For those who are unfamiliar, Wisconsin currently operates under a landmark piece of legislation called the mining moratorium law, or the “Prove It First” law. This law was developed in 1998 to address the problem of acid mine drainage from metallic sulfide mining across the state. Before the state can issue a permit for mining of sulfide ore bodies, the law requires prospective miners to first provide examples of metallic sulfide mines that have been safely operated and closed without polluting the environment. To this day, the mining industry has not documented a single proven example.
A few years prior to the passing of this legislation, state regulators were tasked by the Natural Resources Board to search for examples and were unable to document successful metallic sulfide operations. Wisconsin DNR staff issued a report issued in 1995 that stated: “There are no ideal metallic mineral mining sites which can be pointed to as the model approach in preventing acidic drainage industry-wide.” This conclusion by the state confirmed the industry’s failed environmental track record of mining metallic sulfide ores and informed the legislature.
The moratorium also had support from both sides of the aisle. The law passed 29-3 in the Senate and 91-6 in the Assembly, but in the current political climate, State Sen. Tom Tiffany, R-Hazelhurst, has announced his intention to repeal Wisconsin’s landmark mining moratorium law. He wants to make it easier for mining companies to operate metallic sulfide mining operations without having to first prove that sulfide mining can be done safely.
Sen. Tiffany has cited the closed Flambeau Mine near Ladysmith as a successful mine. This claim is simply false.
Flambeau Mining Company has been far from a model mine operator; it is a proven polluter that has failed multiple attempts at cleanup at the site. The failure of those cleanup attempts and the subsequent refusal by the state of Wisconsin to cite the company for violations resulted in the federal lawsuit proving that the mine continued to pollute. Flambeau Mining Company (FMC) was found guilty by U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb of eleven counts of violating the Clean Water Act in 2012 by polluting Steam C, a tributary of the Flambeau River.
Subsequently, the Wisconsin DNR completed an investigation of water quality at the Flambeau Mine site and placed Stream C on its list of impaired waters for “acute aquatic toxicity” caused by copper and zinc contamination. The US EPA concurred and listed the stream as impaired in 2014.
The company with the most to gain from repealing the mining moratorium appears to be Aquila Resources, a Canadian exploration company that owns the controversial Back Forty metallic sulfide mine proposal adjacent to the Menominee River that forms the border between Wisconsin and Michigan and flows into Green Bay. The proposed mine - while not subject to the moratorium since it’s sited in Michigan - threatens pollution of the Menominee River and the desecration of multiple burial sites and mounds within the mine site sacred to the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin. Aquila owns or has interests in two deposits in Wisconsin that would be subject to the provisions of the moratorium law.
When the moratorium was signed into law, it was strongly supported by Wisconsin residents with support from more than sixty organizations statewide along with petitions signed by more than forty thousand citizens. Let’s make sure to show the same robust support of our natural resources threatened by Sen. Tiffany’s proposal.