U.P. groups are challenging the DEQ's approval of the Kennecott mine.
LANSING -- The administrative hearing in Lansing in which four U.P. groups are challenging the DEQ's approval of groundwater and mining permits for a proposed mine on the Yellow Dog Plains is going to last longer than expected.
It had been scheduled for two weeks; officials say it will likely last at least four.
Kennecott Minerals was granted the permits by the DEQ, but the mine opponents say the process was flawed.
After the opponents present their case, Kennecott will present its case, and then finally the DEQ will explain, through witnesses, how it arrived at its decision to approve the permits.
A decision from the administrative hearing, which is being held at Constitution Hall in Lansing, is expected by late June.
Even if Administative Law Judge Richard Patterson rules in favor of the DEQ and Kennecott, there are still a few potential obstacles before the mine can be built.
The Environmental Protection Agency must give its okay, and then conceivably, the mine's opponents could challenge Kennecott in the judicial system.
Neverthless, Kennecott officials say they hope to start building the controversial nickel and copper mine, just outside of Big Bay, by later this summer.
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