Writer says ‘we do not want any sulfide-mineral’ mining
May 31, 2019
Eagle Herald
Dear Editor,
Recent letters show the risks of mining here. A picture showed that transportation accidents happen, right here in river city. A semi tanker carrying cyanide to the proposed mine, can kill us. Cyanide kills. Cyanide kills in minutes, before EMS arrives. Even if transported in dry form, when touched by water (rain, puddles, lakes, creeks, rivers, etc.) cyanide kills. Cyanide kills life above and below the water.
Another article proved how little Aquila cares about us. They tried to eliminate our case against them by saying we do not have legal “standing.” This means they said we the people here do not have enough interest in our own lands, lives and river to bring our suit. Aquila was wrong about that. The judge declared we do have the power and right to take our stand. They were also wrong when issuing a press release saying they have the permits to start mining now. Not true. Any permits they have were granted only “conditionally,” meaning they cannot mine yet until they meet over 70 pages of conditions. They have not even applied for the local permit required. We still have time to act to save our Menominee River.
Another article described how Aquila intentionally and knowingly exposed our aquifers to potential danger. They admitted to removing the locks and left at least one “monitoring” well actually uncapped. These are the wells into our water they will monitor and do their own testing on. We can’t trust them to keep our water secure now. Can we trust them when their own “monitoring” results will enrich them? They would do their own testing too, on millions of gallons of used cyanide, as it comes out their water treatment plant directly into our river.
These articles report accidents and intentional disregard for safety procedure do happen here, Aquila does not respect us, and they lied about having all the required permits, when they do not.
The EagleHerald prints on page A2 how to contact our elected officials. We still can save the river, ourselves, our American pursuit of happiness, lands, property values, businesses, wildlife, including bald eagles that depend on clean water here. Contact all your local, state and federal officials. Say you do not want any sulfide-mineral mining here — Not in Wisconsin, not in Michigan. Both states are tied to the water and water economy here. All our officials need to hear it from you. Call, write or e-mail each one. Make it simple. Say: you do not want any sulfide-mineral mining here, and that your vote depends on it.
Natalie Lashmet