Kennecott Permits OK’d by Downstate Judge

A downstate judge gives Kennecott Minerals his OK to go ahead with the Eagle Mine in Marquette County.

Judge Richard Patterson is an administrative law judge in Lansing.

He’s recommended that the DEQ approve the 2 permits Kennecott asked them for.

The ruling comes more than 9 months after a long hearing took place in his courtroom.

The director of the DEQ has the final say on the permits.

Mine opponents have said more than once if he approved them, they’d take the DEQ to court.

But in any case, the mine won’t be built for quite a while.

Kennecott’s parent company, Rio Tinto, has put the project on indefinite hold until after the economy improves.