Clean Production and Toxics
Lake Superior harbour to be mined for Michigan highways
A large block of former Algoma Central Railway lands on Lake Superior’s Michipicoten Harbour, near Wawa, Ontario, was sold to Superior Aggregates Company, a U.S. corporation. The company intends to strip the site of soil, vegetation, and timber, and then drill, blast and crush the coastal rock to within 65 metres of the shoreline. The privately-held block of land is nestled within 160 miles of Lake Superior shoreline protected by a national park, three provincial parks and two conservation reserves. The resulting aggregate is destined for shipment by freighter to Michigan for use in highway construction.
Citizens Concerned for Michipicoten Bay fear that development may potentially threaten lake water quality, air quality, fish and wildlife habitat, future potential use of the bay as a destination for adventure tourism, and enjoying the quiet use of their residential property. They have spearheaded efforts to educate area residents and decision makers about these concerns and engage citizens in public comment opportunities.
Many residents and visitors to the Wawa–Michipicoten Bay area are not convinced that several potentially serious environmental, economic, and social issues have been adequately addressed. As a result, Citizens Concerned for Michipicoten Bay has taken steps to legally challenge permitting decisions and what is allowable under local zoning. Currently, several unresolved issues brought up during the public comment period have been turned over to the Ontario Municipal Board for a hearing. Citizens Concerned for Michipicoten Bay intends to go to the Ontario Municipal Board Hearing to resolve their objections to the quarry proposal and to the municipal re-zoning for the quarry property.
The costs of this hearing to protect Michipicoten Bay are high, you can help by making a donation to Citizens Concerned for Michipicoten Bay. Just go to: http://www.ccmb.ca/content/donations.html.
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© 2009 Great Lakes News. 
I was devastated to hear that there would be an open pit mine added to the northern coast of lake superior I have often referred to the northern coast of the lake as the most beautiful section of our entire country. I believe that adding a mine to this area would be the most terrible thing that could be done. I understand that money makes the world go round but in this case is it really worth it to make a few bucks at the cost of the pride for many of our Country. I really hope that this mine will not proceed