October 2018 Newsletter
October 24, 2018
Dear WRPC Member and Friends of the Menominee River,
Aquila Resources needs to convince its investors that the Back Forty project is moving forward in order to raise the pre-production capital cost, estimated at $294 million. Aquila has celebrated Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ)’s issuance of a controversial wetland permit while downplaying the 28 pages of special conditions attached to the permit because of serious hydrological concerns that were overlooked in Aquila’s incomplete application.
Legal challenge to the wetland permit
The Menominee Tribe, the Coalition to SAVE the Menominee River and Tom Boerner have all filed a petition for a contested case hearing on the wetland permit. A preliminary conference call with the administrative law judge is scheduled for November 21, 2018.
Aquila’s psychological warfare against the Lake Township Planning Commission
In an October 12, 2018 letter to the Eagle Herald, Chantae Lessard, Director of Social Performance and Engagement for Aquila Resources, accused Lake Township officials of “adding illegal, costly and excessive local regulations by way of amendments” designed “to prevent the project from moving forward.” Aquila has also paid for ads in the local paper urging readers to express their support for the project by contacting members of the Lake Township Planning Commission and submitting letters to the editor of the Eagle Herald. Enclosed is Lessard’s letter and two letters responding to Lessard’s attack on Lake Township (https://ehextra.com/Content/OPINION/Letter-to-the-Editor/Article/Township-should-follow-rules-not-personal-feelings/13/755/50365). https://ehextra.com/Content/OPINION/Letter-to-the-Editor/Article/Reader-replies-to-letter-regarding-Aquila/13/755/50501) (https://ehextra.com/Content/OPINION/Letter-to-the-Editor/Article/Writer-says-Lessard-s-letter-should-scare-community/13/755/50518)
Mark Doremus responds to Aquila’s Chantae Lessard at https://www.facebook.com/back40film/
Mark Doremus has been documenting the controversy over the Back Forty project in a film project over the last several years. Excerpts from the film can be seen at http://back40film.com
Mark posted a response to Ms. Lessard’s letter on Facebook because he felt that Ms. Lessard had left out or distorted key facts to accuse Lake Township officials of enacting “illegal” ordinances and “making up their own rules based on personal feelings.”
Mark Doremus: Aquila’s Opinion Letter Misleads in Many Ways
“Ms. Lessard begins her letter by selectively quoting Part 632, Nonferrous Metallic Mining, of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act (NREPA), presumably to support her claim that Lake Township’s mining regulations are unlawful. While it is true that the statute puts limits on local regulation of mines like the Back Forty, it also expressly allows regulations that do not “duplicate, contradict, or conflict” with the statute (MI Comp L 324.63203(4).
Furthermore—and this is key—Lake Township does not rely exclusively on Part 632 for its power to regulate mining activities. It also relies on its zoning authority and on its overarching duty to protect the public under the laws of the State of Michigan. This is all documented in the Lake Township Zoning Ordinance, Chapter 14, Special Land Uses, in the township’s Mineral Extraction Ordinance, and in two reports I’ve published on Facebook (“Lake Township Amending Zoning Regulations/Special Land Use” and “Lake Township Clarifies Authority Over Mining Operations,” www.facebook.com/back40film).
Lake Township has revised their mineral extraction and zoning ordinance to refine the standards for approving, or rejecting a mining operation as a special land use. The revisions of the township zoning ordinance document the legal justification for the use of zoning to exert local control over mines such as the Back Forty project. In the revised ordinance, the township expressly adopts the state standard for approving or rejecting a proposed mine project. Under that rule, the test is whether “very serious consequences” would occur if a mine, or, other similar project was allowed to operate in the township.
Ms. Lessard goes on to complain that Lake Township has enacted a resolution that prevents officials from communicating with Aquila Resources. What the resolution actually says is that business with the township shall be conducted in public, on the record and with a quorum of township officials in attendance, not in private meetings between an outside entity and individual town officials (Lake Township Resolution No. 071217A). In other words, in Lake Township the public’s business is to be conducted in public, not in secret, back-room conversations.
