Published: March 26, 2026 |

EGLE said it would have a decision on the new permit in the next few weeks following the public comment period that just ended.

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Pending national and state permitting, Michigan Potash could finish construction on its Osceola County processing facility in 42 months. As it stands, that would be mid-2028.

However, the company — which has already received millions of dollars in state and federal grants to construct a $1.2 billion salt and potash mining and processing facility — awaits several permits, including both an air permit to install and a wetland permit application with the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) to build on roughly 302 acres of private land in Evart Township.

On Thursday during a virtual public meeting, Michigan Potash highlighted the critical need for potash for domestic fertilizer production so the U.S. could reduce reliance on imports. To date, the U.S. imports 95 percent of its potash with nearly 90 percent of that coming from Canada.

It’s a “fertilizer with no substitute,” said Adrienne Peterson, director of Peterson & Vandenberg Environmental, a consulting firm assisting Michigan Potash through its wetland permit application process.

“Overall, the project is a public benefit,” Petersen told listeners during the public meeting.

“The wetland impacts … will be mitigated in accordance with Michigan law, and significant areas of on-site wetlands will be observed and protected. Michigan Potash is working hard to do right by the resource: They have minimized the wetland impacts to the extent practical. The construction of the facility will be conducted in a manner that protects the wetlands, lakes and streams,” Petersen said.

According to Michigan Potash, part of a well pad has already been constructed. Once everything is completed, Michigan Potash will be able to produce potash fertilizer and food grade salt for various agricultural and industrial users.

Previously, Michigan Farm News reported that the company holds mineral rights on more than 100 million tonnes of recoverable potash deposits within the Borgen Bed, which lies up to 8,000 feet beneath Mecosta and Osceola counties. The deposit is estimated to be worth $65 billion, according to John Yellich, a geologist and the director of the Michigan Geological Survey.

In January, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced a conditional commitment for a loan guarantee of up to $1.26 billion to Michigan Potash to help finance plant construction through the agency’s Loan Programs Office. 

“While this conditional commitment indicates DOE’s intent to provide a loan guarantee to finance the project, DOE and the company must satisfy certain technical, legal, environmental, and financial conditions before the Department enters into definitive financing documents and funds the loan guarantee,” DOE said.

Once operational, the plant is expected to produce about 800,000 tons of fertilizer-grade muriate of potash and about a million tons of salt annually, according to the DOE announcement, while creating 1,400 full-time equivalent construction jobs and 200 ongoing operations jobs.

“Farmers depend on reliable and affordable sources of the nutrients that crops need for growth to provide a safe, abundant food supply for our nation and the world,” said Laura Campbell, senior conservation and regulatory relations specialist for Michigan Farm Bureau.

“Having carefully reviewed the proposed permit to install (PTI) for Michigan Potash, we strongly agree that the proposed permit is written to keep public health and the environment protected,” added Campbell.

According to Campbell, Michigan Potash’s permit application includes updates to the plant’s thermal oxidizer to more effectively remove hydrogen sulfide extracted from the company’s solution mining process from the air blown through a stripping column, which protects both public and worker health.

She said the facility will further reduce its emissions of dust and particulates using cyclones and baghouse dust collectors as described in the application’s technical fact sheet.

“In the United States, agricultural demand for potash — a critical mineral and natural fertilizer — remains at an all-time high,” said Campbell, noting potash is a naturally occurring mineral (potassium) that’s one of the three necessary elements for plant growth found in agricultural fertilizer and common household garden fertilizers.

“With this permit application, Michigan Potash has shown it is committed to developing a U.S. potash supply in a safe and responsible manner that supports Michigan’s farmers and agricultural community,” said Campbell.

A Michigan Potash site has been in the works since 2011, when the company was formed. In a 2013 interview with MLive, General Manager Theodore A. Pagano had predicted production would start in mid-2014 and would create 110 full-time jobs once operational.

Since then, the company has been working to obtain necessary water and air permitting requirements, receiving final approvals from Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) in December 2021. Michigan Potash has also received several state and federal grants, including $80 million in 2024 from USDA, and $50 million in 2022 from the Michigan Economic Development Corp.

EGLE said it would have a decision on the new permit in the next few weeks following the public comment period that just ended.

Michigan Potash said it has outstanding site permits via air and underground injection control.

Source: Michigan Farm News

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