MARQUETTE -- Groups opposed to Kennecott Minerals' nickel and copper sulfide mine on the Yellow Dog Plains in Marquette County have filed suit against the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) for granting the company permits.

They want to prevent what they see as a dangerous precedent from being set. That's because its parent company, Rio Tinto, now says it's looking to start up six new mines in the area besides the Eagle Project.

The Huron Mountain Club, the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, the Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve and the National Wildlife Federation claim the MDEQ did not follow its own new guidelines concerning this type of mining and are suing.

"Our challenges, while they include some procedural issues, are not mostly procedural," says Michelle Halley, a lawyer for the National Wildlife Federation. "They are mostly substantive, focused on the potential and likelihood of the project to pollute, impair and destroy the natural resources. That is the statutory standard."

Tom Petersen, a mining engineer who worked at Cleveland-Cliffs for 30 years, founded Citizens for Responsible Mining, a pro-mining group. He says those opposed to the Eagle Project are just worried that Kennecott will prove that sulfide mining can be done safely and that the MDEQ will approve permits for similar mines around the U.P.

"These laws were written specifically for the nonferrous mining activity--metal mining--and [MDEQ] did this with the eye of mitigating any kind of problems associated with mining the sulfide host minerals," says Petersen.

But because of the potential for more mines, Halley feels it is important that the Kennecott decision not set the precedent.

"I wouldn't put it past them to try to amend these permits that they have in hand to accommodate these other ore bodies," says Halley.

But Petersen says he sees nothing wrong with the MDEQ's procedure.

"I've gone on the Website of the DEQ and they've answered all those questions," says Peterson, of what he sees as the proper diligence on the part of the agency. "There's 130-something pages of comments and then responses...I've read enough of them to get a feel for how detailed and how responsive the DEQ was."

There are still other steps in the permitting process. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources has to decide whether to lease the 120 acres to Kennecott for the project. That decision is expected January 10. There is also one federal permit yet to be approved by the Environmental Protection Agency.

And Michelle Halley says the four environmental groups will file an injunction to stop Kennecott if they proceed before the litigation is settled.