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Residents file petition against mine, say it violates legal agreement

Hayes Township residents protest Rieth-Riley's plans to resume mining in Bay Shore. Residents say they're concerned about potential contamination in the groundwater and in Horton Creek, a tributary of Lake Charlevoix that flows into Lake Michigan.
Teresa Homsi
/
WCMU
Hayes Township residents protest Rieth-Riley's plans to resume mining in Bay Shore. Residents say they're concerned about potential contamination in the groundwater and in Horton Creek, a tributary of Lake Charlevoix that flows into Lake Michigan.

Residents in a northern Michigan township are pushing back against a gravel mine operation - this time in court. They say when the company restarted mining in the community, it violated the terms of a 30-year-old consent agreement.

At a special meeting last month, officials with Hayes Township, near Charlevoix, said their hands were tied, and that the mining company, Rieth-Riley, was operating in accordance with the agreement.

But residents disagreed. Now, the original intervenors have filed a petition asking the Charlevoix County Circuit Court to “enforce” the consent judgment. They say the agreement was never meant to allow indefinite mining and includes a 25-year timeline for mining.

Rieth-Riley filed an objection to the residents’ petition. The company’s attorney said at a meeting last month the timeline was “advisory only,” and the company can change the schedule according to market demands.

Residents are now awaiting a hearing, to see what the Charlevoix County Circuit Court judge decides... if – or how long – Rieth-Riley can continue mining in Bay Shore.

A temporary restraining order filed by residents to stop mining was shot down by a judge.

See petition below:

Teresa Homsi is an environmental reporter and Report for America Corp Member based in northern Michigan for WCMU. She is covering rural environmental issues, public health and Michigan commerce. Homsi has a bachelor’s from Central Michigan University in environmental studies, journalism and anthropology. During her undergraduate, she was a beat reporter for CMU’s student newspaper Central Michigan Life and interned for the Huron Daily Tribune. She has also interned for the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy in the superfund section. *Report for America is a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms, more info at https://www.reportforamerica.org/
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