MARQUETTE COUNTY -- A setback was announced on Thursday for the proposed Marquette County Road 595.
The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality announced that it will not issue a permit for the project.
The road would provide a more direct route for trucks going to and from Rio Tinto's Eagle Mine. The DEQ supports building the road, but the Environmental Protection Agency says the application still does not meet the requirements of the Clean Water Act.
Last month the EPA gave the Department of Environmental Quality a January 4 deadline to issue a permit that satisfies federal guidelines. The DEQ says due to the complexity of the permit that deadline was not met.
Permitting authority has now been transferred to the Army Corps of Engineers which could take years. The DEQ says it will continue working with Rio Tinto and Marquette County to find an alternative route.
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