miller will be followed by Alex Lindsay who will address the impact on birds and Dr. John Ejnik, an environmental chemist.
One final witness for the plaintiffs is expected to testify Wednesday because of a scheduling conflict. John Coleman will take the stand. His expertise is stormwater management.
The contested case hearing is expected to take another two weeks to complete. Administrative Law Judge Richard A. Patterson is presiding.

John Pepin      Marquette Mining Journal

    The contested case hearing challenging permits for a Kennecott Eagle Minerals Company mine in northern Marquette County was scheduled to continue today with testimony from a structural geologist.
The National Wildlife Federation, Huron Mountain Club, Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve and Keweenaw Bay Indian Community are challenging the issuance of mining and groundwater permits by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality to Kennecott for its nickel and copper mine.
On Wednesday, Jack Parker and Marsha Bjornerud testified. Parker specializes in practical rock mechanics and Bjornerud is a structural geologist. Bjornerud is expected to conclude her testimony today.
“Both witnesses focused on how Kennecott failed to adequately characterize rock strength and whether the crown pillar will fail,” said Michelle Halley, an attorney for the National Wildlife Federation.
After Bjornerud, petitioners expect Wilson Blake, a DEQ subsidence reviewer, Stan Vitton, another specialist in geology and rock mechanics, will testify.
After the petitioner witnesses are finished testifying, witnesses for Kennecott and the DEQ will be called to the stand.
The hearing is important because Kennecott cannot begin work on the Eagle Project until the contested case is settled.

John Pepin, Marquette Mining Journal

Congress considers restoring safeguards on nation’s streams and wetlands

by Eric Kroh
Apr 24, 2008

WASHINGTON – Strong bipartisan support could restore federal environmental protection for small streams and wetlands that supply some water to more than 1.6 million people in Illinois alone.

The Clean Water Restoration Act is being examined by House and Senate committees but, though the bill has support from both sides of the aisle, similar bills have died in previous sessions of congress.

The bill would return the jurisdiction of the Clean Water Act to where it was before the Supreme Court restricted it in decisions over the past several years. One case involved water in a gravel pit in northern Cook County that had become a wildlife habitat.

Support for the restoration act on Capitol Hill includes 175 co-sponsors of the bill, introduced in the House by James Oberstar, a Republican from Minnesota. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, spoke in support of the bill during a recent hearing.

”With an ever-expanding population and the potentially devastating impacts of global warming on our water supply, now is not the time to be weakening the Clean Water Act,” Boxer said.

Click here for the rest of the story

Story URL: http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news.aspx?id=87155
Story Retrieval Date: 4/29/2008 2:51:16 PM CST