LANSING, MI— $50 million dollars in state funding for the proposed Copperwood mine in the western U.P. is in limbo after the Senate Appropriations Committee failed to hold a vote on the money this week.
The House Appropriations Committee approved the SOAR grant last week. While more than $240 million in other grants were approved Wednesday, the Senate committee declined to take up the Copperwood issue.
A meeting scheduled for Thursday was canceled. The state legislative session finishes at the end of the month.
Project proponents say the mine would lead to $425 million in investment and bring much-needed jobs to the area. Environmentalists say it would harm the land near Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park and pollute Lake Superior.
