Bill to soften sulfide-mining regulations moves forward - Wisconsin Gazette

Wisconsin Republicans are pushing a bill to ease the regulation of acid-generating sulfide ore mines.

Thirteen Republicans sponsored S.B. 395, which was introduced in August, and the Committee on Sporting Heritage, Mining and Forestry recently approved it on a 3-2 party-line vote, clearing it for a full Senate vote.

The Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters says the bill would replace the bipartisan-approved “Prove It First” law, passed 20 years ago. They say it would be a “disaster.”

Under the current law, a company looking to mine sulfide ores to extract copper, gold or zinc must prove to the state Department of Natural Resources that a similar sulfide ore mine has operated in the United States or Canada for a decade without causing pollution. The applicant also must prove a similar mine has been closed in the United States or Canada for at least 10 years without causing pollution.

According to the WLCV, acid-generating sulfide ore mines invariably pollute nearby water resources, causing poisoned rivers, ecological dead zones, and toxic drinking water.

Because the DNR has never found an applicant that satisfied current requirements, the law has acted essentially as a moratorium on such mining.

But state Sen. Tom Tiffany, R-Hazelhurst, insists that a Flambeau Mining Company operation near Ladysmith that closed in 1997 after four years of operation proves mining can be done safely. Environmentalists, though, contend that mine is still polluting state waters.

‘Toxic Tom’

By repealing and amending “Prove It First,” the bill would exempt large-scale sampling operations from filing environmental impact statements and prohibit administrative law judges from blocking any DNR mining application decision, forcing challengers into trial court. It also would do away with requirements that mining applicants establish a trust fund to cover environmental damages forever.

Tiffany, whose nickname among environmentalists is “Toxic Tom,” said the bill is about providing minerals for the military and manufacturers, as well as creating jobs in northern Wisconsin.

‘Token amendments’

Opposition to the bill — which has an Assembly counterpart (A.B. 499) — is strong and intensifying daily, according to WLCV. In a press statement, the organization said the public has generated more than 6,600 emails, letters and phone calls to legislators in opposition to the bill, including more than 200 local elected officials who signed a letter opposing the bill.

Responding to the opposition, committee Republicans walked back their original bill a bit, amending it to require the DNR to determine whether a mining applicant’s equipment would be capable of complying with air, water and waste standards as a condition of approval. An amendment also would require applicants to maintain financial responsibility for any environmental damage that occurs within 40 years of closure and guarantee they’ll cover repairs and upkeep for their mines’ water management systems for between 40 and 250 years.

Tiffany said the financial liability provisions take the place of the trust language. But Sen. John Erpenbach, D-Madison, complained that those provisions are weaker than requiring financial responsibility in perpetuity and could leave future taxpayers at risk for environmental cleanup.

WLCV executive director Kerry Schumann warned legislators and the public not to be hoodwinked by such “token amendments.”

“The Prove It First mining law works, period,” she said.

Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, and Gov. Scott Walker voted for “Prove It First” when the Legislature passed it in 1998. Fitzgerald was in the Senate and Walker in the Assembly at the time.

But Fitzgerald has signed on as a co-sponsor on the new bill; his now-former spokeswoman, Myranda Tanck, said last month that the moratorium isn’t needed any longer because mining technology has improved.

Walker’s office hasn’t said whether he supports it.