"Feds Reject Michigan Permit For Mine Near Sensitive Tribal Waters"

"EPA says state permitting for the mine doesn't meet Clean Water Act standards or address cultural concerns."

"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has objected to a wetland permit for the proposed Back Forty Mine in Michigan's western Upper Peninsula near the Wisconsin border.

The Menominee Indians across the border in Wisconsin—but whose tribal lands once encompassed the mine site—have fought Michigan's permitting process for years, saying the state was ignoring their concerns both about the project's threat to water quality and sacred cultural artifacts nearby.

Mining opponents cheered the federal action Friday. The EPA's letter, they said, places significant hurdles before the state and the developers."

Brian Bienkowski reports for Environmental Health News March 19, 2018.