Assembly Republicans introduced a mining bill Thursday that environmentalists say would detrimentally affect Wisconsin’s green protections and stifle citizen input in the mining permit process.
Sam Weis, spokesperson for the environmental advocacy organization Clean Wisconsin, said the introduced bill outlines a streamlined process for mining companies to obtain permits.
Weis said the legislation was introduced in response to mining company Gogebic Taconite’s plans to create an iron mine in northern Wisconsin and is similar to a bill circulated last spring that was removed from the agenda after considerable public outcry over environmental concerns.
Weis said he was concerned for certain aspects of the current bill that allow mining corporations to dump toxic waste in wetlands and rivers and potentially contaminate the groundwater of neighboring properties to levels exceeding current standards.
According to Mike Mikalsen, spokesperson for Rep. Steve Nass, R-Whitewater, the bill will not affect environmental regulations because it focuses solely on the permit process mining corporations are required to go through.
“There’s nothing in the bill that rolls back environmental protections; that is simply false,” Mikalsen said. “The final decision of whether a mine will go into play and how it will function will still be up to other departments. This bill does absolutely nothing in terms of a final decision. This is just a way to speed up the process for making those decisions.”
Mikalsen said the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, the national Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will make the final decision regarding whether a mining corporation will receive a permit to begin mining in the state.
University of Wisconsin environmental studies professor Calvin DeWitt cited a specific clause in the proposed mining bill that he said outlines potential detrimental effects to the environment.
“With all due respect, the law itself conflicts with what [Mikalsen] is saying,” DeWitt said. “What the bill actually says is that there’s no recourse but to destroy wetlands if they get in the way. It is outlined in page 53 very clearly.”
Weis said the bill not only negatively affects the environment, but would also prevent citizens from bringing a lawsuit against a mining corporation if they witness illegal activity.
“The bill doesn’t just roll back absolutely common sense environmental protections, it limits what citizens can do to hold mining corporations accountable if they break the law, and that’s very concerning,” Weis said.
According to Weis, the bill would stifle public input throughout the mining permit process beyond removing citizen suits. For example, the bill would eliminate the use of contested case hearings where the public has an opportunity to question mining corporations under oath.
Mikalsen said citizen lawsuits discourage corporations from opening mines and therefore creating more jobs in Wisconsin.
“They’re making it economically impossible for any entity to go through a three- or four-year process of obtaining a permit, and even after that process, they’re allowed to be sued by different groups like Clean Wisconsin,” Mikalsen said. “Those people apparently don’t care about the need for jobs.”
Mikalsen said mining corporations not only bring mining jobs to Wisconsin but also provide jobs to manufacturing companies that create mining equipment.