Ms. Lessard also states that Lake Township “has turned us away when we have tried to work collaboratively with them to address their concerns” about the Back Forty project In truth, under the town’s zoning ordinance, if Aquila submits a letter of request, and puts money in escrow to cover the township’s costs, the zoning staff will meet with Aquila and explain, on the record and in detail, what the township is looking for from the company. So far Aquila has chosen not to engage with Lake Township in these first steps toward an official review of its proposed mining project.
Finally, in her letter, Ms. Lessard attacks Lake Township officials for “actively opposing” the mine, “making up their own rules based on personal opinion” and violating their “moral obligation” to work with the company in good faith. In fact, the town board has not taken a position on the mine, pro or con. Instead, it has passed laws to protect the township from the potential negative impacts of a huge industrial project. That’s what elected officials are “morally obligated” to do—regardless of what their personal opinions may be.” [end of Mark’s letter].
Another reason why Aquila has no social license to operate a mine
In short, Ms. Lessard and Aquila have made no attempt to abide by the rules set forth by Lake Township to protect the health, safety and welfare of its residents from the Back Forty proposed mine. Instead they have started a campaign of misinformation and deceit to intimidate Lake Township into abandoning it obligation to protect its own citizens. This is yet another example of why Aquila has no social license to operate this controversial mining project.
Oneida County Referendum on Mining on November 6, 2018
In May of 2018 the Lac du Flambeau Tribal Council passed a resolution opposing mining in Oneida County and requested formal conversations with county leadership.
Despite overwhelming public and tribal opposition, the Oneida County Board voted on June 19, 2018, to allow sulfide mines in areas zoned 1-A Forestry and General Use. This decision reversed an August 21, 2012 decision of the Oneida County Board to end a proposed plan to lease the County Forest for metallic mining.
In response to the dramatic outpouring of opposition to potential sulfide mining the Planning and Development Committee called for a non-binding referendum to be put on the November ballot, asking the voters whether they support leasing the Lynne Deposit for sulfide mining. The question reads:
After performing their due diligence, should Oneida County allow leasing County owned lands in the Town of Lynne for the purpose of metallic mineral exploration, prospecting, bulk sampling and mining?
The problem with the wording of this question, as Karl Fate from Oneida County Clean Waters Action (occwa.org) has noted, “is that Oneida County has never “performed their due diligence,” ever in the last 28 years since the Lynne Deposit was discovered.”
“Protect the Willow” Group Urges a NO vote on November 6
In response to potential sulfide mining at the Lynne site, local citizens and members of the Lac du Flambeau Ojibwe have formed the group, “Protect the Willow” (http://www.protect the willow.org) to educate voters about the risks of drilling for the deposit some 50 feet below the Town of Lynne. “The deposit is located underneath a glacial aquifer, which means there are about 50 feet of wetland soils laying on top of this deposit of bedrock”, according to Pete Zambon of Protect the Willow.
The group’s website states that “The Lynne Mineral Deposit is located in County Forest Land owned by the public. We the People own the Forest!…The Lynne Deposit is located less than ½ mile from the Willow River. The DNR designated the Willow an Outstanding Resource Water (this means the Willow has a non-degradation water quality status to protect it). Sulfide Mining Pollutes Ground Water and Puts Surface Water at risk for heavy metals dissolved in acid mine drainage. The recently passed ACTR 134 removed the environmental protection requirement to “Prove it First” for sulfide mines.”
A video on potential Oneida County mining is available from the River Alliance of Wisconsin: https://vimeo.com/294653759
Membership Renewal Reminder
If the date on your mailing label is anytime before 10/18, it means your annual membership is due ($15 for regular or $5 for senior/low income). Thank you for your support in our efforts to protect our precious waters.
Stay tuned,
Al Gedicks, Executive Secretary
