By SWUP Board Member Steve Garske
In their zeal to facilitate a massive open-pit mine in the Penokee Range of northern Wisconsin, the Wisconsin legislature has introduced mining bills in the state assembly (AB1) and senate (SB1). Newly-elected state senator Tom Tiffany (R-Hazelhurst) claims to have written “the bill”. The bill is nearly identical to AB426, which (despite denials by Republicans) was clearly written in large part by Gogebic Taconite (GTac). GTac is a wholly-owned subsidiary Cline Mining Corporation, which is controlled by billionaire Chris Cline of Florida. Last year the senate version of AB426 was defeated 17-16, when Senator Dale Schultz (R-Richland Center) joined all 16 Democrats in voting against it. Despite a majority of the state’s voters going Democratic last November, strategic redistricting by Republicans allowed them to retain control of the assemble and the senate, the latter by a margin of 18-15. The mining bill will be voted on in both the assembly and senate committees on Wednesday, February 6. From there it will go to the full legislature.
GTac has proposed mountaintop removal mining of a 4.5-mile long and up to 1 mile wide and 1000-foot deep swath of the Penokees, extending eastward from the Ashland-Iron County border. This would be “Phase 1” of a projected 22.5-mile long open pit mine stretching from about 8 miles west-southwest of Mellen, east-northeast to Upson. Phase 1 alone would result in an open-pit iron mine rivaling the Hull-Rust-Mahoning taconite mine near Hibbing, Minnesota in size. That mine is considered to be one of the largest open-pit iron mines in the world.
Proponents claim that AB1 and SB1 will not change any of the state’s environmental laws. What they don’t mention is that while these bills don’t repeal the state’s surviving environmental laws directly, they basically exempt GTac and other mining companies from following them. The same proponents have repeatedly claimed that GTac can mine “sustainably,” “without hurting the environment.” (At the initial January 2011 informational meeting held at Northland College in Ashland, GTac representative Matt Fifield actually said that they would put the land “back the way it was”!) How the company can dig a miles-long trench through one of the most scenic and pristine areas of the state, pile the overburden on up to 5 square miles of county forest land to the immediate south, obliterate miles of headwater streams, rivers, and wetlands, and send acid mine drainage downstream into Lake Superior, all without “hurting the environment,” though, is an open question.
Open Letter to Wisconsin Legislators by SWUP Board Member Steve Garske:
As a resident of Marenisco, Michigan and the Lake Superior watershed, I hereby register my opposition to AB1/SB1. Please make my position as part of the record for the public hearing. I also request confirmation that my registration of opposition has been received.
I was born and raised in Wisconsin, and now live in western Upper Michigan, about 50 miles east of the proposed GTac mine site. Unlike the legislators who will be deciding the fate of AB1 and SB1, I along with my friends and neighbors will be directly and adversely affected by passage of these bills.
Many from northern Wisconsin have pointed out the fact that like their predecessor (AB 426), AB1 and SB1 will allow virtually unrestricted mountaintop removal of the Penokee Range. They’ve pointed out that a 4.5 mile long, 1 mile wide trench would be dug through the hills, streams and wetlands that form the headwaters of several rivers including the Bad River (and that would only be “Phase 1” of a 22.5-mile long project). They’ve pointed out that despite claims by GTac officials (who to this day refuse release the drill cores in their possession for inspection), the existing geological evidence indicates that the overlying Tyler Formation is full of pyrite and other sulfide-bearing minerals, which will send acid mine drainage down what’s left of the Bad River, the Tyler Forks River, and other rivers flowing to Lake Superior. They’ve pointed out that acid mine drainage will contaminate the Bad River, in all likelihood destroying the wild rice beds of the Kakagon Sloughs. They’ve pointed out that the land and water the Bad River Tribe of Ojibwe and other local residents depend on for their health and livelihood will be degraded and destroyed. They’ve pointed out that mining economies are boom-and-bust, and always end in a bust. But there’s one bit of information you may not be aware of.
In December 2012 a fellow from West Virginia named Bob Kincaid came to Ashland County to give a presentation on the effects of mountaintop removal mining on West Virginia communities. He was a well-spoken, friendly, 60-ish gentleman, and he had a lot to say. He began by pointing out that he was a 8th or 9th generation (depending on which side of the family he traced) West Virginian, and that his father and grandfather were both underground coal miners. He said that about 4000 people now die every year in WV coal country from the effects of mountaintop removal coal mining. Most of these casualties are not coal miners, but local residents trying to survive amid the devastation around them. Most die from lung silicosis or various types of cancer. He said what’s being mined (coal vs iron in this case) makes little difference. The silicosis is caused by rock dust from blowing up the mountaintops with explosives, and the cancer is caused mostly from toxins from the tons of explosives detonated every year. He went on to say that (coincidentally), roughly 4000 people are employed in the industry in WV. So for every mountaintop coal mining job, one person dies per year as a direct result of mountaintop removal mining. If a miner is employed for 20 years, an average of 20 people will have died so they could have that job. He said these numbers are now backed up by peer-reviewed scientific studies. He said when he heard about the GTac proposal and the fact that Cline Group (a major player in the West Virginia coal fields) was behind it, he had to come to Wisconsin and warn us.
If you pass AB1/SB1 and GTac is allowed to mine, people in northern Wisconsin will die. It may not happen right away. But 10 years or 20 years down the road and beyond, residents of northern Wisconsin (and western Upper Michigan) will die as a direct result of the mountaintop removal mining that AB1 and SB1 will allow.
Please consider carefully before making a decision. I ask that you act in the best long-term interest of the people of northern Wisconsin and the western UP, and vote AGAINST AB1 and SB1.
Steven C. Garske
Board Member
Save the Wild UP