An investigation by the Michigan Land Use Institute into the Kennecott Minerals Company’s push to dig a sulfide mine in the U.P. wilderness finds that lawmakers from northern Michigan have been accepting freebies from company lobbyists.

Investigative reporter, Glenn Puit, found that Rep. Tom Casperson (R-Escanaba), Sen. Jason Allen (R-Traverse City), and Sen. Mike Prusi (D-Ishpeming) each accepted free meals and beverages from Kennecott lobbyists. Puit wrote that according to state records the value of those items ranged from $731 to $1,170 per legislator from 2003 to 2006. The legislators deny the lobbying had any influence on their public positions on the mine.

But it seems that these lawmakers’ let-the-process-work attitude on the mine proposal is at odds with the views of many constituents. Ninety-six percent of the residents of Big Bay, a town near where the mine would be located, have signed a petition opposing the mine. Medical staff at Marquette General Hospital passed a resolution opposing the mine last week. The overwhelming majority of citizens testifying at the DEQ hearings on the mine permit have objected to the plan.