Tag Archives: Legal

Canadian city coucil takes a stand against Uranium mining

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The following excerpt is from a Feb. 28 CBC news story, click here for the whole story

“Ottawa city council is urging Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty to temporarily ban uranium prospecting, exploration and mining in eastern Ontario and the Ottawa River watershed.

The council voted 18-1 Wednesday in favour of a motion calling on the province to impose the moratorium immediately and to keep it in effect until:

  • All environmental and health issues related to uranium mining are “resolved.”
  • There are settlement plans for all related aboriginal land claims.

The same motion calls on the province to do a public review of its 1990 Mining Act.”

I hope this will remind us that there are options and opportunities to say “no”.

This is NOT a DONE DEAL!

Here is some additional information on the people uniting against Uranium mining in Canada:

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2008/02/15/ot-contempt-080215.html

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2008/02/13/ot-algonquin-080213.html

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2007/10/19/ot-sharbot-lake-071019.html

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2007/09/18/ot-algonquins-070918.html

Leadville, Colorado in Danger of a “Toxic Gusher”

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from a Feb. 28 NY Times article; click here for the whole story

“This month, Lake County commissioners declared a state of emergency over concerns that rising levels of contaminated water could burst from the Leadville Mine Drainage Tunnel and flood the town.

For years, the federal Bureau of Reclamation and the Environmental Protection Agency have bickered over what to do about the aging tunnel, which stretches 2.1 miles and has become dammed by debris. The debris is holding back more than a billion gallons of water, much of it tainted with toxic levels of cadmium, zinc and manganese.

The threat posed by the tunnel is the latest misfortune for the town, which is grappling with the wreckage of more than a century of mining.

“Everybody made a lot of money in Leadville,” said Ken Olsen, a county commissioner. “They left years ago, and we’ve had to clean up after them ever since.”

Leadville Herald: Leadville commision gets results at Capitol meeting

Denver Post: Flooding in tunnel is blamed on Feds 

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!

“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. “

Cover Story: Granholm’s Disappointing Record

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From the cover story of the Lansing City Pulse:

“…at the remote northern end of the state, where the feds are unlikely to send the cavalry, another environmental firestorm came to a head last year. Thanks to a green light from the state’s Department of Environmental Quality, the Upper Peninsula may soon be home to a controversial mining technique that has not yet failed to bleed sulfuric acid into the surrounding land and water. This time, the engineers say, it will be different, and the state is gambling some its most pristine waters and wilderness on the claim. The first such mine, and six more like it, are now poised to dig in.”

Click here for full article

Suppressed Report: Great Lakes in Crisis

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“For more than seven months, the nation’s top public health agency has blocked the publication of an exhaustive federal study of environmental hazards in the eight Great Lakes states, reportedly because it contains such potentially “alarming information” as evidence of elevated infant mortality and cancer rates.”

Click here for the full story

It’s Time To Get The Feds Involved

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Contact Your Federal Elected Officials

Take Action!
Your Action is Needed
Please send a message via e-mail or print and send a letter to your federal elected officials urging them to tell the EPA to deny the Underground Injection Permit needed for the proposed Kennecott mine on the Yellow Dog Plains.Click on the Take Action button to the right to send the letter or click here and follow the link titled “Contact Your Federal Elected Officials”

Most of the permits associated with this proposed project are decided on a state level but this one is under the federal jurisdiction of the US Environmental Protection Agency.

You may also want to send a copy of this letter to your state congress members and the Governors of Michigan and other Great Lakes States.