A new fact sheet released by the National Wildlife Federation has a summary of reasons why Kennecott’s Eagle Project sulfide mine near Marquette in the Upper Peninsula should be opposed. The National Wildlife Federation argues that Kennecott’s own application provides evidence showing that the mine should not be allowed by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. Under Michigan’s law governing sulfide mining, the DEQ is required to reject any sulfide mining request unless the permit application demonstrates that it will not “pollute, impair or destroy” land, air, and groundwater. According to the National Wildlife Federation, the Eagle Project mine fails to meet this standard in a number of areas:
Subsidence (partial or full collapse of the mine): The roof of the mine, known as the “crown pillar,” lies directly beneath the Salmon Trout River. Kennecott’s plans to avoid collapse of the crown pillar are faulty and unfounded, according to Dr. David Sainsbury of Itasca Consulting, who is the DEQ’s own crown pillar expert, in his suppressed report. The application’s data and modeling are insufficient to determine the crown pillar’s strength and stability. “Therefore, the conclusions made within the Eagle Project Mining Permit Application regarding crown pillar subsidence are not considered to be defensible.” Sainsbury Report, Itasca Consulting, p. 15. Subsidence at any mine site is a massive failure of the mine. But at the proposed Kennecott site, subsidence would be even worse: it would likely drain dry the Salmon-Trout River.
Acid mine drainage: In most sulfide mines, the main source of pollution is the acid mine drainage which forms when water and air come into contact with the sulfide ores. The water and air create a chemical reaction with the ore that releases large quantities of acid water mixed with heavy metals. That polluted water contaminates nearby groundwater, rivers and lakes. Kennecott has proposed to minimize that problem by backfilling the holes it digs with cemented rock. The problem is that cemented rock is not impermeable; it is a loose mixture of cement and rock paste that will separate and be permeable. Worse, the rock Kennecott proposes to use is acid generating waste sulfide rock excavated from the mine. The backfill itself would generate acid mine drainage as it oxidized over time.
Air pollution: A large source of air pollution will be a 50-foot tall stack that exhausts the entire mine and contains no air pollution controls. This mine vent would annually release at least 20 tons of dust containing sulfides and metals and is only 300 feet from the Salmon Trout River.
These emissions would travel many miles, coating plants and water, as well as wildlife and people, with toxic dust. Bad enough in an urban area, the damage would be especially severe in the pristine McCormack Wilderness and Salmon Trout River. DEQ staff has failed to address warnings from the Michigan DNR about the impacts of this wide-spread pollution on wildlife
and plants.
Noise: Although admitting that the mining and rock crushing at the site would cause loud noises, the Kennecott application conducted no analysis of the impacts of noise on wildlife, tourism, or recreation. The DEQ has not required any further investigation.
Transport: No analysis has been done of the impact 80 ore truck trips a day would have on the region’s roads; there is no mention of the effect acid dust from the trucks would have on roadsides.
Related posts:
- Overwhelming Opposition to Sulfide Mine at Lansing Hearing
- Michigan DEQ Announces Lansing Hearings on Proposed Sulfide Mine in the Upper Peninsula
- Study on Water Quality Predictions in Mine Permitting Processes in the United States could have Impact on Sulfide Mining in Michigan
- Environmental Group Submits 700 Page Review of Kennecott Mine Permit
- Public Comment on Fish Threatened by Sulfide Mine Re-opened
