By MAGGIE JARUZEL POTTER
When environmental attorney Michelle Halley learned that a documentary about metallic sulfide mining in northern Michigan had won an award, she rejoiced with the film’s producers.
“The movie reaches people who would never learn about this environmental issue otherwise,” said Halley, senior manager of the Lake Superior Protection & Restoration program of the National Wildlife Federation’s (NWF) Great Lakes Natural Resource Center.
“The award draws even more attention to the film and adds credibility to its content.”
The movie,
Mining Madness, Water Wars: The Great Lakes in the Balance, was commissioned by NWF with grant support from the Mott Foundation’s Environment program under its
Conservation of Freshwater Ecosystems focus area. It won a 2009 bronze
Telly Award in the documentary category for its co-producers, Brauer Productions, Inc., and Summit Public Relations Strategies, LLC. -– both northern Michigan companies.
The 33-minute movie describes the plans of Utah-based Kennecott Minerals Company –- with approval from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) -– to develop a mine beneath a pristine trout river stream in the state’s Upper Peninsula. Throughout the documentary, scientists, residents, tribal board members, environmentalists (including Halley), and others, say their goal is to prevent the mine from having a detrimental impact on public health and the natural environment.
Several people affiliated with the film have said a welcomed result would be to have Michigan’s DEQ change the ways in which the department addresses community issues and interacts with concerned citizens.
“The film helps viewers realize that the DEQ’s approval process was not transparent and it was not fair,” Halley said.
“People come away from the movie concerned about the regulatory process -– and they should be.”
Since the mid 2000s, NWF -– along with other local, state and national groups -– has worked to raise public awareness about Kennecott’s proposed mining operations. Their efforts increased after December 2007 when a series of permits, several from the DEQ, were approved.
According to Halley, challenges to the mining and groundwater discharge permits are pending before an administrative law judge. Also, there’s a circuit court challenge of a Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) decision to allow state lands (containing Eagle Rock, a significant sacred site that tribal members discuss in the film) to be used by Kennecott.
At least one federal permit related to drinking water safety is still required, she said, and by mid-April 2009, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will release its decision on whether to list the Coaster Brook Trout, which spawns in the Salmon Trout River, as an endangered species. However, final decisions and appeals are still years away, Halley said.
Kennecott Minerals is a member of the Rio Tinto Group, one of the world’s largest mining and exploration companies with headquarters in London, United Kingdom, and operations literally from A to Z -– Australia to Zimbabwe.
The Michigan mining property, located in the Yellow Dog Plains at the headwaters of the Salmon Trout River, is in northwestern Marquette County, which boasts old-growth forests, waterfalls, and Lake Superior, the largest and cleanest of the five Great Lakes.
The film crew traveled to the area to get a firsthand glimpse of the property and to meet with concerned community leaders, many of whom speak out in the film.
According to its Web site, the Telly Award honors the best local, regional and cable television programs and commercials. It also recognizes videos, films and web productions. The 2009 competition received more than 14,000 entries from all 50 states and five continents.
Angela Nebel, the movie’s co-producer and director, is proud of having earned the award.
“We set out to create a documentary film that explored this complex subject in a way that was informative, but also challenged the audience to think deeply about future impacts of mining in Michigan and around the Great Lakes,” she said.
“The news of our Telly Award win is icing on the cake.”