The National Forest Service has granted permits for Canada-based Trans Superior Resources Inc. to explore uranium deposits within the Ottawa National Forest in the western Upper Peninsula.

In a little-noticed Feb. 15 announcement approving the mining company exploration, the Forest Service stated that the uranium prospecting would have “no significant impact” on public health or safety and that an Environmental Impact Statement was unnecessary.

“Use of trucks and a [12,000-pound] drill rig is not expected to conflict with other forest uses,” Forest Service spokeswoman Lee Ann Atkinson said in an Environmental Assessment of the project.

Atkinson told Michigan Messenger that the agency did receive comments from people concerned about the safety of the planned uranium exploration, and that those who have previously commented on the permit now have until Monday to appeal the permit’s approval.

She said that the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality is responsible for monitoring the safety of mineral wells, including those involving uranium.

On the Web site for its Michigan subsidiary, Trans Superior Resources Inc. said it owns recorded mineral title interests covering approximately 363 square miles in the Upper Peninsula.