January 2019 Newsletter
January 23, 2019
Dear WRPC Member and Friends of the Menominee River,
Aquila’s “Final Permit” isn’t Final at all
The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) issued the “final permit” needed for Aquila’s Back Forty open pit mine in June 2018. Aquila spokesperson Dan Blondeau said the decision was “a major milestone” for the project that would allow the project to move forward.
However, instead of moving forward, the DEQ has determined that because the project footprint has expanded by 200 acres, including the enlargement of the tailings and waste rock structures, Aquila is required to submit a Mining Permit Amendment Application (MPAA) and an associated Environmental Impact Assessment Amendment (EIAA). The timing of this announcement and the difficulty of accessing the 904 pages of the application have created serious obstacles for citizens, tribal members and environmental groups wishing to participate in the review and public comment on Aquila’s latest mine plan.
DEQ to Public: Forget your Christmas and New Year Holiday Plans
Just before the Christmas holidays the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) announced that they would hold a public meeting and comment period on the 904 pages of Aquila’s Back Forty Mine Permit Amendment Application on January 9, 2019 at the Stephenson High School.
If you tried to access the documents from the special website set up by the DEQ, using an Apple computer, you were denied access. Others found the problems navigating the website so confusing, they gave up trying to review the documents. I had to seek help from a computer consultant to obtain access to the documents.
Public to DEQ: Extend the Period for Public Comments
Despite the timing of the announcement and the inaccessibility of the documents, over 120 people attended the January 9th public meeting at the Stephenson High School. Over 50 people provided specific technical objections to the permit as well as complaints about the obstacles to public access to the documents. Many speakers testified about the unsafe design of the tailings storage structure and the serious risks to people and water quality from a catastrophic dam failure and the release of toxic wastes. No one spoke in support of the project.
Several speakers, including the Menominee Tribe’s Historic Preservation Officer, David Grignon, called for a comprehensive archaeological survey of the mine’s footprint that included consultation with the Menominee Tribe, as required under the provisions of the National Historic Preservation Act.
The Mining Action Group of the Upper Peninsula Environmental Coalition (UPEC) requested a 30 day extension of the Public Comment period, in light of the difficulties reported by those who tried unsuccessfully to access the permit amendment and EIA files. They also requested a consolidated public hearing on the Part 632 Mine Permit Amendment and EIA, the Air Deposition, Water Quality, and Soil Impact Analysis, the Part 315 Dam Safety Permit and the Permit to Install modification. No decision about extending the public comment period has been announced. The current deadline for written comment is February 6 at 5:00 pm EST.
New Technical Review of Back Forty Mine Permit Amendment
The request to extend the period for public comments is all the more urgent because the Front 40 Environmental Group and the Mining Action Group have secured a new independent technical review of Aquila’s Mine Permit Amendment by the Center for Science in Public Participation. Dr. David Chambers, an internationally-known expert on tailings dams will be reviewing this part of the mine permit. (http://savethewildup.org/2019/01/more-red-flags-for-aquila-enviro-groups-fund-new-technical-review-of-back-forty-sulfide-mine/)
Was the Environmental Protection Agency’s withdrawal of their objections to Aquila’s wetland permit part of a pattern of failing to exercise their oversight responsibility?
In May 2018 the EPA reversed their previous recommendation to reject Aquila’s wetland permit. This reversal was quite a surprise because the EPA’s March 8, 2018 letter to the Michigan DEQ contained seven pages of single spaced comments about why Aquila’s wetland permit application did not comply with the Clean Water Act and should not be issued a permit for the project as proposed. Coincidentally, EPA objections were “resolved” after an April 16 meeting with Aquila representatives. The EPA has never provided an explanation for this sudden reversal.
Now the Associated Press has reported that the EPA decided not to file formal comments with Minnesota regulators regarding a key water pollution permit for the proposed PolyMet sulfide mining project in northeastern Minnesota. https://www.mprnews.org/story/2019/01/17/mccollum-wants-epa-answers-on-polymet
This is all the more suspicious because regional EPA staffers had previously told Minnesota regulators that they had “substantial questions” about the water permit and that they wanted to submit formal comments. Water Legacy environmental attorney Paula Maccabee wants to know “Why were those comments not provided? Were they suppressed?” If this was part of a pattern to prevent the EPA from exercising their oversight role, it may explain the EPA’s reversal of their objections to Aquila’s wetland permit.
This pattern may also be related to President Trump’s appointment of Cathy Stepp to lead the EPA’s Midwest office. Prior to her appointment at the EPA, Ms. Stepp was the director of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) under Governor Scott Walker. During her tenure she rolled back enforcement of anti-pollution laws. She also cut funding for a science office that had studied potential environmental damages from the proposed Penokee Hills iron mine next to the Bad River Ojibwe reservation in northern Wisconsin. That project was defeated by an Indian-environmental alliance in 2015.
Stay tuned,
Al Gedicks, Executive Secretary
