Upper Peninsula lawmakers oppose ballot measure on mining

A ballot measure that would restrict mining “under the clever guise of protecting water,” is actually “an attack by special interests on the U.P. and its people, heritage, and economic future,” according to a statement released this week by a bipartisan group of state lawmakers from the Upper Peninsula.

In lengthy and harshly worded statement, Sen. Mike Prusi(D-Ishpeming),Sen. Jason Allen (R-Traverse City),Rep. Mike Lahti (D-Hancock), Rep. Steve Lindberg (D-Marquette), and Rep. Judy Nerat (D-Wallace) claim that the proposed 2010 ballot measure would kill the mining industry, kill jobs and kill the Upper Peninsula economy.

“In a state where divisions between people and regions have held us back for far too long, we can’t help but look askance at proposals that divide our state, rather than unite us,” they stated, “While people in the U.P. are struggling to find work during these challenging economic times, wealthy backers of this ballot proposal are using misinformation and scare tactics in an effort to make the U.P. their private playground.”

The Michigan Save Our Waters Committee which has as its honorary chairman former Republican Governor William Milliken, must collect 300,000 signatures by May in order for the measure to appear on the November ballot.

Here is the group’s petition language summary:

A proposal to amend Part 632 (Nonferrous Metallic Mineral Mining) of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act, MCL 324.63201 et seq, by adding Section 63206 to: (1) prohibit uranium mining and processing until new rules have been established to protect against the special risks associated with those activities; (2) require a mining area to be located more than 2,000 feet away from any water body unless it is proven that the mining operations will not cause any injury to groundwater or water bodies; (3) require a permit applicant to provide a regional ground water and surface water analysis to enable an assessment of all potential impacts to groundwater and surface waters from the proposed mining operations; (4) require a permit applicant to show that another mine in the United States or Canada: (a) is similar to the applicant’s proposed mine in all relevant ways, and (b) operated for at least 5 years and has not harmed natural resources or caused any exceedance of applicable environmental criteria for at least 10 years after closure; and (5) prescribe additional requirements for reporting, notification, permit review, permit amendments, and enforcement. This proposal is to be voted on at the November 2, 2010 General Election.