GLIN==> National Wildlife Federation to Challenge Michigan’s Approval of Dangerous Mine

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  
January 15, 2010
 
CONTACT:  
Michelle Halley, National Wildlife Federation – 906-361-0520
halley at nwf.org 
Jordan Lubetkin, National Wildlife Federation – 734-887-7109
lubetkin at nwf.org 
 
National Wildlife Federation to Challenge Michigan’s Approval of
Dangerous Mine
 
MARQUETTE, MICH. (January 15)—The National Wildlife Federation today
vowed to challenge a Thursday decision by the Michigan Department of
Environmental Quality to allow a controversial mine to proceed--even
though the decision by the agency contradicts opinions by internal
experts who have warned that the mine is unsafe and could result in a
mine collapse.
 
“The mining plan is unsafe, and the DEQ’s decision to let it proceed is
flawed, illegal and goes against the interests of the people of
Michigan,” said Michelle Halley, an attorney representing the National
Wildlife Federation. “We will challenge this decision to protect
Michigan from this dangerous form of mining that has proven to be unsafe
to people, communities and wildlife in other states.”
 
The decision to issue two permits for the Upper Peninsula mine—known as
the Eagle Project—also flies in the face of a recent decision by an
administrative law judge, who concluded that the grounds on which the
mine would be constructed is a sacred site to native people that should
be protected.
 
The National Wildlife Federation criticized the timing of the decision,
which was made before an administrative law judge had finished reviewing
new information that the DEQ itself had requested to evaluate the risk
the mine could pose to people and water quality. The decision comes days
before the authority to decide on the mining permits would have been
shifted to the newly appointed director of the Michigan Department of
Natural Resources and Environment.
 
“Instead of leveling with the people of Michigan, the Granholm
Administration has chosen to push a controversial decision forward
without a full accounting,” said Halley. “The result is a decision that
short-changes the people, wildlife and economy of Michigan. We will
appeal this decision and seek justice elsewhere.” 
 
The National Wildlife Federation’s Halley said that groups opposed to
the mine—including the Huron Mountain Club, Keweenaw Bay Indian
Community and Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve—intend to appeal the
decision.
 
The permits allow a controversial mining project to move forward that
would fence off a documented indigenous sacred site and allow the
discharge of pollutants to ground water and surface water. The mine
would change the nature of the region from valuable wildlife habitat to
an industrial park.
 
The Eagle Mine is the first mine in Michigan that aims to extract
metals from sulfide ore bodies. This type of mining—known as hard rock
mining in the West—often produces, as a byproduct, sulfuric acid that
can prove deadly to rivers, streams, fish and wildlife for decades after
closure of the mine. 
 
The Eagle Mine would be adjacent to the Salmon Trout River—one of the
last mainland U.S. rivers used as spawning grounds by the Coaster Brook
Trout.
 
“Any final decision on this mine and the fate of the Great Lakes is a
long way off,” said Cynthia Pryor of the Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve,
a local group opposing the mine. “We will fight this project, because it
is unsafe and because the process has been perverted, for as long as we
can.” 
 
 
Jordan Lubetkin - Senior Regional Communications Manager
National Wildlife Federation
Great Lakes Regional Center
213 W. Liberty St., Suite 200
Ann Arbor, MI 48104-1398
www.nwf.org/greatlakes 
www.healthylakes.org ( http://www.healthylakes.org/ )

Phone: (734) 887-7109 
Cell: (734) 904-1589

Inspiring Americans to protect wildlife for our children's future.
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