The ballot proposal would expand the state's mining restrictions to include uranium and sulfide for the protection of water.
MARQUETTE -- The Marquette City Commission is formally opposing the Michigan Water Ballot Initiative.
The ballot proposal would expand the state's mining restrictions to include uranium and sulfide for the protection of water.
It's being spearheaded by a group downstate.
Although a majority of the people who spoke at Monday night's meeting were in favor of the initiative, city commissioners unanimously decided they did not want to see it on a ballot.
Commissioner Don Ryan said, "I'm not here to support any particular mining operation; I believe we should let our regulators decide what mine should go forward and what mine should not. I respect the fact that there is a lot of different opinions on this matter, but I don't want the people of Lower Michigan deciding that we can't mine mineral in the Upper Peninsula."
In order to get their initiative on the November 2010 ballot, more than 300,000 valid signatures must be collected.
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