December 2020 Newsletter
December 10, 2020
Dear WRPC Member and Friends of the Menominee River,
Aquila Resources has submitted its Dam Safety Permit application to Michigan’s Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE). However, the company has not yet submitted an Emergency Action Plan (EAP) in the event of a dam failure and the release of toxic mine waste into the Menominee River. In the absence of an EAP, the application is incomplete. This may explain why EGLE has not announced a timetable for a public hearing on the permit and a deadline for the submission of written comments.
The most controversial mine permit
The Dam Safety Permit is the most controversial and complex permit at 2,472 pages. Dr. David Chambers, an internationally recognized expert on tailings dams, has been retained by the Coalition to SAVE the Menominee River to review the permit and provide comments to help the public understand the risks of the Back Forty’s proposed tailings dam and enable the public to submit their own comments.
Upstream tailings dams are the most prone to failure
The upstream tailings dam design proposed by Aquila is the lowest cost option but the most prone to failure, according to experts. Such dams are involved in approximately 76% of tailings dam failures worldwide. After a catastrophic tailings dam collapse in Brazil killed 270 people in January of 2019, Brazil banned that design from future mines. Chile, Peru and Ecuador have also banned this design. Because of the demonstrated risk associated with upstream dam construction, an international group of 142 scientists representing 24 nations has urged that upstream dams must not be built at any new facilities. https://earthworks.org/media-releases/safety-first-new-report-outlines-guidelines-to-end-mine-waste-disasters/
Stronger Midwest storms can cause dam failures
According to Aquila, “the design of the Back Forty Tailings Management Facility (TMF) reflects best-in-class safety standards to manage precipitation at the mine site during operations…” However, according to James Kuipers, an engineer who consults with the Environmental Protection Agency and state governments on tailings dams, one of the greatest risks for tailings dam failures are stronger storms dumping water into dams that weren’t designed to handle the weight. “A downpour can rapidly increase the weight of the material inside the dam and liquefy relatively dry mine waste that can then spill out, overwhelming and drowning people in its path,” said Kuipers. (https://news.bloomberglaw.com/environment-and-energy/brazil-dam-catastrophe-sounds-alarm-for-u-s-waste-ponds)
Public opposition is key to defeating the Back Forty
In this period before any public hearing or public comment period on the Dam Safety Permit it is critical that EGLE, as well as Michigan Governor Whitmer and Wisconsin Governor Evers understand that there is widespread public opposition to Aquila’s dangerous upstream tailings dam proposal. If you go to the American Rivers website listed below, you can click on the Take Action button and send a letter to EGLE regulators and the governors in opposition to the tailings dam and the Back Forty proposed mine. If you can add a personal reason why you are opposed to the project, that raises the visibility of your letter. In April 2020, American Rivers named the Menominee River one of the 10 most endangered rivers in America. (https://www.americanrivers.org/make-an-impact/take-action-for-your-rivers/)
A separate petition campaign, on the website listed below, is urging Governor Whitmer to conduct a prompt and thorough review and reconsideration of the permits granted to Aquila’s proposed Back Forty mine. The Spartan chapter of the Sierra Club at Michigan State University in Lansing has organized this petition campaign. If you go to the website displayed on the flyer, you can add your voice to over 1000 who have already signed the petition. (https://www.change.org/p/gretchen-whitmer-spartan-sierra-club-s-opposition-to-the-back-forty-mine)
These petitions expressing public opposition are all the more important in the current pandemic environment where regulatory agencies like EGLE have understandably opted for virtual public hearings in place of actual public hearings. A virtual public hearing will necessarily restrict the number of people who can attend and limit the amount of testimony that can be presented. We cannot rely upon a virtual public hearing to demonstrate the widespread opposition to this Permit.
We have to have other ways to demonstrate the opposition, well in advance of any virtual public hearing.
Aquila lacks a social license to operate
Aquila has announced that they expect the Dam Safety Permit to be issued in 2021. How can Aquila be so confident about the outcome of a review process that has not yet started because they have not yet submitted an Emergency Action Plan? Neither Aquila nor EGLE have obtained the consent of either the Menominee Tribe or local citizens for the proposed Back Forty tailings dam. The lack of community consent for the tailings dam reinforces the public perception that this project lacks a social license to operate. The lack of social support is seen as the number one risk facing mining companies according to a recent industry survey by Ernst & Young consultants. (https://www.mining-technology.com/features/licence-to-operate-understanding-the-biggest-challenge-for-mining-in-2019/)
“Community consent must be required”
The recent “Safety First” report (see earlier Earthworks link) on Mine Tailings Management is absolutely clear on this. “Community consent must be required at all stages of a project, allowing for communities to establish ‘no go zones’ where tailings facilities must never be considered…The ultimate goal of tailings management must be zero harm to people and the environment and zero tolerance for human fatalities.”
Membership Renewal Reminder
If the date of your mailing label is anytime before 12/20, 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
