Published with permission from Douglas Cox, Chairman of the Menominee Tribe Dear Editor, The Menominee Tribe has repeatedly voiced concerns to Michigan environmental regulators about the proposed Back Forty Mine. Aquila Resources, the Canadian mining company behind the mine, has failed to submit the information required to determine the likely impacts of the mine from […]
Read MoreMost children know that turning off the faucet while you brush your teeth saves water, but it’s less intuitive to see that turning off the bathroom light or opening windows in the summer can too. People have been using water as energy since 200 BC when the Romans used water to turn mills that crushed […]
Read MoreThe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Army Corps of Engineers, and the Fish and Wildlife Service sent a joint letter to the state of Michigan identifying key deficiencies in the wetlands permit submitted by Aquila Resources for the proposed Back Forty mine. The proposed sulfide mine would be located on the Michigan side of the Upper […]
Read MoreScroll down for a sample message and the comment form link. Aquila Resources is developing an open pit gold-zinc sulfide mine (named the Back Forty mine) in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula 150 ft from the Menominee River—the U.P.’s largest river and a tributary of Lake Michigan. To build the mine, Aquila is requesting a permit to […]
Read MoreThe Wisconsin State Senate passed a bill yesterday (November 7th, 2017) that rescinds the state’s “Prove It First” law. Passed in 1998 with overwhelming bipartisan support (29-3 in the Senate and 91-6 in the Assembly), “Prove It First” was a reaction to high-profile cases of pollution from sulfide mines (gold, silver, copper, etc.). In what […]
Read MoreOpen-pit sulfide mines expose sensitive sulfide rock formations that release devastating and long-lasting pollution when mixed with water. Wisconsinites—tell your legislators to vote no on repealing “Prove It First.” Wisconsin State Senator Tom Tiffany (R-Hazelhurst) introduced a bill that would effectively rescind the state’s “Prove It First” law. This landmark legislation requires mining corporations to […]
Read MoreThis blog post draws from information gathered by the Minnesota Environmental Partnership. Check out their website for more information on mining in Minnesota. On Friday, July 14th, the House Committee on Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Federal Lands heard testimony for HR 3115—a bill that fast-tracks a land exchange between the U.S. Forest Service and PolyMet […]
Read MorePhoto credit: jeremiaheagleeye Freshwater Future submitted a letter to Attorney General Bill Schuette and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) calling for an investigation into the geological stability of Eagle Mine—an underground nickel and copper mine located in western Marquette County of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Officials at Lundin Mining failed to publicly disclose a […]
Read MoreMichigan’s Department of Environmental Quality is poised to approve a massive, 83 acre, open pit sulfide mine, with on-site processing and tailings, all within 150 feet of the biggest river system in the Upper Peninsula, the Menominee River. If there is any hope of stopping this terrible project it’s going to take YOU and many […]
Read MoreHave you heard about the PolyMet copper mine proposed in Minnesota? There is a Final Environmental Impact Statement out for review and the impacts of this mine would be disastrous. We’re concerned not only about what could happen there, but the terrible precedents that could be set for future mine proposals in the rest of […]
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