Wisconsin Resources Protection Council

What You Should Know About Aquila Resources’ Back Forty Project

By Al Gedicks

Executive Secretary, Wisconsin Resources Protection Council

June 28, 2017

Aquila’s Back Forty Project is not accurately described in the Mine Permit Application (MPA) and Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)

*Aquila Resources wants to develop a large open pit (2000 ft.wide, 2500 ft. long and 750 ft. deep) massive gold-zinc sulfide mine 150 feet from the Menominee River, encroaching upon the floodplain. Underground mining plans have not been disclosed to the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) but could include mining under the Menominee River. Aquila’s permit application says the Life of Mine (LOM) operation is planned to be approximately 7 years but the Back Forty is actually described as a 16 year mine in every press release published by Aquila Resources.

Peshtigo Times

June 2017

The elected officials originally supposed to attend a Marinette and Menominee joint city council meeting may not have shown Wednesday, May 24, but their constituents still showed up in large numbers.

Over 100 people came out to listen to a presentation regarding concerns about the proposed Back Forty Mine along the Menominee River after a joint Marinette and Menominee City Council meeting fell through.

fox11online.com

May 31, 2017

(WLUK) — A group opposed to a proposed mine in Upper Michigan is stepping up its campaign.

The River Alliance of Wisconsin has released three videos profiling Wisconsin residents who say they would be negatively affected by the Back 40 mine.

Tribal representatives, area residents also speak at committee-of-the-whole meeting

PENNY MULLINS, EH news editor/digital director

ehextra.com

Friday, May 26, 2017 12:00 AM

MENOMINEE — Al Gedicks, a professor of sociology emeritus at UW-La Crosse and executive secretary of the Wisconsin Resources Protection Council (www.wrpc.net), was the only presenter at a committee-of-the-whole meeting of the Menominee City Council Wednesday evening.

Mayor Jean Stegeman, Council members Steve Fifarek and Frank Pohlmann and City Manager Tony Graff attended the committee-of-the-whole meeting, which had been announced late Monday. Prior to that, a joint meeting of the full Menominee City Council and the Marinette Common Council had been scheduled to meet Wednesday with Joe Maki, U.P. District biologist with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.

Only 3 of 9 council members in attendance

PENNY MULLINS, EH news editor/digital director

ehextra.com

Thursday, May 25, 2017 12:01 AM

MENOMINEE — An enthusiastic crowd attended the special committee-of-the-whole meeting of the Menominee City Council Wednesday, where they heard Al Gedicks, a professor of sociology emeritus at UW-La Crosse, speak to the potential hazards a sulfide mine could bring to the environment.

While approximately 130 people attended the meeting, missing were six of nine city council members.

PENNY MULLINS, EH news editor/digital director

ehextra.com

Wednesday, May 24, 2017 12:00 AM

MENOMINEE — The joint meeting between the Menominee and Marinette city councils will not be held as planned tonight; instead, just the Menominee council will meet as a committee of the whole at Menominee High School.

The change came Monday, after planned participants learned the agenda was altered to allow an anti-mining advocate to speak during the meeting about the Back Forty Mine project in Menominee County.

by Steven Dent

April 22, 2017

wearegreenbay.com

Menominee, MI – There was a wide range of emotions as people from Wisconsin and Michigan gathered together in opposition of a controversial mine that would be 150 feet from the Menominee River in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

By Brittany Schmidt

April 17, 2017

wbay.com

MENOMINEE, Mich. (WBAY) — Opponents of a proposed mine on the Wisconsin-Michigan border have a week of protests ahead of them and started Monday with a plea to the Menominee city council.

by Steve Dent

wearegreenbay.com

April 17, 2017

Menominee, MI – The first of three planned protests against the back forty mine this week near Menominee happened tonight during the Menominee City Council Meeting.