Rio Tinto (Kennecott’s parent company) has come to appreciate the ease that comes with securing permits through the State of Michigan, rather than the federal government. Now, with state regulatory departments combining to form the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, the company is likely to get what it wants more quickly in order to try opening the Eagle Mine this year.
From an article by the AP‘s John Flesher:
A company preparing to build a nickel and copper mine in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula wants to change its wastewater treatment system in a way that could negate the requirement for a federal permit, officials said Tuesday.
Kennecott Eagle Minerals Co. has asked the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment to modify a 2007 state permit authorizing underground discharge of treated wastewater from the mine planned for rural Marquette County.
Originally, the company proposed injecting the treated water back into the groundwater through a network of soil-covered infiltration pipes. The new plan calls for keeping the pipes on the surface and covering them with Styrofoam insulation and a liner. The treated water would still be pumped into the groundwater.
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LSMN
Eve Divine
doncorvette
[...] Last month Rio Tinto notified the DNRE that it would change the system in order to avoid having to obtain a federal permit for the proposed mine. [...]