2011 0122 Lawsuit Filed Flambeau
Category Archives: Wisconsin
WI: Mining Project Execs Gave Governor-elect Walker $10,000
Wisconsin Democracy Campaign
Mining industry, law firm contributed nearly $40,000 in two months
http://www.wisdc.org/pr121510.php
Madison – Republican Governor-elect Scott Walker accepted $10,000 in campaign contributions from a mining company owner and one of his executives around the time the company reportedly contacted Walker about developing an open-pit iron ore mine, a Wisconsin Democracy Campaign review found.
In addition, mine developer Christopher Cline of Beckley, West Virginia, several executives with his out-of-state mining companies, a law firm he does business with and owners of the northern Wisconsin land where the mine may be located contributed $29,750 to Democratic State Senator Jeff Plale, Republican Representative Mark Honadel, both of South Milwaukee, and Republican legislative candidate Shirl LaBarre of Hayward.
Author Eric Hanson to Present Slide Show, Stevens Point WI, April 21st
Author Eric Hansen will present a slide tour of the U.P.’s best hikes, waterfalls and scenic vistas in Stevens Point, Wisconsin on April 21. His theme is:
The Poetry and Practicalities of Hiking Michigan’s Upper Peninsula
Hansen, an award-winning conservation essayist, is the author of Hiking Michigan’s Upper Peninsula – A Guide to the Greatest Hiking Adventures in the U.P. Nine hundred miles of memorable hiking research went into that project.
Also a well-known advocate for U.P. conservation causes, Hansen’s presentations feature an update on current U.P. conservation themes, including the metallic sulfide mining controversy.
See the URL below for his Stevens Point appearance, part of the monthly program of the Aldo Leopold Audubon Society. The program will be at the Lincoln Center, 1519 Water St., Stevens Point at 7pm.
Flambeau Mine Causing Illegal Water Pollution
Conservationists announce intent to file lawsuit over water pollution from Flambeau Mine
Earlier this week, a Wisconsin conservation group and two individuals formally notified the Flambeau Mining Company (FMC) and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) that they intend to file a lawsuit over water pollution caused by the partially reclaimed Flambeau Mine, near Ladysmith, Wisconsin, unless the pollution and related issues are fully addressed within 30 days by FMC and the DNR.
The formal notification letter was sent to FMC and the DNR by Attorney Glenn M. Stoddard of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, on behalf of the Wisconsin Resources Protection Council (WRPC), Al Gedicks and Laura Furtman.
According to Stoddard: “The notice letter and potential lawsuit is based on the monitoring data that has been collected by FMC and provided to the DNR and WRPC. The data shows that runoff from the Flambeau Mine is in violation of applicable surface water quality standards and is illegally polluting a nearby stream and the Flambeau River. The data also shows that groundwater at the mine site is polluted and, at a minimum, requires expanded monitoring. However, the DNR has failed to properly regulate FMC and has, instead, allowed the company to violate the law and portray the Flambeau Mine as an environmental success story when it is not.”
Flambeau Debate: No Response from Jon Cherry
An August 16, 2008 letter to the editor, in Marquette’s daily newspaper, proposed a debate between Jon Cherry (Eagle Project Manager) and Laura Furtman (co-author, along with Roscoe Churchill, of the Buzzards Have Landed! The Real Story of the Flambeau Mine). In an August letter to the editor, Laura Furtman responded to the proposal request, challenging Mr. Cherry to an open debate regarding Kennecott’s mining activities at its Flambeau Mine in Ladysmith, Wisconsin. The Flambeau Mine was an open-pit copper mine that consisted of a copper sulfide ore body within 140 feet of the Flambeau River. The facility operated from 1993 and closed early in 1997.
Kennecott Eagle Minerals continues to claim that their Flambeau Mine was an environmentally successful sulfide mine. According to Kennecott’s website “. . . the Flambeau Mine remained in compliance with state permit standards for the 15 years that have included operations and the ten years since the mine’s closure – no permit violations ever occurred.”
Author Eric Hansen to give Presentation on Sulfide Mining in Wisconsin
Stand By Your Land
Award-Winning Author, Noted Hiker Eric Hansen Will Present the Keynote Address for the Wisconsin Sierra Club Autumn Assembly on October 11 in Wisconsin Dells
His Theme Will Be:
Stand By Your Land:
Wisconsin and the U.P.; The Powerful Storylines of Our Iconic Landscapes and the Citizens Campaigns That Have Defended Them
Flambeau Mine Author Challenges Kennecott’s Jon Cherry to Public Debate
A recent letter to the editor in the Marquette Mining Journal from Laura Furtman (co-author of “The Buzzards Have Landed”) challenges Kennecott’s Jon Cherry to a public debate on the issue of the Flambeau mine in Wisconsin.
To the editor:
As the co-author of “The Buzzards Have Landed: The Real Story of the Flambeau Mine,” I hereby challenge Kennecott’s Jon Cherry to a public debate.
I traveled 250 miles to speak at the Protect the Earth Summit in Marquette (Aug. 2-3) because current data does not support Kennecott’s version of what’s happening at the Flambeau Mine site.
I wish Mr. Cherry had attended my workshop to educate himself about the ongoing water pollution problems at this reclaimed mine site. Instead, he continues to spew out the public relations rhetoric that prompted my visit.
Remembering Roscoe:Grandfather of WI’s Anti-mining Movement
February 9th marked the one year anniversary of the death of Roscoe Churchill, the grandfather of Wisconsin’s grassroots anti-mining movement. Folks in the UP may know Roscoe better as the author of that really big book, “The Buzzards Have Landed!”
Recently, Laura Furtman, Roscoe’s co-author of “The Buzzards Have Landed!”, sent an e-mail commemorating the death of Roscoe. This e-mail came at a time when many people in the Michigan anti-metallic sulfide mining movement recently took a hit with the DNR’s decision to approve Kennecott’s reclamation permit and landuse lease. Remember…It’s not over til its over.
All of our letters to the DNR did help make the land use lease more difficult for Kennecott. The company cannot begin mining until all contested case hearings have concluded. Also, we still have a chance to send letters to the Environmental Protection Agency to try to halt their approval of Kennecott’s Underground Injection Permit. There are a number of avenues we can still take as a community to stop this mine. Let’s put our heads together, keep fighting, and lay the Eagle Project to rest as Wisconsin did with the Crandon mine.
New Book: “The Real Story of the Flambeau mine”
The Buzzards Have Landed! tells the real story of how a British mining company muscled its way into a small rural community in northern Wisconsin to build a gold, copper and silver mine on the banks of the Flambeau River.
Stories of the grassroots resistance movement, protests, arrests, state and local governmental actions, mining company maneuvers and lawsuits abound. The book also includes numerous charts and graphs demonstrating the negligible impact of the mine on the local economy and the serious nature of ongoing pollution problems at the mine site.
Authors Roscoe Churchill and Laura Furtman combine human interest with hard facts to create a story certain to be of interest to environmentalists, Native American communities, sociologists, lawmakers, environmental attorneys, economists, educators, historians … and anyone who enjoys reading a colorful story!
Learn More about the book or find out how to order a copy.
Eric Hansen Writes A Wonderful Op-Ed from WI
Eric Hansen, an award-winning outdoors-writer, has written a beautiful op-ed in The Capital Times, based in Madison, WI. Save The Wild UP would like to thank Eric for his positive contributions to this issue and the effort he puts into helping Michigan folks and organizatuions network with our Wisconsin neighbors. It really helps to have support from those who have dealt with similar situations and in the case of Crandon…those who have triumphed!