Mining operations in Michigan's watersheds threaten the Great Lakes, which hold 20% of the world's surface freshwater. Lydia opposes permits that allow mining discharge into waters that flow toward Lake Superior, and she will fight for federal water protections with real enforcement teeth.

The Copperwood Mine NPDES permit exemplifies the problem. The permit assumes water flow that EGLE's own measurements show does not exist in critical sections of the receiving creek. Metal limits on five elements were kept loose under antidegradation exemptions based on an unbuilt, undesigned treatment plant. The proposed wastewater treatment additives include substances documented in peer-reviewed research to harm fish embryos at extremely low concentrations, with no testing to confirm impacts on the state-endangered redside dace population living downstream. The applicant is a foreign startup with no prior mine operation experience, from an industry where 93% of US operating mines have failed to capture and control wastewater.

Some risks cannot be mitigated, only refused. Lydia will push for federal standards that put the burden of proof on the polluter, not on Michigan's watersheds and fish populations, and will oppose permits that trade water protection for promises.