Opponents of the Kennecott mine say the permits are illegal.
MARQUETTE -- A week after the Department of Environmental Quality issued three permits for a controversial nickel-copper mine in the Yellow Dog Plains of Marquette County, the state agency has been sued to halt construction of the mine.
The groups filing the suit are the National Wildlife Federaltion, the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, the Huron Mountain Club and the Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve.
"The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality has issued permits that are based upon defective, inadequate, and incomplete applications, and are, therefore, illegal," said Michelle Halley, an attorney for the National Wildlife Federation and the other co-petitioners.
Kennecott Minerals is hoping to start construction on the mine next month. It's still awaiting approval of two permits from the Department of Natural Resources.
Opponents of the proposed mine claim it could pollute the environment and destroy the natural resources, and could pose a safety threat.
However, Halley said an announcement this week by Rio Tinto, the parent company of Kennecott, that the company was now targeting six other U.P. sites for mines, angered the mines opponents even further.
"We had long suspected that this was merely the first in a series of new mines, but hiding that information until after the MDEQ approval was announced is certainly contrary to the 'good neighbor' image Kennecott has sought to portray," Halley said. "Whether they knew it or not, the MDEQ and the Governor have egg on their faces."
Kennecott claims the proposed mine will protect the environment and anybody who works there. Further, a spokesman for Kennecott says the additional mines, if they were actually built, would provide additional jobs and tax revenue for the U.P.
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