BAY MILLS - The Bay Mills Executive Council met on Monday, March 27 for a regularly scheduled meeting. All council members were present.
Bay Mills Water Quality Specialist Amanda Bosak presented the council with a report on her 2005 water quality results. In her report were her findings of tests conducted at various sites in the area, including the Back Bay, various wetlands, inland lakes and streams and the St. Mary's River.
Bosak said the samples she collected from various sites were tested for their levels of pH, chlorophyll and the amount of dissolved oxygen, to name a few. Sites with good levels of nutrients in the water included the North Pond, Spectacle Lake, Lake Superior, and the deeper parts of Waishkey Bay. Sites with moderate quality included the mouth of the Waishkey River and in front of the Kings Club Casino and Ellen Marshall Building on the St. Mary's River, she added. One of the sites with the poorest water quality was the South Pond, she noted.
Bosak said that streams below development are sites that are a concern of hers, most notably the Little Waishkey below the Superior Township Sewage Ponds. The South Pond, which had very poor water quality, is also near development. She added that she is looking into different methods to improve their quality. Some of the various wetland sites tested showed poor water quality, but Bosak said that could be attributed to the low water levels, due to the extremely dry summer. Under these conditions, Bosak said that exotic species thrive, thus affecting its water quality.
Bosak also informed the council that she would soon be focusing on fecal coliforms near the sewage ponds. Fecal coliforms are disease-causing bacteria that live in the digestive tracts of animals and are excreted in feces. While they generally do not pose a danger to people or animals, they can indicate the presence of other disease-causing bacteria. The bacteria can be concentrated in filter feeding organisms, such as oysters, clams and mussels, and pose a threat to people that consume them. Bosak said she would begin testing monthly for fecal coliforms when the snow melts and would continue with it until the ice begins to form.
Vice Chairman Terry Carrick, who said he is for any type of wetland enhancement project, asked that Bosak keep a close watch on funding for these types of projects. Bosak said she is hoping to see funds for wetland enhancement, but said the Environmental Protection Agency hasn't given money out in quite a while.
Bosak also said she doesn't feel like much is being done in regards to the problems on the St. Mary's River and said she is constantly trying to get out information and gain attention to the matter. She told the council that some people on Sugar Island, on the north shore and on the eastern side, have been finding solid waste in the water, including used condoms and needles. Unfortunately, Bosak said the majority of funding out there to tackle such restoration projects is focused for bodies of water in Lower Michigan.
Bosak also provided the council with information on the sulfide mining project and its affects on water quality. Sulfide mining is a dangerous and harmful form of mineral extraction in which nickel, copper and other precious metal are extracted from sulfide-rich rock compounds. Sulfur is released during the extraction process, which creates sulfuric acid when it comes in contact with water and air. Bosak said that the sulfuric acid, which lowers the water's pH, can then dissolve toxic heavy metals that have fallen into the sediment, such as copper, mercury and lead, which could then contaminate nearby rivers, lakes and ground waters. Bosak added that the Kennecott Minerals proposed sulfide mining sites are located on tributaries near the Great Lakes. Due to the hazards that come with sulfide mining, she said it could have a great affect on what's happening with our local watershed.
Carrick asked that a resolution of opposition to the proposed Kennecott Minerals sulfide mining include the language that it would not only threaten the waters, but the tribe's rights as well under the 1836 treaty. The council, subsequently passed resolution no. 06-3-27B, which stated: The Bay Mills Indian Community shares the conviction of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community that sulfide mining, and in particular the mine proposed by Kennecott Minerals, poses unacceptable risks to the water-rich environment of the Yellow Dog Plains. The Bay Mills Executive Council is concerned that the potential environmental impacts of the proposed Kennecott Mine are antithetical to the long-term protection of Lake Superior and its watershed and threatens the tribe's rights under the 1836 treaty.
After poring through the water quality reports, the Executive Council received a request from a tribal member for the old cultural building lot. The member said he wanted to put up a pole building for a fish processing operation. Chairman Jeffrey Parker said that another tribal member had already inquired about the property and they were told that the lot is still assigned to the Cultural Committee. Secretary Richard LeBlanc told the member, who said he needed a place to store all of his fishing equipment, that the Cultural Committee may have plans for the site. LeBlanc said the committee would prefer to have cultural events on the reservation, instead of at the old Spirits Lounge. Unless they can find a better site, he said he doesn't envision the committee giving up their lease on the lot.
