Video: Hearing on Rio Tinto’s Michigan Haul Road
February 11, 2010
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Eagle Mine, economy, Kennecott-Rio Tinto, Law, Michigan, public land, water pollution, wildlife | Tagged: civil disobedience, Eagle Mine, Kennecott, Law, Michigan, public land, Rio Tinto, water pollution, wildlife | 
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Rio Tinto Reneging on Power Upgrade Plans
February 10, 2010Despite claiming at public meetings in Powell Township that a $6.4 million power upgrade specifically for the proposed Eagle Mine would be paid for by Rio Tinto, the Alger Delta Electric Co-op is suing the owner of Granot Loma Farms for not giving up his property for free for the project. 
“This is a capitalist country”, said Tom Baldwin. “They should pay for the easements. I’m willing to sell it. I don’t have a problem with that. But I didn’t buy my property so Kennecott could profit.”
Alger Delta’s General Manager, Tom Harrell said that if the utility had to compensate Baldwin for his property “that just drives up the cost of electricity for everybody.”
Baldwin contends that Alger Delta has paid non-customers for easements.
“Membership is like being a prisoner, because they have a monopoly and you have to buy electricity from them”, Baldwin said.
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Rio Tinto Receives State Approval for Humboldt Milling Facility
February 9, 2010
Satellite map of Rio Tinto's planned Humboldt milling facility; Photo courtesy Google Maps
One day before a hearing on the company’s proposed 22-mile haul road, Rio Tinto is announcing it has obtained all state permits for its planned Humboldt milling facility.
At a December public hearing on the mill, Keweenaw Bay Indian Community geologist, Chuck Brumleve, noted that the DEQ’s approval of the Humboldt Project was opposed by both the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the US Fish and Wildlife Service.
Reading from an EPA statement, Brumleve reported that the agency is “concerned the currently proposed project may have significant adverse impacts on the ecosystem. We object to the issuance of a permit for this project.”
Brumleve said that the US Fish and Wildlife Service requested “that the MDEQ not issue a permit for the proposed work.” Read the rest of this entry »
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Kennecott Mine Not Done Deal
January 24, 2010Jack Parker - Baltic, Michigan
It seems that, in their haste to push the permits through in the absence of a director for the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, Kennecott conveniently forgot several factors which will eventually render the permits void.
1. Mining experts for the NWF and for the DEQ agreed that the February 2006 application was not acceptable.
If you have trouble believing that just read the one-page Executive Summary of Sainsbury’s report, which was suppressed by the DEQ, and has now been restored to their site, but has subsequently been ignored.
The application should have been rejected almost four years ago. Read the rest of this entry »
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More Coverage: Controversial Kennecott mine permits OK’d at 11th hour
January 15, 2010Dept. rules that sacred rock is ‘not a place of worship’
by Eartha Melzer, Michigan Messenger
A member of the Summer Cloud drumming group performs during a 2008 ceremony at Eagle Rock
Two days before the DEQ ceases to exist and a week after its director stepped down, DEQ moved to wrap up a long standing fight over permits for a planned nickel sulfide mine by concluding that only buildings may be considered “places of worship.”
A rock that is sacred to Anishnabe people need not be considered when issuing a mining permit because state law only recognizes buildings as places of worship, the Department of Environmental Quality announced Thursday. Read the rest of this entry »
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Through the Looking Glass: Michigan DEQ Says Michigan DEQ Followed Law In Rio Tinto Approval
January 14, 2010The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) announced today that it is giving final approval of Rio Tinto’s proposed Eagle Mine project, located on public land in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
The decision comes during a time of transition for the agency. Steven Chester resigned from his post as head of the DEQ three week’s ago and was temporarily replaced by Deputy Director Jim Sygo. Today’s news release issued by the DEQ does not indicate who, at the agency, made today’s decision.
According to DEQ press secretary, Bob McCann, Jim Sygo “delegated” decision-making authority to Frank Ruswick, DEQ Senior Policy Advisor, who ”conducted the review of the case and made the decision to sign the final order.”
