Contact: Dave Blouin burroak15@gmail.com; (608) 233-8455
Sierra Club Statement on Signing of Mining Give-Away Bill
RHINELANDER- Governor Walker today signed Senator Tiffany’s controversial Mining Giveaway bill that repeals Wisconsin’s landmark Prove It First law for mining and further guts protections to benefit a single foreign mining company - Aquila Resources - while endangering the resources that northern Wisconsin’s tourism and agriculture depends on. The Governor’s action today defies the strong statewide public support for keeping the Prove It First law in place.
The Sierra Club was one of more than 50 statewide and regional environmental and conservation organizations that supported preservation of Wisconsin’s landmark Prove It First law, including Trout Unlimited, River Alliance of Wisconsin, the Nature Conservancy, Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters, Clean Wisconsin, Wisconsin Association of Lakes, Midwest Environmental Advocates, Alliance for the Great Lakes, Natural Resources Defense Council, and many more.
Aquila Resources and another foreign mining company, Keweenaw Copper, have acknowledged each helped draft the bill. Aquila Resources has conducted recent advanced exploration in Wisconsin at two identified deposits (“Reef” in Marathon County and “Bend” in Taylor County). The company has stated that gold ore mined at the Reef deposit could be shipped to and processed using cyanide at its proposed Back Forty mine processing plant in Michigan along the Menominee River.
In response, Dave Blouin, Sierra Club-John Muir Chapter Mining Chair released the following statement:
"Governor Walker’s approval of this bill proves he is in the pocket of foreign mining companies’ interests over those of state residents and taxpayers. Repealing the Prove It First law does nothing to change the fact that metallic sulfide mining is an unsafe and unproven industry that can’t back up its claims. The Governor joins fellow GOP legislators who embrace highly polluting and damaging mining over long-term sustainable development for central and northern Wisconsin. This law will not result in prosperity for northern Wisconsin and threatens the natural resources that are the foundation of sustainable jobs from tourism, agriculture and our outdoor heritage.”
Founded in 1892 by John Muir, the Sierra Club is America’s oldest, largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization. The Sierra Club’s mission is to explore, enjoy, and protect the wild places of the earth; to practice and promote the responsible use of the earth's ecosystems and resources; to educate and enlist humanity to protect and restore the quality of the natural and human environment; and to use all lawful means to carry out those objectives. The Sierra Club – John Muir Chapter is made up of 15,000 members and supporters working to promote clean energy and protect water resources in Wisconsin. The Four Lakes Group is made up of members and supporters in Columbia, Dane, Dodge, Green, Iowa, Jefferson, Lafayette, Rock and Sauk Counties.