Debate over mine reaches beyond Michigan backwoods
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. -- The debate over a proposed copper and nickel mine began several years ago as a mostly local squabble in the Upper Peninsula. Now it's reverberating across Michigan.
Supporters and opponents are pressuring state officials and legislators, renting billboards and sounding off in the media and cyberspace. At least $99,000 has been spent on lobbying efforts.
About 1,000 people attended a series of public hearings last month in Marquette County and Lansing. Even former Gov. William Milliken weighed in with a newspaper column denouncing the project.
"It would be a travesty!" exclaimed biking enthusiast Michael Robold during a recent rally called by opponents.
The Kennecott Minerals Co. is targeting a six-acre underground deposit expected to yield 250 million to 300 million pounds of nickel and about 200 million pounds of copper. Both are in heavy demand for use in electronic devices such as computers and cell phones.
The mine would operate six to eight years, provide more than 100 full-time jobs and generate millions in economic activity and tax revenue, says Utah-based Kennecott, a subsidiary of international conglomerate Rio Tinto.
"These types of jobs are the backbone of the economy in the U.P., besides the forest industry," said Tom Petersen, president of a pro-Kennecott group called Citizens for Responsible Mining.
The state Department of Environmental Quality, which has given tentative approval, is supposed to make a final ruling by mid-November. But a spokesman said the deadline might be extended so staffers can properly consider the points citizens have raised.
Opponents say the mine would ruin the serenity of the isolated Yellow Dog Plains and pollute its Lake Superior tributary rivers. They contend any economic benefit would be short-lived and offset by damage to industries such as tourism.
The company says it can build and operate the mine without harm to the nearby Salmon Trout and Yellow Dog rivers, while keeping surface effects to a minimum.
Supporters hope the Eagle Project would herald a new era of metal extraction in the central and western Upper Peninsula, where abandoned shafts dot the landscape.
Petersen, who previously managed ore mines, said he helped establish the Citizens group to counter "the misinformation and fear tactics and emotional pleas of the anti-mining community."
The Upper Peninsula has a long history of copper and iron mining dating from the mid-1800s, although its copper mines have closed and only two iron operations remain. Still, modern metal sulfide mining would be new to Michigan and poses unique environmental risks.
When sulfide rock is brought to the surface and exposed to air and moisture, a chemical reaction generates acid laced with dissolved heavy metals that can leach into surface or ground water.
Records show Kennecott has spent more than $63,000 on lobbying in Michigan since 2004. It also has contributed to nonprofit funds operated by political parties, Kennecott project manager Jon Cherry said, although he would not reveal how much. Operators of such funds are not required to disclose their donors.
The National Wildlife Federation has spent about $36,000 lobbying against the project.
McCann said state officials are giving supporters and foes a fair hearing, but won't base their decision on which side campaigns more effectively.
It ultimately will depend on whether the state judges Kennecott's permit application as meeting the state's nonferrous mining law and regulations, he said.