Hi folks,
In this newsletter you’ll find updates on the following:
- An ACTION ALERT to oppose the Tilden Mine's plans to bury 32.5 acres of wetlands in waste rock in Marquette County
- Our beautiful new campaign hoodies, 100% grown and sewn in the USA.
- Two videos debunking claims made by Highland Copper CEO Barry O’Shea in a recent TV appearance
- An ACTION ALERT for the campaign to end the prohibition on Dark Sky Preserves in the U.P.
- The verdict on Copperwood’s air permit
TILDEN MINE ACTION ALERT
The Tilden Mine in Marquette County has submitted an application proposing to bury 32.5 acres of wetlands and 272 feet of stream in waste rock in Marquette County. The public comment period is open until March 20th. Our friends at Citizens for a Safe and Clean Lake Superior have made the process very easy: submit your comment today!
NEW HOODIES
Along with our T-shirts, these campaign hoodies are 100% organic cotton, grown and sewn in the USA, and printed and shipped from LoyalTees in Marquette, Michigan. In other words, buying these hoodies is just about the complete opposite of buying cheap sweatshop clothing off Amazon. They are high quality, light-weight fabric, ideal for spring and autumn, or for winter with a bit of layering. The best part is: 100% of the post-production proceeds go to our campaign account with the Upper Peninsula Environmental Coalition and will go exclusively towards furthering our mission. Grab yours today!
"MISINFORMATION IN THE MARKET"
Highland Copper CEO Barry O’Shea went on U.P. TV6 last month to complain about “misinformation in the market” from our campaign, instead asking the audience to choke down his own breed of disinformation. This recent media blitz is part of Highland Copper’s quest to see the $50 million taxpayer-funded grant reintroduced in the Michigan Congress this year. So we’re taking on the monumental task of setting the facts straight! You can find the first two episodes here:
DARK SKIES ACTION ALERT!
Two weeks ago dark sky advocates from around the U.P. and the rest of Michigan convened for Let There Be Dark: A Virtual Celebration of Night as the Source of Light. Our panelists discussed a variety of fascinating topics related to the ecological, cultural, and economic value of dark sky protection. You can watch the full replay here.
The event received media coverage from TV6, MLive, and Bridge Michigan.
In the second half of that event, we discussed the prohibition on Dark Sky Preserves in the Upper Peninsula. We asked: why should Upper Peninsula state lands be denied the opportunity to declare and market themselves as Dark Sky Preserves, thus attracting revenue from four-season astrotourism through the use of ecologically friendly lighting protocols, when the option is freely available just south of the Mackinac Bridge? Clearly, this is government overreach at its most senseless. Dark Sky Preserves may seem relatively trivial to those unfamiliar with the devastating impacts of light pollution (see the event to learn more!), but we believe lifting this prohibition will help foment a wider movement of dark sky appreciation and protection in the wild and wonderful Upper Peninsula.
For those who want to dig into the weeds, the backstory of how this prohibition came into place is a uniquely strange rabbit hole. It turns out, certain lawmakers feared Dark Sky Preserves were really a plot of the New World Order…
Now for the good news: We have already heard from lawmakers receptive to overturning the prohibition! In order to speed up the time frame — and to make sure any new legislation is met with ample support — we are asking folks to contact our state senators and state representatives:
Find your Representative
Find your Senator
In addition to contacting your local officials, we encourage reaching out specifically to these U.P. lawmakers, regardless of whether they are in your district:
Senator Ed McBroom
senemcbroom@senate.michigan.gov
— (517) 373-7840
Senator John Damoose
senjdamoose@senate.michigan.gov — (517) 373-2413
Representative David Prestin
DavePrestin@house.mi.gov — (517) 373-0156
Representative Karl Bohnak
KarlBohnak@house.mi.gov — (517) 373-0498
Representative Parker Fairbairn
ParkerFairbairn@house.mi.gov — (517) 373-2629
Representative Greg Markkanen
GregMarkkanen@house.mi.gov — (517) 373-0850
Here is a script you may adapt to your liking:
“Hello,
I am writing / calling today in order to request that you amend Michigan's Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act 451 of 1994 to remove the prohibition on Dark Sky Preserves in the Upper Peninsula. This prohibition unfairly demotes the Upper Peninsula to a second-class region by banning state lands from capitalizing upon an economic avenue which is freely available in Lower Michigan. The U.P. has some of the purest night skies in the Midwest, and permitting Dark Sky Preserves will allow the region both to protect them and profit from them. The Act already states that these Preserves would not restrict development, so they would have no negative economic consequences on the Upper Peninsula. To the contrary, dark sky tourism is a four-season industry which would greatly benefit both the ecology and the economy. Please end the prohibition as soon as possible!"
If you are asked specifically which part of the Act contains the prohibition, here is the full description:
Michigan's Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act (NREPA) 451 of 1994. Specifically, MCL 324.75102, part (2): "a dark sky preserve shall not be established in the Upper Peninsula."
As always, out-of-state residents are encouraged to participate: you might emphasize how much you would love to spend your tourist dollars visiting a U.P. Dark Sky Preserve. Our night skies thank you!
THE VERDICT ON THE COPPERWOOD AIR PERMIT
Michigan’s environmental regulatory agency, EGLE, has released its decision to renew the air pollution permit for the proposed Copperwood Mine, thus allowing the Canadian company to install an exhaust vent spewing particulate matter containing formaldehyde, arsenic, cobalt, mercury and other pollutants a mere 150 feet from Porcupine Mountains State Park, the largest Wilderness Area and old growth forest in mainland Michigan, just recently voted Michigan’s favorite State Park.
This is of course disappointing news, but it isn’t surprising. We mobilized to challenge the permit fully anticipating its approval — as always, we fight not just to "win," but to build momentum, and most importantly, because it's the right thing to do.
EGLE is required to approve any project which submits the proper paperwork; they do not exercise judgment on whether the proposed mine is actually a good idea, given its extreme proximity to the Park and Lake Superior. The fact that the permit was approved is in no way proof that the mine would not contaminate the air, especially considering that the application was authored by Foth Infrastructure, the same entity which, in the case of the proposed Back Forty Mine, was found in a court of law to be willfully deceptive with their environmental modeling, and in the case of the Flambeau Mine, predicted half as much sulfate, 47 times less iron, 58 times less copper, and 76 times less manganese contamination than actually occurred. The truth is, preliminary environmental permits are constructed through the use of computer models which can be easily tweaked to meet requirements and have little to do with reality, and environmental regulations serve to regulate environmentalists as much as anything.
But our efforts were not in vain!
Due to the pushback from the public comments, EGLE has changed the permit to require stricter limits and requirements for cobalt and copper emissions from the mine vents and for formaldehyde emissions from the gas generators. Citing concerns about "the extremely sensitive nature of the location near old growth forests," they’ve also added the ability to test emissions more frequently.
That’s nice... But it doesn’t change the fact that these vents would be emitting not only air pollution, but also light and noise, right in the heart of a sensitive ecology and a place beloved by so many.
Fortunately, a permit approval is just a bit of paper. The company has been issued this very same permit in the past, and its renewal in this case does not change the fact that they still lack the roads, the telecommunications infrastructure, the power grid, and the hundreds of millions of dollars to reach the construction stage, not to mention the support of We the People.
So the fight goes on!
We will continue to challenge the project every step of the way, and we’re excited to have you with us. Thank you everyone for your continued efforts to protect our Water and Wildness!
In solidarity,
Tom and the Protect The Porkies team
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