Bill to end sulfide-mining moratorium moves forward

Wisconsin Republicans took their first votes last week on a bill (SB 395) that would lift the state’s nearly 20-year moratorium on sulfide mining, pushing the measure through committee and clearing the way for a full Senate vote.

The Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters says the bill, known popularly as the Prove It First law, is a gold standard, bipartisan law enacted 20 years ago that has protected the state from the effects of sulfide mining, which include poisoned rivers, ecological dead zones, and toxic drinking water, for a generation.

Under the moratorium, anyone looking to mine sulfide ores such as copper, gold or zinc must prove to the state Department of Natural Resources that a similar mine has operated in the U.S. or Canada for a decade without causing pollution. The applicant also must prove a similar mine has been closed in the U.S. or Canada for at least 10 years without causing pollution.

The DNR has never issued a final decision that any applicant has satisfied those standards. Tiffany 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 eliminating the moratorium, the bill would exempt large-scale sampling operations from going through the environmental impact statement process 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 that exists forever to cover any environmental damage.

The Wisconsin Senate Committee on Sporting Heritage, Mining and Forestry approved the bill on a 3-2 vote. All three Republicans on the panel, including bill author Tom Tiffany, voted for the proposal. The two Democrats on the committee, Jon Erpenbach and Bob Wirch, voted against it, warning that the bill would open the door to pollution.

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 economically-depressed northern Wisconsin.

Committee approval makes the bill available for Senate leaders to schedule a full floor vote. Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald’s spokesman Dan Romportl said Senate Republicans will probably discuss Tiffany’s bill when they meet this week to talk about their October–November floor agenda.

‘Token amendments’

Opposition to the bill, which now has an Assembly counterpart — AB 499 —is strong and intensifying daily, according to the Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters. In a press statement, WLCV 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.

“The Prove It First mining law works, period,” said WLCV executive director Kerry Schumann. “Senate Bill 395 cannot be fixed with amendments. No one is foolish enough to believe this bill can be made better while still repealing Prove It First, but Sen. Tiffany obviously thinks so.”

Responding to the opposition, committee Republicans walked their original bill back a bit, amending it to require the DNR determine whether a mining applicant’s equipment would be capable of complying with air, water and waste standards as a condition of approval. It 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. Erpenbach complained that those provisions are weaker than requiring financial responsibility in perpetuity and could leave future taxpayers at risk for environmental cleanup.

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

Both Fitzgerald and Gov. Scott Walker voted for the moratorium 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.

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