The Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin last week filed a petition for a contested case hearing on the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality’s approval of a mine permit for the proposed Back Forty Mine.
The Menominee petition was filed Friday with the Michigan Administrative Hearing Office. The petition is the first step in challenging the MDEQ’s decision to approve the mining permit, which was issued Dec. 28.
“The MDEQ and Aquila Resources Inc. are well aware of the Menominee Indian Tribe’s close cultural connection to this area and our serious concern in regards to our cultural resources and mounds, including our ancestral burial sites located within the impact area of the proposed mine,” Menominee Tribal Chairman Gary Besaw said in a statement released by the tribe. “Despite these valid and well-documented concerns a full evaluation of the cultural resources and mounds threatened by this project never occurred.”
Aquila Resources Inc. has proposed investing $261 million to build open-pit and underground mines for the gold- and zinc-rich deposit near the Menominee River. The mine is expected to have a 16-year life and create more than 250 jobs.
Aquila also has said the mine will generate more than $11 million annually in revenue for state and local governments.
Construction on the mine won’t begin until all permits have been issued for the project. The mining permit is one of four required; two additional permits are under consideration before the MDEQ.
The proposed site is about 150 feet from the banks of the Menominee River, which forms the boundary between Upper Michigan and Wisconsin and is the place of origin for the Menominee Tribe.
Last week, the University of Michigan confirmed the Menominee Tribe’s cultural affiliation with the site from remains taken from the Backlund Mounds and Village Site in the 1950s. It is just one of many culturally significant sites within the footprint of the proposed mine, according to the tribe.
A mixture of governments, environmental groups, citizens groups and grassroots groups are opposed to the mine and its impacts on the environment and tribal culture.
For information on the Menominee’s efforts, visit www.noback40.org.