Opponents of the mine, including the KBIC, the National Wildlife Federation, and other local environmental organizations such as the Huron Mountain Club, continued to fight against the mine in the courts despite their apparent defeat. The groups presented a number of claims to an Administrative Law judge, but the only concern the judge found valid was that Kennecott had not discussed Eagle Rock in its EIA. Michigan’s mining laws specify that places of worship must be assessed in EIAs, and Kennecott appeared to violate this by not including Eagle Rock in theirs. The director of Michigan’s Department of Environmental Quality, however, disregarded all of these claims and issued the permits anyway.
The case continued to progress, landing in Ingham County Circuit Court in 2011. The judge supported the Michigan DEQ’s decision to issue permits, stating that because Eagle Rock was not a man-made structure, it didn’t qualify as a place of worship under Michigan’s mining regulations.
The opponents appealed again, and in 2014, the case arrived at the Michigan Appeals Court. The Appeals Court decision upholds that of the Circuit Court.1National Wildlife Federation v. Department of Environmental Quality and Kennecott Eagle Minerals Company, Court of Appeals of Michigan. 12 Aug. 2014. https://caselaw.findlaw.com/mi-court-of-appeals/1675346.html However, the Appeals Court argued that because the KBIC did not inform Kennecott of Eagle Rock until after the mining company had already submitted the EIA, Kennecott could not possibly have been expected to include it. Thus, the Appeals Court deemed the issue of Eagle Rock as a place of worship irrelevant and upheld the Circuit Court’s decision.
