The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) did not intentionally suppress documents critical of the proposed Kennecott Eagle Project in the Upper Peninsula according to a report released Tuesday by a consultant hired by the DEQ. The consultant's investigation concluded that the two documents, which raised questions about the safety of the mine, were not purposely withheld, arguing instead that their omission from the permit application made publicly available and from Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests was unintentional. In the report, consultant Donald Inman said "I saw no evidence of any intent by anyone to mislead the public, or shield information from public scrutiny." He also said that a DEQ geologist named Joe Maki who led the department overseeing Kennecott's application and who was reassigned during the investigation should be allowed to resume his duties. According to the DEQ, Maki will resume his previous duties but will have his work overseen by deputy DEQ director Skip Pruss.

Inman's report said that Maki "regretted" failing to release the documents but emphasized that he was not attempting to keep them secret. Inman highlighted Maki's raising concerns about the mines crown pillar--the subject of the withheld documents--in a June 2006 letter sent to Kennecott and released publicly that listed 91 deficiencies in Kennecott's application as an example. Nevertheless, Inman recommended that in the future decisions about the release of documents should be made higher up in the department.