Senate Push Shows Lack Of Preparation

Friday’s Joint Finance Committee hearing on mining in the Penokee Hills revealed a stunning lack of diligence by both the Wisconsin Assembly and Senate. In this hearing, called with only 36 hours notice, and held 300 miles from the proposed mine site, three people, each given two minutes to testify, exposed the lack of preparation associated with this mining bill.

Two scientists, one a geologist and the other a geochemist, described their personal investigation of the type of rock in the formation being proposed for excavation. Their own studies reveal that this iron formation contains high amounts of pyrite, a mineral that, when exposed to the atmosphere in high quantities, “has the potential of generating more sulfuric acid than is in all the car batteries in the world. Release of this acid into the Bad River watershed could cause catastrophic environmental damage”. This information comes not from the Assembly or Senate records in preparing this bill, but from two experts who used their own resources and were each given two minutes to testify about a bill that has profound consequences.

Another two minutes was given to a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers official who came to Madison at her own expense to describe the activities of the Corps in preparing an environmental impact statement for this mining project. The committee’s questions and her testimony showed the lack of preparation and committee knowledge of the Corps’ role in this mining proposal. She also stated that the Minnesota DNR and U.S. Corp of Engineers almost always work together on environmental impact statements, something that would be unlikely with this bill.

As Governor Walker and the Fitzgerald brothers push harder on the passage of this mining bill, their lack of knowledge, preparation and concern for the citizens directly affected become more and more troubling.

Signed,
Mike Bunch
Washburn