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Lawsuit seeks to block mine in Menominee County

MENOMINEE COUNTY, MI--   A group is suing two federal agencies as part of an effort to block a proposed mine in Menominee County 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 coalition says the groups delegated final permitting authority to the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality despite the fact the Back Forty mine would be within 50 yards of the Menominee River.

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

The DEQ announced in June 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 the mine to produce smaller volumes of copper, silver and lead.

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

Nicole was born near Detroit but has lived in the U.P. most of her life. She graduated from Marquette Senior High School and attended Michigan State and Northern Michigan Universities, graduating from NMU in 1993 with a degree in English.