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E-M:/ Educating Senator Abraham
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Enviro-Mich message from anne.woiwode@sfsierra.sierraclub.org
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Educating Senator Abraham
As you all know, education is a great concern of our elected officials. As
with many noble goals, the effort should certainly start at home. Now you
have an opportunity to help educate the factually challenged Senator Spencer
Abraham if he visits your neighborhood in the next couple of weeks. The
schedule for a bus tour the Senator is conducting is posted below. Take
advantage of these visits to drill the Senator in basic information about this
state and the environment of the country to help him and his staff overcome
the tragedy of ignorance.
You see, in response to Sierra Club's criticisms about the Senator's voting
record on the environment during his 4 1/2 years as a member of the US Senate,
Senator Abraham and his staff demonstrated the crying need to address his
ignorance about a number of issues both environmental and otherwise. Here are
some of the weaknesses in the Senator's grasp on the facts so that you can
target your remedial educational efforts appropriately.
Abraham's Claim: "There is no hard rock mining in Michigan."(Det. Free Press,
8/11/99, page 2b -- statement made by Joe McMonigle, a spokesman for Abraham)
Oh my, how quickly they forget. Michigan history was in large part built on
hard rock mining. The State Capital almost ended up in Calumet because it was
the largest city at the time the state was founded, built entirely on mining
copper. Copper mining has continued off and on in the state to the
present day. In fact, a major controversy in recent years was a proposal
to fill the White Pine mine near Ontonagon with acid to leach out additional
copper, a proposal brought to a halt by actions of Native Americans in
Wisconsin who blockaded the train carrying the noxious chemicals, prompting
an EPA review of the proposal.
Iron mining is a major industry in the Upper Peninsula. Just recently an iron
mining company near Republic proposed to drain a lake and divert the waters
flowing into it to allow them to use the lake bottom as a site to dispose of
mine tailings, filling the former lake up to 400 feet above the previous level
of the lake with tailings. This project was waylaid by the EPA after it
appeared the state was going to approve it. Reportedly the FAA has identified
a tailings pile near this mine as one of the highest spot in Michigan now so
that low flying aircraft don't run into it.
There have been occasional fits and starts directed at finding gold in
quantities sufficient to mine in Michigan, and at one point a decade or so ago
a proposal to designate a natural area on state land in the UP was put on hold
because someone thought there might be diamonds in the area.
Abraham's Claim: That he is supported by such organizations as The Great Lakes
Fisheries Commission and The Nature Conservancy. (reported on Channels 6 and
10 in the Lansing area on 8/10/99)
The organizations identified do not support political figures of any sort. In
fact, to do so would be contrary to their respective mandates.
Abraham's Claim: In explaining Senator Abraham's vote on a Interior Dept.
Budget Rider that would allow the dumping of cyanide used in heap leach mining
of gold in the west to be poured onto areas of greater than 5 acres already
permitted in the law: "Abraham's vote reflected his objection to the Interior
Department's attempts to make restrictions without coming before Congress."
(AP story by Dee-Ann Durbin, 8/11/99, printed in the Lansing State Journal)
In truth, the restrictions that place a five acre limit on disposing of
cyanide laced wastes from heap leach mining were adopted by Congress 127
years ago in the 1872 Mining Law. This law, considered one of the worst
environmental laws in the country, allows mining companies to stake mining
claims on public lands anywhere in the west, deprives the public owners of
royalty payments on those claims, and exempts these operations from most
pollution regulations.
But the Congress actually did put in place in 1872 a limit on how much public
land could be used to dump the toxic residue from mining operations onto,
however the federal government has failed to ever enforce this requirement.
Recently, the Interior Department Solicitor decided it was time for mining
companies to come into compliance with the law, in effect pointing out that
they could NOT pick to abide only by the parts of the law they liked and
ignore the rest. The mining companies apparently took great offense at being
required to abide entirely by the 127 year old law, and went to their buddies
in Congress to punch a hole in the one good provision, and thus was born this
rider. It is hard to think of this as agencies going beyond their mandates!
So, friends, help fight ignorance of Michigan and the environment! Senator
Abraham's bus tour is hitting these cities during the next week and one half.
Apparently information about each stop is available from the Senator's press
office at (202)224-5187 or (202) 224-8849.
TODAY August 11:
Detroit
Southfield
Thursday, August 12:
Flint
Saginaw
Kalamazoo
Friday, August 13:
Troy
Royal Oak
Sterling Hghts
Saturday, August 14:
Detroit
Royal Oak
Sunday, August 15:
Blumfield Twp, Saginaw County
Monday, August 16:
Flint
Midland
Saginaw
Farmington Hills
Wednesday, August 19
Clinton Township
Mt. Clemens
Southfield
East Lansing
Lansing
Thursday, August 19:
Grand Rapids
Lowell
Friday, August 20
Upper Peninsula (Escanaba)
Ferndale
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