E-M:/ News Release--Conservationists call on the DEQ to Include the Public in UP Sulfide Mining Decision

[Brian Beauchamp <brian@michiganlcv.org>]

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Enviro-Mich message from Brian Beauchamp <brian@michiganlcv.org>
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For Immediate Release
January 30, 2007

/Contact:
Brian Beauchamp-Michigan League of Conservation Voters Education 
Fund-(734)222-9650;904-9915
Andy Buchsbaum- National Wildlife Federation-(734)769-3351, ext. 35
James Clift- Michigan Environmental Council-(517)487-9539 /

Conservationists Call on the Department of Environmental Quality to 
Include the Public in U.P. Sulfide Mining Decision
/Groups raise concern that sulfide mining permit is being drafted 
without input from the majority of the State’s citizens/

In a letter sent to officials at the Michigan Department of 
Environmental Quality (DEQ) in Lansing, a coalition of conservation and 
environmental groups called for public participation in the State’s 
proposed decision to issue a sulfide mining permit to Kennecott Eagle 
Mineral Corp. for a mine northwest of Marquette. The letter was signed 
by over ten statewide organizations and a long list of business leaders 
in southeast Michigan calling on the Governor and the DEQ to hold a 
public hearing in Lansing to give downstate residents a chance to voice 
their concerns over the current proposal.

“It would be a real travesty if the DEQ sticks with their current plan 
of holding no public hearings in the Lower Peninsula. People who live 
south of the Mackinac Bridge care deeply about the U.P. They have real 
concerns about a proposed mine that would degrade what many consider to 
be God’s country. They have a right to be heard,” said Andy Buchsbaum 
from the National Wildlife Federation’s Great Lakes Regional Office in 
Ann Arbor.

On January 9, 2007, the DEQ issued a preliminary approval to Kennecott 
Eagle Minerals Corp. to open a metallic sulfide mine beneath the 
headwaters of the Salmon Trout River near Lake Superior outside of 
Marquette. The decision has drawn much criticism from citizens across 
the state, both in the Upper and Lower Peninsulas, due to the fact that 
this type of mining always results in significant acid mine drainage or 
heavy metal contamination, both of which adversely impact wildlife, 
human health and fisheries.

“The current application under review does not meet the standards set by 
Michigan’s tough sulfide mining laws. The burden of proof that this mine 
can be done safely with no impact on the local environment lies on the 
mining company. This application falls far short of that,” said James 
Clift from the Michigan Environmental Council.

Public hearings on the decision have been scheduled only in Marquette, 
MI for March 6, 7, and 8. “This is a state-wide issue with implications 
for the Great Lakes and all of Michigan. The fact that there are 
currently no public hearings scheduled in the Lower Peninsula is an 
indication that the DEQ and the Governor are trying to push this permit 
through under the radar, without the public noticing,” said Lisa Wozniak 
from the Michigan League of Conservation Voters.

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