And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: From: "ROBERT L MUNSON" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Ishgooda" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Fw: Action alert on mining moratorium ----- Original Message ----- From: Zoltan Grossman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: wisc-eco <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Friday, March 26, 1999 8:54 AM Subject: Action alert on mining moratorium > ACTION ALERT! > Take Back the Mining Moratorium Law ! > > For background, see: > Example mines submitted under Moratorium law, Jan. 1999 > http://www.alphacdc.com/treaty/crn-mora.html > Mining Moratorium Updates, April 1998 > http://www.alphacdc.com/treaty/minebill.html > Mining Moratorium Background, Nov. 1997 > http://www.alphacdc.com/treaty/moratorm.html > > From: Dave Blouin, Mining Impact Coalition > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > March 25, 1999 > > Dear Wisconsin Environmental and Conservation Colleagues, > > Here is what you can do to help take back the Mining Moratorium > Law. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has refused > to promulgate rules for the Mining Moratorium Law after first > promising to do so. The DNR is also misinterpreting the Mining > Moratorium Law in a manner entirely favorable to the mining industry. > The Natural Resources Board may take up the petition for rulemaking > for the Moratorium Law by the May Board meeting on May 26, 1999, so > it is important to act soon. > > Background: > On March 18, two legislative co-authors, two tribal chairman and five > citizens announced they were jointly submitting a legal petition to > the DNR for promulgation of rules implementing the Moratorium Law. > The petition is in response to the DNR9s reversal of the decision to > implement rules made shortly after the law was passed in April 1998. > DNR turned down requests made in September and October 1998 by > forty-two environmental and conservation groups and thirty-two state > legislators to promulgate rules. It is literally unheard of for the DNR to > refuse to write administrative rules to implement new laws-every substantive > mining law has rules-and this refusal also allows the DNR to interpret > the law behind closed doors and outside of public scrutiny and debate. > > The Moratorium Law requires mining companies that want to open > mines in Wisconsin to prove a similar mine has operated in North > America for at least 10 years without polluting rivers, lakes, streams > or groundwater and has been closed for 10 years without signs of > pollution. But the DNR is currently interpreting the law to allow two > mines to meet this test. This creative interpretation not only serves > the mining industry well, but is a complete reversal of the DNR9s > former interpretation of the law. > > At a February 1997 hearing on then Senate Bill 3, DNR official > Stan Druckenmiller opposed SB 3 in part because it would require > a mining company to produce an example mine that was at least 20 > years old. DNR Secretary Meyer restated the same interpretation > in an October 1997 letter to then Assembly Environment committee > chair, Rep. Marc Duff. Even Wisconsin Manufacturers and > Commerce, which together with Rio Algom9s Nicolet Minerals spent > more than $1.5 million fighting the law, used similar arguments against > the law. Secretary Meyer acknowledged in January this year > that the DNR did in fact change its interpretation of the law after it had > passed. > > The current interpretation by the DNR--two mines equal a single > example mine--was made behind closed doors without any public > input and occurred after the Law was passed overwhelmingly by > both the state Senate and Assembly. Yet, the prior intent of the > law was clear to all parties; the public, the DNR, and the mining > industry and its paid lobbyists all understood that the Law was meant > to require a single mine to meet both ten-year tests. By misinter- > preting it in this fashion, the DNR is in effect already making rules that > implement the Law. > > The petition specifically asks the DNR to promulgate rules defining > certain phrases or words used in the Mining Moratorium Law. These > include: 3significant environmental pollution,2 3verified by the > department,2 3net acid generating potential,2 3relevant data,2 > 3tailings,2 and 3tailings site.2 Rules must be promulgated that > define each of the words or phrases to avoid ambiguity. > > The petition also points out that the DNR is required to adopt rules > for Wisconsin Statutes Chapter 293, which governs metallic mining. > Since the Mining Moratorium Law, Wisconsin Statue 293.50 is > part of ch. 293, rules are required to be adopted for it. Should the > petition be granted by the DNR, the agency will be required to > hold a public comment period during which residents can voice their > concerns about how the law should be interpreted. > > Your help is needed now: > Write or call DNR Secretary George Meyer. Ask that rules be > immediately promulgated for the Mining Moratorium Law and that > public hearings be held. The Natural Resource Board may decide > whether to promulgate rules as soon as the May 25-26, 1999 > Board meeting in Stevens Point. > > Contact: > Sec. George Meyer, PO Box 7921, Madison, WI 53707, > or: (608) 266-2121. > > Please consider sending copies of your letter or postcard to each > member of the Natural Resources Board as they will make the > decision based on what Sec. Meyer and his staff recommend. > > The Natural Resources Board members are: > Trygve A. Solberg, Chair, Box 50, Minocqua, WI 54548. > Neal W Schneider, Vice Chair, Box 71, Janesville, WI 53547-0071. > James E. Tiefenthaler, Jr., Secretary, W228 N683 Westmound Dr., > Waukesha, WI 53186. > Herbert F. Behnke, N5960 Wolf River Road, Shawano, WI 54166. > Betty Jo Nelsen, 4033 Petit Road, Oconomowoc, WI 53066. > Howard D. Poulson, PO Box 5550, Madison WI 53705. > Stephen D. Willet, Box 89, Phillips WI 54555. > > The rules petitioners are: Senator Kevin Shibilski; > Assembly Representative Spencer Black; Roger McGeshick, Chairman of > the Mole Lake Tribe; Apesanahkwat, Chairman of the Menominee Indian > Tribe; Herb Buettner, owner of the Wild Wolf Inn and Herb9s Raft Rental > on the Wolf River; Chuck Sleeter, Town of Nashville Board Chairman; > Kira Henschel, co-chair of the Mining Impact Coalition; John Berge, > Racine, chair of the John Muir Chapter of the Sierra Club and Wolf River > canoeist; Keith Reopelle, Oregon, Program Director of Wisconsin9s > Environmental Decade and fisherman on the Wolf River. > > > Please feel free to cross post this alert and use it for newsletters. > For more information or photocopies of the petition (the petition will > be available soon on the Wisconsin Stewardship Network website, > http://www.wsn.org), please contact: > Dave Blouin, coordinator > Mining Impact Coalition of Wisconsin > PO Box 55372, Madison, WI 53705-9172 > 608-233-8455, or by email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
