Stand for the Land

WHAT: BURY THE BILL Rally against AB 426 (the G-Tac Iron Mining Bill)
WHEN: Wednesday, January 25, 5:00 PM
WHERE: State Street Capitol Steps

WHAT: People’s Tribunal on AB 426

WHEN: Thursday, January 26, 10 AM – 6 PM

WHERE: North Hearing Room, second floor, Capitol

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Contact Carl Sack: carl@wnpj.org, 715-919-0214; or Jacob Barnes: jacobbarnes@gmail.com, 414-640-8002

Citizens concerned about the massive rollback of environmental regulations and local control contained in AB 426, the Assembly mining bill written by and for Gogebic Taconite, will gather for a “BURY THE BILL” Rally on the State Street Steps at 5 p.m. on January 25 to call for the bill’s defeat.

The rally will feature speakers including Wisconsin Democracy Campaign Director Mike McCabe, Laura Gauger of the Wisconsin Resources Protection Council, Ben Manski of Wisconsin Wave, and attorney Glenn Reynolds. Photos and maps of the area around the proposed open-pit iron mine in Ashland and Iron Counties will be available for public viewing, and a short performance will demonstrate the impacts the bill could have on the North Woods.

In addition to the Assembly session, a “People’s Tribunal on AB 426″ will be held on Thursday, January 26, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the North Hearing Room of the Capitol. Anyone who wants will be invited to speak publicly about the proposed legislation and mining in general.

Background

The Assembly will take up AB 426 on Thursday. Many northern Wisconsin residents, including members of the Bad River Band of Ojibwe, will be traveling down to the Capitol that day to defend their homeland.

“This is not the first time that mining companies have written Wisconsin mining regulations, but it is certainly the most extensive involvement to rewrite so many laws and regulations that provide some measure of protection for Wisconsin’s environment, human health and democratic participation in the decision making process,” says UW-LaCrosse Professor Al Gedicks, Executive Director of the Wisconsin Resources Protection Council.

The bill comes on the heels of over $40,000 in campaign contributions from mining interests to legislators, including $10,000 to Governor Scott Walker and $2,500 to Rep. Mark Honadel (R-South Milwaukee), the bill’s author, according to data compiled by the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign. The contributions come from Gogebic Taconite (G-Tac), a subsidiary of the Cline Group owned by Florida billionaire Chris Cline, as well as other Cline subsidiaries, a law firm Cline does business with, and RGGS Land and Minerals Ltd. of Texas. RGGS owns the land in Ashland and Iron Counties where G-Tac plans to operate a 22-mile-long open-pit iron mine.

Among other provisions, AB 426 would eliminate contested case hearings on proposed mining permits, reduce the number of public hearings during the process from six to two, make it easier for mining companies to fill wetlands and divert navigable waters, chop the amount of revenue received by local community impact funds by 50%, cap the reimbursement paid by an applicant to the DNR at far less than the true cost of a permit, limit the time for permit review to 360 days, establish presumptive approval of permits, and put the state at odds with federal regulators over flood plain ordinances and archaeological sites.

Despite G-Tac’s proposal to mine within the 1837 Ceded Territories, neither the mining company nor legislators consulted with the state’s Indian tribes in writing the new legislation. All of the runoff from the proposed mine would flow down the Bad River through the Bad River Indian Reservation, in Ashland County, threatening the tribe’s federally-protected treaty rights to hunt, fish, and gather resources such as wild rice. Yet, the only public hearings on the proposed bill were held in Iron and Milwaukee Counties.

The Wednesday protest and Thursday Tribunal are hosted by Madison for the Penokees. Participating organizations include the Penokee Hills Education Project, Mining Impact Coalition of Wisconsin, Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice, SaveTheWatersEdge.com, Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, Sierra Club, Wisconsin Resources Protection Council, Midwest Environmental Advocates, Madison Infoshop, Family Farm Defenders, Take Back the Land-Madison, Groundwork White Anti-Racist Collective, Deep Green Resistance–Wisconsin, Lake Superior Greens, Madison-area Urban Ministry, and People Empowered to Protect the Land of Rosendale.

Sometimes when we do things we offer tobacco to our creator because we’re going take something that we need or that we’re going to use. There’s not enough tobacco in the world to offer for this mine.

These words were spoken by Adrian King, from the  Lac du Flambeau tribe, as part of testimony from members of the Anishinaabe Nation at the January 11 Jobs, Economy and Small Business Committee hearing in Hurley, Wisconsin.

Six tribes went on record to oppose the proposed new mining legislation that would strip environmental protections to expedite permitting for the G-Tac mining corporation.

So how can you guys sit there and talk about these kind of things? You don’t know the impact, the devastation, the destruction that will happen in northern Wisconsin. Do you understand the continental divide? Wetlands? Unless you can guarantee me 1,000% that you won’t damage anything I won’t support you in the mine.       -Tony DePerry, Red Cliff

Please click here to more of their inspiring words:    http://wcmcoop.com/members/the-anishinabe-speak-there-will-be-no-mines-in-the-penokees/

Tuesday, January 24, 2012 10:00 AM

NOTICE OF HEARING — Wisconsin Assembly Committee on Jobs, Economy and Small Business Executive Session, 412 East State Capitol in Madison, Assembly Bill 426 – relating to regulation of ferrous metallic mining and waiving many current laws and regulations.  The committee will be discussing and voting on amendments, and voting to pass the bill on to the full Assembly on Thursday.

