Environmental Group Challenges Michigan Potash’s Mine Permit
[Click image to enlarge]
The Michigan environmental group formally disputing Nestle’s groundwater withdrawal is mounting a similar challenge against approvals this year for a potash mine.
The Michigan Citizens for Water Conservation (MCWC) filed a July 30 petition in state administrative court challenging Michigan Department of Environmental Quality permitting for the planned Michigan Potash LLC mine in Osceola County.
In June, the DEQ gave Colorado-based mine developer Ted Pagano permits for eight solution mining wells and three brine disposal wells at the mine site near Hersey.
Pagano is trying to finance a $700 million mining project to tap a rich deposit of potash, a potassium-rich salt valuable as crop fertilizer.
The mine plans to extract more than 725 million gallons of groundwater per year to create a brine that would be injected deep underground after potash is extraction from solution wells.
The EPA approved Pagano’s permits in 2016 and 2017.
The MCWC says the DEQ did not adequately study the proposal before issuing permits for a project that would be built in the middle of a wetland complex, and did not offer adequate time or consideration to a public review of the proposal.
Messages for comment sent to Pagano were not returned.
The MCWC worries that injection wells could force brine up through rock fissures or old mineral exploration boreholes into aquifers that local homeowners tap for drinking water. They contend Pagano and the DEQ have not verified protection for that water source.
The group also worries about the impact of groundwater extraction.
The DEQ-approved groundwater withdrawal rate is 8-gpm below the threshold that triggers a state review of wetlands and fishery impacts, as well as a review under Great Lakes Compact rules that stipulate withdrawals cannot harm natural resources.
“The process was so flawed and did so little to follow Michigan legal requirements that we had to challenge these permits,” the MCWC said in a release.
The group is seeking a formal trial-like hearing with expert witnesses before a state administrative law judge.
Source: M Live
To stop by Michigan Potash’s website, CLICK HERE
Be in-the-know when you’re on-the-go!
FREE eNews delivery service to your email twice-weekly. With a focus on lead-driven news, our news service will help you develop new business contacts on an on-going basis.
CLICK HERE to register your email address.
