On Wednesday, around seventy-five people gathered at the Lansing Center in downtown Lansing to testify before the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to submit verbal comments about a planned sulfide mine that the international mining company Kennecott hopes to open in the Upper Peninsula. For over a year, the mine has met significant opposition from residents of the Upper Peninsula as well as from environmental groups located in Michigan. Among the groups expressing opposition to the proposed mine have been Save the Wild UP, Environment Michigan, Sierra Club Mackinac Chapter and national groups such as the National Wildlife Federation.
As was the case at recent hearings in Marquette when 100 individuals testified against the mine compare with fourteen speaking in support on the first day, the overwhelming majority of those speaking at the hearing were opposed to issuing a permit to Kennecott for the mine. From 1:30 to 3:45 during the first of two public comment periods, the ratio of opponents to supporters was 25 to 4. Aside from a representatives from the Michigan Environmental Council, Environment Michigan, and the Huron Mountain Club, and two Native American tribes, the majority of the opposition to the mine came from individual citizens.
Many of the individuals opposing the mine traveled great lengths to testify, including several residents of the Upper Peninsula, Traverse City, Illinois, and Wisconsin. A number of those testifying described the unique aspects of the land where the mine is being proposed as well as the Upper Peninsula more generally. Several people described how they maintain connections to the land even when they have moved away, with the majority of them speaking in spiritual terms describing how the land is like "heaven" or touches their "souls." Not surprisingly when people spoke of such strong concerns to the land, several people were moved to tears while testifying and repeatedly expressed that the costs of allowing the mine were simply too high.
Unlike opposition to the mine, the majority of those testifying in support of the mine represented industry groups that would benefit financially from the mine. A representative from the Upper Peninsula Construction Council spoke about how the mine would create jobs, would generate needed income, and would benefit the Upper Peninsula more generally. Similarly, a representative from the Six County Employment Alliance expressed support for the mine, as did another construction workers group. The final person speaking in favor of the mine was a member of an Iron Workers local in Lansing who said that he supported the mine because jobs were needed. For the most part, those testifying in support of the mine focused more on jobs than on the environmental aspects of the mine.
However, several residents expressed significant concerns over specific technical aspects of the mine. These included concerns that there is no such thing as safe sulfide mining, with a Wisconsin resident explaining at length problems with Kennecott's Flambeau mine in Wisconsin, as well as technical issues with the permit. Among the specific failures with the permit, Save the Wild UP cites the fact that there is no cumulative impacts analysis, no demonstration of effectiveness (for "cemented" backfill for example), no accurate prediction of air emissions and deposition, no accurate analysis of the crown pillar's stability or porosity, no accurate prediction of drawdown of the Salmon Trout River and wetlands, no accurate assessment of Acid Mine Drainage production, no accurate Environmental Impact Analysis, and no full estimate of expected extractions. According to Save the Wild UP, the mine will emit at least 20 tons of pollution into the air each year; some of that will end up in surface water, pollute ground water and surface water, drawdown a key Lake Superior tributary and critical wetlands at a time when the Lake is already seeing low water levels, disrupt wildlife corridors, and impose an industrial complex in Michigan's largest unpaved, off-grid wild area. Save the Wild UP and other opponents of the mine argue that the law regulating sulfide mining is clear in that a permit must be denied if it will be environmentally detrimental.
Residents who were unable to attend the hearing are being urged to to the DEQ/DNR before the end of the public comment period on October 17.
