Posted by [EMAIL PROTECTED] : From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Fri, 10 Dec 1999 01:19:27 EST [excerpts follow] Minnesota Star-Tribune http://www.startribune.com/stOnLine/cgi-bin/article?thisSlug=1209PM-WI--MININGMOR&date=09-Dec-1999&word=tribe&word=tribal Published Thursday, December 9, 1999 DNR board declines to create rules for mining moratorium law By JENNY PRICE / Associated Press Writer With BC-WI--Mining Moratorium-Glance MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- The head of the state Department of Natural Resources says the state' s mining moratorium law does not require new administrative rules to clarify how the law should be carried out. At the department' s recommendation, the Natural Resources Board on Wednesday voted against adopting rules requested by officials and environmental groups who say they would clarify the moratorium law. Two state lawmakers, two tribal chairmen and five citizens petitioned the state Natural Resources Board to adopt rules for implementing the 1998 law, a process regularly used by bureaucracies to execute the laws. The moratorium law, which has already taken effect, was designed to add new protections for the environment in state mining regulations. The law also creates another requirement for Nicolet Minerals Co. to meet before opening a proposed zinc and copper mine near Crandon. The rules would have included definitions of phrases such as " significant environmental pollution" and clarify whether one or two mines could be used to meet requirements of the law, the petitioners said. The board voted 6-0 against adopting the rules, because the state Department of Natural Resources said the law already contained directions as to how it should be carried out. Prior to the law' s passage in February 1998, DNR Secretary George Meyer distributed a memorandum to DNR employees that said the department would begin drafting administrative rules if the bill became law. Since then, Meyer said he has determined the rules were not necessary. " This was a highly debated bill in the Legislature and the language was very clear and therefore (we do) not need rules to interpret what the statute meant, " Meyer said Wednesday. Nicolet Minerals, a subsidiary of Toronto-based Rio Algom Ltd., is seeking state and federal permits to remove 55 million tons of mostly zinc and copper ore from the Crandon site. Backed by environmentalists and other outdoor enthusiasts such as fishing groups, the law states that before a company can open a mine in Wisconsin, it must find a mine that has operated for 10 years and not polluted and has been closed for 10 years without contamination. Dave Blouin, state mining chair for the Sierra Club, said the administrative rules were needed to define the terms in the law to guide regulators in implementing and enforcing the law. " The DNR says its clear. We say it' s clear as mud, " Blouin said. Ken Fish, director of the Menominee tribe' s treaty rights and mining impact office, said the absence of rules opens the doors for a legal battle. " It' s going to allow a person to arbitrarily make the determination of the meaning of what ' significant' pollution is, " Fish said. Rep. Spencer Black, a Madison Democrat who brought the petition with Richland Center Democratic Sen. Kevin Shibilski, said the board' s decision against rulemaking prevents the public from being involved in implementing the law. Black also said the DNR' s decision weakens the mining moratorium law. By not adopting rules clarifying the law, the DNR " is converting the mining moratorium law into a non-moratorium law in order to pave the way for the (Crandon mine), " Black said. Critics of the project fear it will hurt the environment. Proponents say the proposed mine would not hurt the environment and would bring jobs to the region. In January, Nicolet Minerals submitted to state regulators the names of separate mines in California, Arizona and Canada that the company claimed met the requirements of the moratorium law. Bill Tans, the DNR' s mining coordinator for the Crandon proposal, said the department is reviewing Nicolet' s proposal and expects to release an environmental impact statement in August 2000. Copyright 1999 Associated Press. Reprinted under the Fair Use http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html doctrine of international copyright law. <><<<<<>>>>><><<<<> Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ <><<<<<>>>>><><<<<>
