01/21/2019- An appeal has been filed to challenge the dismissal of a federal lawsuit against the EPA, the Army Corps of Engineers, and Aquila Resources over the issuance of a wetlands permit for the Back 40 Mine. The Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin filed the court appeal last week with the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago. The initial suit stated the federal government should have exercised jurisdiction in the wetlands permitting process and the Tribe further claims the defendants failed to comply with the National Historic Preservation Act by not consulting with the Tribe on the potential for negative impacts to cultural and historic resources along both sides of the Menominee River where the proposed mine is to be located. The federal government has yet to respond to the appeal.