Wisconsin Resources Protection Council

Few and far between are the opportunities to leverage 10 minutes of our time into a major win for the common good. This is one of those crucial moments. A key public comment period on the design of Aquila Resource’s Back 40 Mine’s tailings containment dam closes on July 5.

Alert citizens are warning us that an ill-advised proposal for a massive metallic sulfide gold mine located on the banks of the Menominee River, an important tributary of Lake Michigan, would bring intolerable and long lasting risks.

December 8, 2011

Dear WRPC Member,

Supporters of Gogebic Taconite’s (GTac) open pit iron mine in the Wisconsin State Assembly are once again trying to rush through a major assault on Wisconsin’s mining regulations. Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald (R-Horicon) said that lawmakers will hold a news conference on December 8 to reveal details of the legislation. Although copies of the bill have not been available to the public or legislators who represent the proposed mining area, the bill is already scheduled for public hearings on December 15 with the stated goal of getting the bill passed by the end of the year. What’s the big rush to completely overhaul Wisconsin’s mining regulations to accommodate the wishes of one mining company that has never developed an iron ore mine?

WRPC’s Al Gedicks was on WPR’s Joy Cardin show on Thursday, October 27.  After clicking here to listen to the program, drag the bar to the 20-minute mark to begin Al’s segment.