ONTONAGON, MI-- The Department of Environmental Quality has reached a settlement with a company that caused erosion at Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park.
Copperwood Resources performed exploratory copper drilling along Gogebic County Road 519 last April during a spring thaw. That damaged wetlands and produced mud holes. The company was supposed to drill only when the ground was frozen.
The Upper Peninsula Environmental Coalition’s Mining Action Group alerted the DEQ to the situation.
Representatives from the DEQ and Copperwood recently signed an administrative consent order. It’s a legal settlement that addresses damages without admitting a violation of law. The order includes a $25,000 fine.
The Gogebic County Road Commission has granted a permit to the company to continue drilling within the County Road 519 right of way. If Copperwood decides to extend its project, officials say the copper will be accessed from outside the park boundary.