The DEQ had earlier approved Rio Tinto’s mining application in December 2007. The decision was appealed in a lengthy contested case hearing.
In an August 2009 recommendation, Administrative Law Judge Richard Patterson stated that Rio Tinto and the MDEQ “did not properly address the impact on the sacred rock outcrop known as Eagle Rock” and suggested moving the mine’s entry portal away from the rock. During the contested case , DEQ lawyers argued that Eagle Rock is not a place of worship because it is not a constructed building, such as a Christian church or a mosque.
In November, then DEQ Director Steven Chester requested that Judge Patterson clarify his position on the one stipulation that wasn’t fully in Rio Tinto’s favor.
Today’s DEQ decision affirms the agency’s opinion that Eagle Rock is not a legitimate place of worship, as defined under Michigan mining law, and that the religious rights of area Native Americans are irrelevant in the Eagle Mine case. Read the rest of this entry »
6 Comments | Eagle Mine, Kennecott-Rio Tinto, Law, Michigan, public land | Tagged: Eagle Mine, Kennecott, Law, Michigan, public land, Rio Tinto | Permalink
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Upper Peninsula Must Think Long-Term To Boost Economy
January 12, 2010Gabriel Caplett – LSMN Editor
So many of my letters to the Mining Journal get denied that I sometimes decide to not write the paper anymore. Unfortunately, some piece of coverage always breaks my seemingly weak resolve.
I noticed the following passage in a January 6 article:
“Corkin said the biggest priority for the county board this year will be to help get the Kennecott Eagle Minerals Company nickel and silver [it’s nickel and copper, Gerry] mine proposed for the Yellow Dog Plains under construction.”
Are they serious? With all the problems with our economy, public health and education our County Board’s top priority is promoting Rio Tinto’s sulfide mine? Read the rest of this entry »
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Rio Tinto’s Permits Should Be Revoked
December 19, 2009Jack Parker – Baltic, Michigan
Here are some comments on the Humboldt Mill permit.
First, we must thank Hal Fitch for his promise to respond to all written comments. We appreciate the gesture.
I read the newspapers and watched WLUC-TV6 coverage of the event, but didn’t learn much.
I saw a lot of empty seats and heard that the majority of those present were in favor of the project. I have heard nothing more in the past week. But two especially strong points were presented and not reported.
1. Speaker Teresa Bertossi, independent, quoted Michigan Department of Environmental Quality Director Steven Chester who has freely admitted that budget restraints and pressure to handle more projects have left the department underfunded and undermanned. We can understand that, and we commiserate. Read the rest of this entry »
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Polluting Pays: Cliffs’ Partner Set To Scam £1billion in “Carbon Offset Credits”
December 7, 2009ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steel producer – Britain’s richest man, Lakshmi Mittal, owns 43% of the company – may benefit from a £1 billion European carbon emissions trading scheme (ETS).
ArcelorMittal owns a 21% stake in Cliffs Natural Resources’ Empire Mine, located in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, and a 62.3% share in Cliffs’ Hibbing Taconite facility. Cliffs’ has been taking some heat from Minnesota steelworkers for deals reached with ArcelorMittal that workers say are costing them their jobs. The company is expected to recall workers soon. Read the rest of this entry »
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Politics as Usual With Michigan’s Mining Laws
December 5, 2009Chuck Glossenger – Big Bay, Michigan
In a recent statement, local politicians Sen. Mike Prusi, D-Ishpeming, Sen. Jason Allen, R-Traverse City, Rep. Mike Lahti D-Hancock, Rep. Steve Lindberg, D-Marquette, and Rep. Judy Nerat, D-Wallace, accused sponsors of a proposed 2010 ballot measure on mining of talking about uranium mining in order to scare people and destroy the mining industry.
This irresponsible statement tells us more about politicians than the group, Save Our Water, and the ballot initiative. Read the rest of this entry »
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