How far will this administration go in their rush to please the mining companies? Sens. Schultz and Jauch aren't waiting to find out.

Rocking the Vote  

In the continuing saga of the push to rewrite Wisconsin's laws governing iron mining, a glimmer of hope. The pressure is on to pass changes in the law so the Governor's office and Legislature can claim to have created jobs. Whether changes in mining law would actually lead to new Wisconsin jobs is unknown, but if the Assembly's terrible mining bill, AB 426, were to pass, the destruction of lakes, rivers, wetlands and groundwater in the way of a mining operation is a certainty. For the Senate to pass AB 426, every Republican member would have to vote yes, but Senator Dale Schultz has courageously said no.

Senators Dale Schultz and Robert Jauch joined together and developed a new proposal that reflects the needs of GTac, the mining company proposing a new mine in northern Wisconsin, as well as the thousands of citizens from around the state who have spoken out in opposition to the weakening of protections for the environment and local communities.

The new bill:

• Establishes a reasonable timeline for the permit process, which is all GTac has publically said they need;
• Allows citizens to challenge the permit decision;
• Ensures the mining company covers all the costs of permitting;
• Provides funds for the communities that will be affected by a mining operation to maintain their infrastructure; and
• Retains all current environmental protections.