Reporting on WRPC and the Center for Biological Diversity’s Legal Case Against Kennecott
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
2. Pechanga.net (Temecula, CA; national Native news source)
Go to: http://pechanga.net/NativeNewsEnvironment.html and scroll down to find the story.
3. Mille Lacs Messenger (Isle, MN)
4. Lake Superior Mining News (“This website was formed in May 2009. Its mission is to post original and factual content regarding metallic sulfide and uranium mining activity and citizen opposition to it in the Lake Superior region,” )
5. Headwaters News (“Citizen Journalism for the Great Lakes”)
http://headwatersnews.net/environment-blog/clean-water-act-suit-filed-against-rio-tinto/
6. Fight Back! News (“News and Views from the People’s Struggle,” Minneapolis, MN)
7. Eau Claire Leader Telegram (Eau Claire, WI; This is the largest regional paper in the vicinity of the Flambeau Mine), January 20, 2011 (see below)
http://www.superiortelegram.com/event/article/id/49747/
Lawsuit filed over Flambeau Mine runoff
Environmental groups have filed a citizen suit against Flambeau Mining Co. over its reclaimed Flambeau Mine near Ladysmith.
By: The Leader-Telegram, Eau Claire, Wis., Superior Telegram
Environmental groups have filed a citizen suit against Flambeau Mining Co. over its reclaimed Flambeau Mine near Ladysmith.
The Wisconsin Resources Protection Council, the Center for Biological Diversity and Laura Gauger of Duluth, Minn., said in the suit filed Tuesday that the former mine should have a permit under the federal Clean Water Act because of metal discharges into the Flambeau River.
The groups claim the mining company is violating federal law by discharging pollutants, including copper, iron and zinc, into the Flambeau River and a tributary known as “Stream C” that flows across the company’s property.
The mine operated near the river from 1993 to 1997. Since its closing the mine has had persistent groundwater and surface water quality problems, most notably at a 32-acre industrial park, said Jamie Saul, an attorney for the citizen’s groups.
The company channels storm water runoff from the industrial park into a settling basin that discharges into a tributary of the Flambeau River. Monitoring data from the mining company and the state show copper levels in the discharge have greatly exceeded Wisconsin’s toxicity standards, he said.
The Clean Water Act requires that Flambeau Mining Co.’s pollution discharges be regulated by a permit that sets clear limits on the amount of pollutants and protects the water quality of Stream C and the Flambeau River, Saul said.
State Department of Natural Resources attorney Dan Graff said that, to his knowledge, the mining company is complying with the mining permits its under Wisconsin law.
The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin in Madison, under the Clean Water Act’s “citizen suit” provision. Congress authorized citizens to directly enforce Clean Water Act requirements against alleged polluters in federal court.
Flambeau Mining Co. is a subsidiary of Utah-based Kennecott Minerals Company, which is owned by Rio Tinto, based in Melbourne, Australia.
Copyright (c) 2011, The Leader-Telegram, Eau Claire, Wis./Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
8. iStockAnalyst:
http://www.istockanalyst.com/article/viewiStockNews/articleid/4822162
9. YubaNet.com (Nevada City, CA)
10. Before It’s News (“People Powered News”)
11. Storm Water Solutions (Arlington Heights, IL)
http://estormwater.com/Lawsuit-Filed-Against-Wisconsin-Mine-Under-Clean-Water-Act-newsPiece22475
12. Keweenaw Now (Houghton, MI)
http://keweenawnow.blogspot.com/2011/01/lawsuit-filed-against-kennecott.html
13. Mining Journal (Michigan)
http://miningjournal.net/page/content.detail/id/558288/Lawsuit-alleges-mine-pollution.html?nav=500
14. Ladysmith News
15. Wisconsin Public Radio News Headlines (see below)
http://www.wpr.org/news/newsheadlines.cfm
Lawsuit filed against a Wisconsin mine
By Chuck Quirmbach
Thursday, January 20, 2011
(UNDATED) Critics of the now-closed Flambeau Mine near Ladysmith have filed a federal lawsuit, alleging that pollution from the site violates the Clean Water Act.
The Wisconsin Resources Protection Council and others say the mine site discharges copper and other metals into a creek that flows into the Flambeau River. The plaintiff’s Madison-based attorney Jamie Saul says the mining company is doing that without a Clean Water Act permit. Saul says the pollutants pose a potential threat to fish and other aquatic life in the river. He says that since a notice of intent to sue was filed two months ago, the mining company talked with him about a potential plan to reduce the pollution, but that the firm didn’t respond to specifics in the plaintiff’s allegations.
Flambeau Mining’s environmental manager Jana Murphy says her company is still reviewing the lawsuit, but believes the claims are without merit.
The lawsuit has been filed in federal court in Madison. The new fight over the Flambeau Mine comes as other mining projects are underway or being proposed for northern Wisconsin and northern Michigan.
16. Rice Lake Chronotype