Wednesday, January 25, 2012 10am until 5pm

NOTICE OF LIVESTREAM — People’s State of the State Hearing Wednesday, 2nd Floor – North Hearing Room: public invited to testify about their views on the State of the State.  If you have testified about any bill introduced under the Walker regime, please come and share your testimony and your concerns about the direction that state government is taking.  The hearing will be livestreamed by www.indiancountrytv.com

Wednesday, January 25th, 5:00p, – 7:00pm

BURY THE MINING BILL PROTEST RALLY: at Lady Forward, to of State Street / Capitol Square, Madison, WI — Protest AB-426 aka “The Mining Bill,” and Wetlands Deregulation Bill AB-463. These Bills will deregulate environmental protections and give immunity to mining operations.  The bills are also in direct violation of the treaty rights of the tribes whose resources they affect.  The bills are themselves illegal.

Wednesday, January 25, 2012, 7:00pm
NOTICE OF EVENT: State of the State Address by Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker in the Assembly Chambers.  Admission to Assembly Gallery by invitation only, but the Capitol rotunda will be open.

Thursday January 26, 2012, 10am until 6pm

NOTICE OF EVENT: The Peoples Tribunal of AB-426, (testimonials, complaints, alternative job growth suggestions), North Hearing Room, 2nd Floor, & Assembly Floor Vote AB-426 (Watch). The Peoples Tribunal will be an open Citizens Mining Hearing taking citizen petitions and testimony on AB-426 and providing legislative organizing skills, training and actions suggestions to citizens and providing an opportunity for those to speak on the Mining Bill as now proposed. If you, or an organization would like to provide support, endorse the event or testify at the peoples hearing please contact Carl at carl@wnpi.org

News was received by attorneys appealing issuance of the Part 31 groundwater discharge permit for Kennecott’s Eagle Mine project that Judge Manderfield has denied yet another appeal.

Mining expert Jack Parker, who conducted the initial review of the mine application, issued the following opinion on this decision:

 A tale of two failures.

On a TV program named “Living on Earth” host Richard Brooks was interviewing folks concerning White Pine smelter emissions.  NWF had brought suit against Copper Range.  Michigan Attorney General Frank Kelly was interviewed.   I will quote directly from the transcript, which is available from Google under “Michigan Smelters”.  (Google’s first response showed a lot of people in a small creek after dark wielding large dipnets.  So we tried again.)

BROOKS: “Copper Range’s intransigence was nothing new.  Internal state documents show the company was aware of its emission violations as early as 1975.  Other memos say Copper Range used political pressure to avoid testing and compliance with environmental laws throughout the 80’s.  The NWF suit forced the State of Michigan’s hand.  To remain a part of the negotiations, Michigan AG Frank Kelly intervened in the case.  He admits the state had been slow to respond.”  (My italics – 15 years!)

KELLY:  “There was pressure for me not to enter the case, because they felt that it might have an adverse impact on the economy if I were to come in and insist on full application of environmental laws, that the Copper Range company might make a decision to move – something they hinted at earlier in the litigation, when it was first started by the environmental groups.” Continue reading →

stacks of industry, a photo by andy z on Flickr.

Kennecott Copper, Salt Lake City

Dr. Brian Moench, from Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment says Utah Department of Air Quality data shows Kennecott, Rio Tinto is responsible for 30-percent of dangerous particulate air pollution in the Salt Lake Valley.

For abc news coverage, please click here:  http://www.abc4.com/content/news/slc/story/Utah-environmental-advocacy-groups-sue-Kennecott/6PeTR4Vf9k-LIYTxywKoHA.cspx

To read the story from the December 19  Salt Lake Tribune, please click here: http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/53145614-78/kennecott-utah-pollution-clean.html.csp

Press release: MARQUETTE, MICH. (December 12, 2011)– A coalition of groups is appealing a court decision that has allowed a dangerous mine to proceed in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula—despite the threat the mine poses to water quality, the Great Lakes and one of the region’s last spawning grounds for the coaster brook trout.

The Huron Mountain Club, Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, National Wildlife Federation and Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve filed the motion with the Michigan Court of Appeals over the weekend. The groups are opposing the mine on the grounds that it poses unacceptable risks to water and air quality—and that it could collapse, endangering workers and the river it is underneath.

“This mine is the first to be permitted under Michigan’s new mining law, and we must ensure that the law’s protections of human health and the environment are honored and applied,” said Michelle Halley, attorney for the National Wildlife Federation. “So far, they have not been and that is why we are seeking leave to appeal. Many more mines are in the queue and this is a precedent-setting case.” Continue reading →

Thursday’s bill would ease the way for Gogebic Taconite to open a huge strip-mining operation in Wisconsin’s Penokee Hills, the headwaters for the immense Bad River watershed.

The watershed contains spawning grounds for fish, provides habitat for birds and other wildlife, and is a popular destination for tourists, hunters and anglers.  It is also a  source of drinking water for the region.

High levels of unemployment in northwestern Wisconsin have created a climate of desperation, making the area particularly vulnerable to exploitation and a disregard for environmental protections.

Provisions in the recently introduced bill would limit the time for review of a mining application to one year, eliminate contested case hearings on DNR permitting decisions, and prohibit legal challenges except in cases where a party could claim direct injury. Continue reading →

In a two-part series, commentator Taras Berezowsky discusses the prospects for new mining projects in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, and what it might mean in terms of jobs and trade-offs.

…the mix of a bad state economy, the eagerness to restart it, and weakened mining oversight — to say nothing of proximity to the world’s largest collection of fresh surface water, the Great Lakes — may be a bad combination, especially for what seems a marginal amount of production.

To read the articles, please click here:  http://agmetalminer.com/2011/12/01/rio-tinto-others-striking-gold-copper-and-nickel-in-michigans-upper-peninsula-part-one/