Wisconsin Resources Protection Council

April 8, 2016

Dear WRPC Member,

I just got off the phone with Joe Maki, head of the mining division of Michigan’s Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ). I asked him how many public comments his office received on Aquila’s Back 40 mine permit application. He said he didn’t know. His office logged the comments on a database but there was no tally. I said if the comments were on a database, it should be easy enough to come up with a total number. “No.” He said if I wanted to submit a Freedom of Information Act request, I could pay for copies of the documents and do my own tally. 

January 14, 2016

Dear WRPC Member,

In case you missed the big news over the holidays, Aquila Resources is once again seeking permits from Michigan’s Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) for its Back Forty open pit metallic sulfide mine next to the Menominee River. The project had been suspended in July 2012 when Hudbay Minerals of Canada (51% owner of the Back Forty project) pulled out of the partnership with Aquila (49% owner of the project).

December 16, 201

Dear WRPC Member,

The final environmental impact statement (FEIS) for PolyMet’s proposed copper-nickel sulfide mine in northeastern Minnesota was released on November 6. The FEIS can be found at the Minnesota DNR site: http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/input/environmentalreview/polymet/feis-toc.html The 30 day public review period for the 3,500 page document was originally set for December 14. No public meetings have been scheduled during the comment period. Due to public pressure, the comment period has been extended by seven days, ending on December 21, 2015 at 4:30 pm CST.

September 11, 2015

Dear WRPC Member,

WRPC’s fundraiser was a partial success. Thanks to many generous contributors, we raised $16,000 toward our $20,000 debt from our Clean Water Act lawsuit against Rio Tinto. We still owe $4000 so if you missed our summer fundraiser, your contribution, in whatever amount, can still make a difference.

June 11, 2015

Dear WRPC Member,

First, I want to thank you for your past support of the Wisconsin Resources Protection Council’s work to ensure that mining operations do not result in unacceptable damage to our state’s environment and economy.

As you may know, something happened last year that could put a chilling effect on the ability of citizens to stand up for their water.

The Wisconsin Resources Protection Council was a plaintiff in a Clean Water Act lawsuit against Rio Tinto, one of the largest multinational mining corporations in the world.

March 11, 2015

Dear WRPC Member,

Gogebic Taconite’s (GTac’s) proposed mountaintop removal iron mine in the Penokee Hills is dead. On February 28, GTac president Bill Williams announced it was closing its office in Hurley because the project was not feasible, citing the extensive wetlands at the mine site and the uncertainty about whether the mine would be permitted.

November 19, 2014

Dear WRPC Member,

The New York Times editorial (08/31/2014) said it all: “How to Buy a Mine in Wisconsin.”  The editorial referred to the passage of the controversial iron mining bill (ACT  1) and Gogebic Taconite’s (GTac) secret $700,000 contribution to the Wisconsin Club for Growth, an organization directed by the governor’s campaign adviser. “The mine legislation was bad enough from an environmental point of view,” noted the NYT. “It allows the operator to fill streams with mine waste, eliminates public hearings and reduces the taxes the operator would have to pay.” With the recent disclosure of GTac’s secret donation, says the NYT “It turns out to be even more shocking from an ethical viewpoint.”

August 13, 2014

Dear WRPC Member,

Six Ojibwe Indian bands, led by Bad River, have asked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to evaluate the environmental effects of Gogebic Taconite’s proposed iron ore mine in northern Wisconsin before the plan is reviewed by state regulators and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Under Section 404 (c) of the Clean Water Act the EPA can initiate a public process to protect treaty rights, aquatic resources, fisheries, wildlife, subsistence and public uses in the Bad River Watershed and western Lake Superior from metallic mining.

June 4, 2014

Dear WRPC Member,

Ever since the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7^th Circuit in Chicago found a creative way to let Flambeau Mining Company (FMC) “off the hook” for violations of the Clean Water Act that had been assessed against the company by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin (for ongoing pollution of public waters at the Flambeau Mine site near Ladysmith, Wisconsin), FMC attorneys have been coming after the three plaintiffs in the case, including WRPC, the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) and Laura Gauger.

December 12, 2013

Dear WRPC Member,

Kennecott/Rio Tinto’s Flambeau Mining Company (FMC) appealed its conviction for violating the Clean Water Act at its partially reclaimed Flambeau mine to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7^th Circuit in Chicago.

Flambeau Mining is let off the hook for pollution

In October 2013 the Appeals Court let FMC off the hook by ruling that the mining permit issued to FMC by the State of Wisconsin “shielded” the company from prosecution