Last week, opponents of a proposed sulfide mine near Marquette in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula announced that they are suing the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) for issuing an illegal permit. The National Wildlife Federation, Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, Huron Mountain Club, and Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve filed a contested case petition and a lawsuit against MDEQ on Friday. In a press release, National Wildlife Federation attorney Michelle Halley stated:

“The opponents of the mine have presented MDEQ with over 1000 pages of unequivocal evidence that Kennecott’s proposed sulfide mine does not meet the state’s legal requirements and would result in profound pollution, impairment, and destruction of air, water and other natural resources… The MDEQ has issued permits that are based upon defective, inadequate and incomplete applications and are therefore illegal.”

The case will give opponents another opportunity to argue that the mine’s construction will result in pollution and environmental harm due both to the inherent dangers of sulfide mining as well as specific flaws in the design of the mine.

Since approval was granted for the mine on the 14th, the mining corporation Rio Tinto has announced that it intends to open an additional six mines in the Upper Peninsula. Consequently, opponents of the Eagle Project mine are warning that it is absolutely essential that the first permit set a precedent for strict adherence to the law. Halley asserted that “Setting a precedent that starts with defective, incomplete, inaccurate applications and ends with a dangerous new mine is not in the best interest of the people of Michigan, nor its environment.”