July 2016 Newsletter
July 13, 2016
Dear WRPC Member and Friends of the Menominee River,
Over 2,000 members of the public wrote to the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) to express serious concerns about Aquila’s proposed Back Forty metallic sulfide mining proposal next to the Menominee River. Thanks to a Freedom of Information Act request from a concerned citizen we now know what MDEQ was reluctant to disclose: an astounding 98.2% of all signatures and comments opposed the project! Save the Wild U.P. has summarized the comments and provided excerpts on their website: http://bit.ly/98PercentOpposed
Upcoming public hearing on Back Forty mine permit
MDEQ is expected to hold a Public Hearing on the Back Forty mine proposal later this summer (TBA). Citizens can learn how to speak out at public hearings in “lunch & learn” activist trainings sponsored by Save the Wild U.P. on Monday, July 18th and Monday, July 25th from 12 noon to 3:00 pm followed by a social hour at the Ore Dock Brewing Company’s upstairs public space in Marquette, Michigan.
Save the Menominee River Speaking Tour
Grassroots opposition to the proposed Back Forty sulfide mine has brought together concerned local citizens with the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin and other affected tribes (Mole Lake and Lac du Flambeau Ojibwe, Forest County Potawatomi, Oneida and Keweenaw Bay Indian Community) and environmental groups in both Michigan and Wisconsin. This coalition has organized a Save the Menominee River Speaking Tour to educate the public about the cultural, environmental and economic impacts of the proposed mine. The tour is modeled on the “Save Our Clean Waters” speaking tour organized by the Wolf Watershed Education Project to oppose the Crandon, Wisconsin metallic sulfide mine.
The tour will conduct its fourth public forum in the Wausaukee, Wisconsin Town Hall (N11856 Hwy 141) on Saturday, July 23rd at 10:00 am. Previous forums were held in Marinette,Wisconsin and Menominee and Stephenson, Michigan (see http://ehextra.com/Content/News/News-Articles/Article/Anti-mining-group-voices-concerns/12/35/32618). Speakers from groups including the Menominee Tribe, the River Alliance of Wisconsin, the Front 40 citizens group and the Wisconsin Resources Protection Council will present information about mining impacts, including the endangered sturgeon population in the Menominee River and invite public comments about the proposed mine.
Canoe/Kayak Excursion on the Menominee River
For those interested in a closer look at the proposed mine site, the River Alliance of Wisconsin is leading a canoe/kayak excursion on the Menominee River on Friday, July 29 to learn about the mine and appreciate the beauty of this river. Starting at the White Rapids dam, east of Amberg, Wisconsin, and northwest of Stephenson, Michigan, the excursion will visit significant Native American archaeological sites and do a “paddle by” of the proposed mine site.
The River Alliance will be joined by officials from the Menominee Tribe and the Front 40 citizens group. The Menominee River takes its name from the Menominee Indians of Wisconsin whose creation stories start at the mouth of the Menominee River. According to Guy Reiter, a Menominee tribal member, “the creator gave us responsibility for watching out for that water thousands of years ago” (see http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/ehs/news/2016/june/native-american-rights-water-tradition-michigan-wisconsin-mine-back-forty-mining). For more details and to register, go to: https://www.wisconsinrivers.org/home/events
Where is federal trust responsibility for protection of Menominee sacred sites?
Before MDEQ holds any public hearings on the Back Forty mine permit, the issue of federal trust responsibility for the protection of the Menominee Tribe’s cultural and historical resources must be addressed. While it is clear that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency intended for tribes to be consulted when impacts to tribal cultural and historical resources may occur, the delegation of Clean Water Act and 404 wetlands permitting authority to the state of Michigan has resulted in a complete lack of procedural requirements for protection of archaeological resources at a site with clear historic and cultural significance to an out-of-state tribe.
The footprint of the Back Forty mine contains a significant number of archaeological and historical resources that have not been fully surveyed or studied, including rare raised garden beds and ceremonial mounds that are extremely likely to contain human remains. The Archaeological Investigation Report for the Back Forty project identified several archaeological sites that are likely to be eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. Additionally, the proposed mine is very near other sites of known religious, cultural and historical significance to the Menominee Tribe.
Michigan is one of only two states that has been delegated the authority to administer Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. If this project were located in any one of 48 other states, section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) would apply. Under section 106, federal agencies must take into account the possible effects of federal undertakings on properties which are or may be eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places.
The Menominee Tribe maintains that “While responsibility for issuing federal surface water discharge permits and wetlands permits has been delegated to the state [of Michigan], the federal trust responsibility owed to the tribes has not. Because the state permitting process does not afford the Tribes the same protections that would be available to them under Section 106, the Tribe seeks assurances from MDEQ and the State Archaeologist Office that the valuable and irreplaceable sites, artifacts and human remains at issue will not be destroyed.”
Will MDEQ respect Menominee sacred sites or permit their desecration?
Stay tuned,
Al Gedicks, Executive Secretary
