what's at stake in Lake Superior Basin sulfide mining

This promises to be a conflict that will rage for years in northern Minnesota and Michigan. More and more citizens are finding their voice and speaking out against the folly of sulfide mining in the north:

Regarding a sulfide mine, water pollution is the issue. And here are the questions Michigan residents and our government should address:

First, is water pollution acceptable? Like certain other materials, sulfide flows downstream. Pollution in the watershed of a Lake Superior tributary, even a small one, will go where the water goes. Acid mine drain causes heavy metal contamination, kills fish, and can continue for hundreds of years.

Second, if water pollution is not acceptable, then is it possible for sulfide mining to be done without causing water pollution? The history of sulfide mining is racked with catastrophic and long-term pollution problems. No sulfide mine has ever operated and been closed without causing serious water pollution problems. That’s why Wisconsin’s law is a de facto moratorium.

Third, if water pollution (acid mine drain) happens, and let’s be honest, it would happen, then who will clean it up? How will they clean it up and who will pay the bill?

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