January 11, 2012
Dear WRPC Member,
Despite efforts to discourage people from northern Wisconsin from attending a public hearing on the Iron Mining bill (AB 426) by holding the hearing in Milwaukee, many northern residents got in their cars or caught a bus at 5am to make the long trip to testify at the hearing. Opponents of this wholesale gutting of Wisconsin’s mining regulatory framework outnumbered supporters 2 to 1!
The Wisconsin Resources Protection Council (WRPC) is asking you to voice your support for a proposal by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to list an unnamed stream at the Flambeau Mine site (known as “Stream C”) as “impaired” due to copper and zinc toxicity.
For Immediate Release, January 18, 2011
| Contacts: | Jamie Saul, (608) 628-2420 Laura Gauger, (218) 724-3004 Al Gedicks, Wisconsin Resources Protection Council, (608) 784-4399 Marc Fink, Center for Biological Diversity, (218) 525-3884 |
Lawsuit Filed to Stop Release of Toxic Metals at Wisconsin’s Flambeau Mine
MADISON, Wis.— The Wisconsin Resources Protection Council, the Center for Biological Diversity and Laura Gauger filed a Clean Water Act citizen suit today against Flambeau Mining Company over its partially reclaimed Flambeau Mine near Ladysmith, Wis. According to the suit, the mining company is violating federal law by discharging pollutants, including potentially toxic metals like copper, iron and zinc, into the Flambeau River and a tributary known as “Stream C” that flows across the company’s property.
1. Wisconsin Public Radio, December 28, 2010
More metallic mines are being proposed for the Far North, even as questions linger about a now-closed mine just outside of Ladysmith. For our News From 72 series, Chuck Quirmbach went to Rusk County, to dig into one more controversy about the Flambeau Mine.
Listen to the segment in RealPlayer (4 min, 3 sec)
or click below to listen to an mp3 file
Wisconsin Public Radio, The costs and benefits of mining debated in Rusk County, December 28, 2010
December 10, 2010
Dear WRPC Member,
In June 2009 WRPC notified Kennecott and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) of its intent to sue over water pollution caused by the Flambeau Mine, near Ladysmith, Wisconsin, unless the pollution and related issues were fully addressed (see www.wrpc.net for full details and news coverage). One of WRPC’s gravest concerns is that the industry’s false claim of environmental success at the Flambeau Mine site is sending the wrong message to citizens and Tribes throughout the Great Lakes Region who are faced with new mining proposals (see Coleman and Chiriboga’s overview enclosed). Indeed, the Flambeau mine has become a fraudulent “calling card” for the mining industry.
Proposed Lynne mining sparks new debate over ongoing issue
Deborah Bedolla, The Lakeland Times
September 14, 2010
It has been more than a year since Tamerlane Ventures, a publicly-traded international mining firm, first expressed interest in exploring a sulfide ore deposit near the town of Lynne.
The Oneida County Mining Oversight Committee has since been considering opening a public bid for leasing mineral rights to allow exploratory studies. The committee’s consideration has been, in the words of chairman Dave Hintz, “slow and deliberate” in the face of the myriad technical, economic and environmental issues the proposal raises.
A well-attended July 24 information session in Lynne brought some of those issues before the public, but it was only the beginning of a process that is likely to become contentious quickly.
“It’s going to be extremely controversial and it’s going to be extremely long term. It’s not going to happen quickly, if at all,” Dan Kuzlik, the UW-Extension professor who facilitated the information session and is serving as liaison for the committee, said.
Hintz underscored the long-term nature of the conversation at a committee meeting last week: “Mining is not going to happen in Oneida County for some time. We’re in the early stages of this process.”
