Acid Train!

Indians Object to Acid Train: Encampment Blocks Tankers Bound for White Pine Mine

In a bold move, members of the Bad River Chippewa Indians established an encampment across railroad tracks and blocked the first of several train shipments of sulfuric acid destined for the White Pine Mine in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. The encampment and religious ceremonies began July 22 on a rail line running through the Bad River Reservation, located about 20 miles south of Ashland.

The potential for a derailment and a major toxic spill sparked the Indian's action. "It is our duty to protect and preserve our land, the water, and the plants that provide our medicines," said Butch Stone, a spokesperson for the Indians. "We have to stand up and protect these things that the creator has given us. This is not a protest, it is our right."

The Wisconsin Central rail line crossing the reservation is old, rippled, and rickety. Engines are limited to a top speed of 10 mph. A long trestle spanning the Bad River has several loose ties with missing bolts that shift when walked upon and a number of aging, cracked wooden support beams and posts. As if to emphasize the Indians point, a derailment occurred on a Wisconsin Central line in Ashland a few days after the encampment began. A company official said, "I don't see what everyone is so excited about. This happens all the time."

Eleven billion (yes - billion) gallons of sulfuric acid are marked for shipment over the next year to the closed White Pine Mine, near Ontonagon, Michigan. In operation for about 40 years, the mine was shut down in 1994. The mining company now wants to re-open the mine, They hope to dump the sulfuric acid down into their maze of underground shafts and leach copper ore out from the remaining huge earthen pillars that presently support the shafts. It sounds bizarre, especially given the key concern about mining in northern Wisconsin is sulfuric acid pollution from unearthed mining wastes.

"We have to stand up and protect these things that the creator has given us. This is not a protest, it is our right."

But that tough regulator, the federal EPA, signed off on the scheme without a hearing or a clean-up plan. This is the same mining company who's smelter at the site spewed a mist of toxic chemicals skyward for years in gross violation of national clean air laws, The EPA, Wisconsin and Michigan, Canada, and environmental groups all sued to stop the pollution but the case dragged on for years - while the smelter belched away - before an out of court settlement was finally reached.

Indian activists have mentioned the possible re-opening of the White Pine mine as another reason for the Bad River encampment. Walt Bresette, a member of the Red Cliff Chippewa band, calls it "connecting the dots on mining." Notes Butch Stone, "the acid will do a great amount of environmental damage to one of our lakes that we consider sacred."

Stone's "sacred lake" is Lake Superior. The White Pine Mine is located only five miles from the great lake and sometime during four decades of operation, miners punctured a hole into an ancient, underground sea. The water from this briny lake has been seeping into the mine's shafts ever since. It's expected that the water will eventually fill the shafts, overflow into the nearby Mineral River, and carry acidic wastes into Lake Superior.

A major goal of the encampment was to encourage the EPA to take a second look at the White Pine plan. That has been accomplished and discussions between the Chippewa and the EPA are underway. The Indian's 28 day encampment, which ended August 18, also led to an agreement with Wisconsin Central not to transport hazardous materials across their reservation.

"It's our right as a sovereign nation to stand up," insists Stone. Referring to the larger, non-Indian population, Stone says, "we are doing this for you, too."

- Will Fantle

Editor's note: The next issue of The Defender will take a longer look at Indian Treaty Rights and how they may be able to protect our state's environment.