Lawsuit seeks to block mine in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula

MENOMINEE, Mich. (AP) — A group is suing two federal agencies as part of an effort to block a proposed mine in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula near the Wisconsin line.

The federal lawsuit filed Tuesday by the Coalition to SAVE the Menominee River names the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The federal government hasn’t formally responded to the lawsuit. The Justice Department says it’s reviewing the complaint.

The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality announced in June that it granted a final permit to Toronto-based Aquila Resources, which is targeting primarily gold and zinc in an underground sulfide deposit discovered in 2001. The company also expects its Back Forty mine to produce smaller volumes of copper, silver and lead.

The Menominee Indian Tribe sued in January seeking to block the project .