After 9 years of research and planning, a new mining project in the western Upper Peninsula is awaiting approval from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) to get underway. The “Back Forty” mining project would create more than 500 jobs and bring tens of millions of dollars into the local and state economy, including tax revenue.
This includes many jobs for OE324 members.
The MDEQ is accepting comments from the public on this project through tomorrow, November 3. We ask that you send them an email at their comment address – DEQ-Mining-Comments@michigan.gov – letting them know how valuable this project would be to the state and it’s workers. We’ve drafted an example email below. Feel free to use this template, and add any additional comments you see fit, or write your own.
We also recommend you send the email from your personal address, to showcase the diversity of people responding. Finally, please forward this message to your family and friends that might write an email as well. We can encourage jobs and opportunity, for OE 324 and the state of Michigan!
DRAFT MESSAGE
To the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality:
The Back Forty mining project in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula is a great opportunity to put the state’s best resource – it’s people – to work, and create revenue for the state in the process. The preliminary research, 70 million dollars’ worth, shows that this mine and the 580 acres of land it represents will be safe for nearby residents, the environment, and inject hundreds of millions of dollars into the local and state economy.
When the University of Minnesota-Duluth did an independent analysis of the project, their study found that during a typical year of operation the mine would generate $20 million in new tax revenue and more than $150 million in economic activity for the area.
With reclamation projects already planned, and such obvious advantages to the workers and residents of the state, please approve this project, and let Michigander’s get to the task of doing what we do best – work!