Wisconsin Resources Protection Council

Read Al Gedicks’ Z Magazine article on resource colonialism in the Lake Superior region by clicking HERE.

Listen to Ken Rose’s in-depth interview with Al Gedicks at What Now.

Originally published by the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

by Al Gedicks

May 19, 2011

Should the state’s regulatory authority over the metallic mine permitting process be dramatically reduced to accommodate the wishes of a mining company to receive a permit in record time?  This is not a hypothetical question.

Gogebic Taconite (GTAC) has met with several legislators about its proposed open pit iron ore (taconite) mine along the border of Ashland and Iron counties to push legislation that would drastically speed up the mine permitting process.

For Immediate Release, January 18, 2011

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.

By Matt Hrodey, Milwaukee Magazine

December 16, 2010

A Milwaukee-based mining company, the Commerce Group, is suing the government of El Salvador for $100 million, arguing it unjustly revoked permits for a gold mine in the country. Some environmental activists are crying foul, saying the lawsuit, filed under the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), seeks to exploit the country, where the government has halted all gold and silver mining due to environmental concerns.

(Note:  This legal action supersedes the action initiated in June 2009)

1. Press Release - January 18, 2011 – Lawsuit Filed to Stop Release of Toxic Metals at Wisconsin’s Flambeau Mine

2. Fact Sheet – January 18, 2011 – Summary of Clean Water Act Citizen Suit Against Flambeau Mining Company (for an updated July 2011 fact sheet, please click HERE)

3. Mine Schematic

4. Background Information on Flambeau Mine

5. Official Correspondence

Complaint by WRPC, the Center for Biological Diversity, and Laura Gauger to Kennecott’s Flambeau Mining Company for violations of the Federal Clean Water Act – January 18, 2011

• Entire Document

Response to WRPC Notice Letter, issued by Kennecott’s Flambeau Mining Company – December 30, 2010

• FMC Response

Notice Letter sent by WRPC, the Center for Biological Diversity, and Laura Gauger to Kennecott’s Flambeau Mining Company – November 16, 2010

• Entire Document

6. Scientific Reports that Form the Basis of WRPC’s Complaint

• Report on Groundwater and Surface Water Contamination at the Flambeau Mine, David M Chambers, Ph.D. and Kendra Zamzow, Ph.D., Center for Science in Public Participation, June 5, 2009
  • Groundwater Summary
  • Surface Water Summary
  • Entire Document

7. Contact Information:

• Attorney James Saul
• Attorney Marc Fink
• Attorney Dan Mensher
• Dr. David Chambers
• Dr. Al Gedicks
• Laura Gauger

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.”

July 12, 2010

Dear WRPC Member,

On July 2, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency informed Kennecott that they were not required to obtain an underground injection permit for their mine’s wastewater discharge system. Kennecott had already decided that they didn’t need such a permit and asserted that they had all the permits they needed to begin mine construction of the Eagle mine. The Michigan Dept. of Natural Resources and Environment accepted Kennecott’s assertion and gave the go-ahead for bulldozing the site.

By Al Gedicks, Sociology
University of Wisconsin – La Crosse

Abstract: Multinational mining companies are finding it increasingly difficult to get approval for new mining projects in sensitive areas in most advanced capitalist nations. To overcome grassroots environmental resistance to new mining projects, multinational corporations, in cooperation with the state, have attempted a variety of strategies, including the following: (1)legislative initiatives to thwart local democratic control; (2) legal challenges to local zoning authority; (3) mass media campaigns; and (4) attacks on tribal sovereignty. The development and effectiveness of these strategies will be evaluated in the context of the intense controversy over metallic sulfide mining in northern Wisconsin.