June 1, 2020
Coalition to SAVE the Menominee River, Inc.
P.O. Box 475
Marinette, Wisconsin 54143
Mr. Luke Trumble,
Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy
Dam Safety Unit
P.O. Box 30473
525 West Allegan Street
Lansing, MI 48909-7923
Dear Mr. Trumble,
We are writing to express our concerns about the permitting process for the Back Forty tailings dam in light of the unprecedented flooding after two dams collapsed in Michigan following record rainfall.
May 13, 2020
Eagle Herald
Dear editor,
Thanks to a major pollution cleanup effort by multiple federal and state agencies and citizen groups, the Lower Menominee River will be delisted or removed as an area of concern for pollution and habitat loss. This restoration work took more than two decades and cost at least $200 million, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
February 6, 2020
Dear Editor,
My name is Tom Boerner, I have been involved in two contested cases hearings against permits issued to Aquila by EGLE and have just filed contested case petitions for two more: Air Quality Permit and Amended Part 632 Permit.
February 6, 2020
Dear Editor,
Brumadinho, Brazil again? Why? It is still about water.
One year ago (with 21st-century mining technology — exactly the type Aquila is proposing here) a mining tailings dam collapsed (like one does world-wide roughly every 8 months) dumping millions of tons of toxic sludge killing 270 people. In its path, the surrounding forest, nearby towns and waters were destroyed.
January 31, 2020
Dear Editor,
A year ago a tailings dam in Brazil, which is exactly the same design that Aquila will be using, failed and collapsed and resulted in the death of over 250 people. The sad part is that this wasn’t the first time such a thing has happened in Brazil. It also happened in November of 2015, a tailings dam burst and killed 19 individuals. One would think the first time it happened, that the country would take measures to make sure it doesn’t happen again, but no, fast forward to January 2019, it happened again at another site. The mine is still in operation today and the mining company claimed that the structure provided inadequate drainage and couldn’t handle the high water levels. It is easy for us to brush it off as if Brazil is an apathetic country that does not care about its people.
January 25, 2020
Eagle Herald
Dear Editor,
As the people went about their daily lives in the town of Brumadinho they were completely unaware that the massive tailings dam at the mine was getting weaker every day. Then maybe just a small section started to fail, just a little. Then a little more gave way on the massive wall. That wall held the safety of every man, woman and child in the town, those working at the mine and every living thing below it. When it could no longer hold its contents the wall exploded with the sound a jet makes when it breaks the sound barrier. A force that could be heard and felt inside of every living thing. then it was over. It was just a matter of minutes and it was over. Hundreds were buried alive before they could even tell the ones next to them that they loved them. Two hundred and fifty lives were extinguished in a snap of a finger. Men, women, children and babies, precious pets, livestock and the town of Brumadinho died a terrible suffocating death under a wall of mud.
January 20, 2020
Eagle Herald
Dear Editor,
This letter is in response to Dale Anderson’s letter of last week.
Although he believes our environment was not a concern in the past like it is today, let’s look at history: Years ago, the only fertilizer applied to crop fields was cow manure, which was totally biodegradable. Then came commercial fertilizers, intended to increase crop yields. Next were chemical herbicides, pesticides, fungicides, insecticides, broadleaf sprays — including Round-Up which is now listed as a carcinogen — all formulated toward higher crop yields. When crops are sprayed with chemicals, they are assimilated by the plant and also absorbed into the ground; however, some are washed into creeks, rivers and into our water supplies. The scientific community was not aware of the pollution then, but now we all know.
January 10, 2020
Eagle Herald
Dear Editor,
Hail the hundreds of letter writers who have challenged the insanity of digging a gold mine on the shore of our Menominee River. This project would benefit the few temporarily and cause permanent damages to millions of living creatures: plants of the water and land, fish, denizens of forest and you and I. Will we really ignore the delicate balance of our mostly healthy sustainable ecology and turn our living space into a wasteland of acidic soil and water?
January 10, 2020
Eagle Herald
Dear Editor,
Life, as we know it, requires water. Water is essential for all land, sky and aquatic life. Sixty to 78% of our bodies are water, and we still need to drink it. We love water recreation too, and our tourism economy depends on it.
January 9, 2020
Eagle Herald
Dear Editor,
Merry Christmas, said the Aquila Resources radio ad. But the only thing they left us in their stocking is fool’s gold. Let’s not be the fool in their stocking. If allowed to dig the Back Forty Mine, Aquila would destroy the watershed with acid mine drainage — a byproduct of mineral extraction. Shakey Lakes — the crown jewel of Lake Township — would be one of the first casualties of the mine. This popular county park would be decimated by air, water and noise pollution. Acid mine drainage — similar to battery acid — would seep into wetlands and ruin downstream wells.
