Proposed Taconite Mine in the Penokee Range
The company Gogebic Taconite (GTAC) recently purchased the mineral rights for a vast area in northwestern Wisconsin-- 21,000 acres along 22 miles of the beautiful Penokee Range in Ashland and Iron Counties. GTAC is now proposing to build the largest mine our state has ever seen (it would initially be 4 1/2 miles long, 1/3 mile wide and 900 feet deep) to extract taconite, a type of low-grade iron ore. They have been working behind the scenes for months to gut Wisconsin’s mining law in order to do it, even after claiming that they had no interest in circumventing Wisconsin’s current protections.
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TAKE ACTION TODAY! |
The Sierra Club released an immediate statement in response to this bill that concerns not only its substance, but also the secretive, corporate-influenced process by which it was drafted.
AB 426 requires a decision on a mining permit within 360 days (regardless of project complexity, staffing, or time required to accurately assess site conditions); it doesn’t allow the DNR to critique the quality of responses on the application; and it eliminates the master hearing (the contested case hearing needed to make sure that all claims in the permit application are scientifically sound).
Please send a message to your legislators opposing this bill to gut mining safeguards today, and attend the public hearing that has been scheduled for Friday, February 17, 10:00 AM in room 412 E in the state capitol. Please attend this critical hearing and speak out against this bad bill.
Earlier this year, a draft bill was released that gutted Wisconsin's current mining safeguards and attorney Thomas Pyper made a presentation to the State Bar Association that read like a mining industry legislative wish list. Tremendous public outcry about the initial bill to gut mining safeguards caused it to be shelved. In a shocking and unprecedented move, State Senator Fitzgerald unilaterally disbanded the Committee on Mining Jobs February 15th, and sent AB 426 to the Joint Finance Committee for an immediate hearing two days later. Why the rush?
The Mining Site:
The proposed mine is in the Penokee Range, in the heart of Wisconsin's North Woods and the Bad River Watershed. It would be near the Copper Falls State Park, and the shore of the beautiful Lake Superior. This is one of the most beautiful and environmentally sensitive parts of Wisconsin.
The Penokee Range is 25 miles of elevated land that is home to hardwood forest, rivers and streams, wetlands, and two lakes. The land provides crucial habitat to wolves, bald eagles, songbirds, rare plants, and countless other animals that rely on the forested community.
The area is also critical for clean water resources. Over 200 inches of snow each year provides fresh clean water that supports the Bad River Watershed and Lake Superior. The Kakagon and Bad River coastal wetland complex on Lake Superior are known as "Wisconsin's Everglades" The Kakagon slough was designated as a National Natural Landmark in 1973. This area is critical to the Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Chippewa for wild rice production. Check Common Ground, their fall 2001 newsletter for more information about the significance of wild rice and how the mine would impact tribal culture and natural resources.
Large-scale taconite mining threatens local communities air and water. The area's surface and groundwater provides drinking water for the cities of Ashland, Mellen, Highbridge, Marengo, Odanah and Upson. Tourism is also threatened by the destruction of the forest and aquatic habitats of important and vulnerable birds and other wildlife including many endanged, threatened and special concern species.
Taconite Mining:
The Sierra Club has found that all 9 of the operating taconite mines in Michigan and Minnesota have serious, recent air and water violations. A survey of compliance records from 2004-2011 shows that modern taconite mines are chronic polluters that have incurred fines and stipulations of over $10 million.
Air and water quality in northern Wisconsin would be harmed by mining waste dust from tailings, waste rock, ore transportation and ore processing, which produce contaminants such as mercury, arsenic, and other heavy metals, sulfates, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxides. These last two contaminants combine to help form acid rain, while high concentrations of sulfates harm native wild rice. In Minnesota, current and historic mining are a major source of sulfates to waterways.
A Minnesota DNR report in 2003 found that taconite mining is the 2nd largest source of mercury emissions after coal power plants. A taconite mine here will be a new source of mercury that will only further contaminate and poison our fish and wildlife when our waterways are already under advisories against consuming mercury contaminated fish.
Health Concerns: There are serious suspicions that taconite mining could lead to mesothelioma, a rare cancer that forms in the outer lining of the lungs linked to asbestos exposure. Since 2003, 52 cases of mesothelioma development in miners and their family members have been diagnosed. Although at least 13 were the result of asbestos product exposure, with only 3,000 cases diagnosed annually, those levels are extremely high. According to the University of Minnesota, the rate of mesothelioma is 70% higher in northern Minnesota than the rest of the country. The Minnesota Legislature committed millions of dollars to a University of Minnesota study of hundreds of miners and their spouses and thousands of death certificates for taconite workers to research the connection between taconite dust and mesothelioma. Dr. Jeff Mandel of the University of Minnesota said, "We wouldn't be up here if we didn't think there was a pretty good chance at a link."
Click here for more information on the Minnesota Taconite Workers Health Study:
http://www.sph.umn.edu/research/highlights/taconite/
Click here for a media release on the 2010 annual report on the study to the MN legislature:
http://www.northlandsnewscenter.com/news/local/Study-Update-Shows-Increase-In-Mesothelioma-Cases-117214413.html
Economic Concerns: Proponents don't address the 
risks to tourism and the environment and talk only about job creation. If we look to Minnesota and Michigan's taconite mine as a case study, it is easy to see a mining economy results in a 'boom and bust' economy. The steel industry has inconsistent market demand and mines have been permanently or temporarily shut down during soft market times. In 2008, two taconite mines temporarily laid off hundreds of employees for months until demand increased again and they hired them back.
Wisconsin needs sustainable family-supporting jobs - from tourism to home weatherization to clean energy to transit - that will grow our economy while protecting air, water & unique places.
Cline Mining Group:
Gogebic Taconite (GTAC) is owned by Cline Resource and Development Group. If existing taconite mining cannot be counted on for examples of safe mining, what about GTAC’s track record? GTAC itself has never mined taconite before, but the Cline Group operates longwall 
coal mines in Illinois, and other mines in West Virginia. Cline has been cited 25 times for violating water quality standards at 4 mines including 19 times at the Deer Run Mine which opened only 3 years ago.
Longwall mining removes the entire coal seam. The mines use hydraulic supports to hold the roof up, which are moved as the operation advances, causing the roof behind it to collapse. The practice is so destructive is is known to 'sink' the land. Click here to see a video depicting this awful practice. Will this destruction be what is left in the Penokee range?
Aside from destroying land, there are a number of safety concerns with Cline Mining Group as well. In 2002, near Wharton, West Virginia, Cline's best friend, Sidney Green, was killed when the roof collapsed in one of Cline's mines as he was moving a machine. Cline was fined $45,500 and in 2005 settled with Green's widow, Lorraine. If he couldn't keep the mine safe for his best friend, how can we be assured it will be safe for our friends and family in Ashland?
It's all just a big game to owner Chris Cline. While his mining ventures destroy our beautiful lands, endanger the lives of the workers and surrounding communities--including his best friend--and dirty our clean air and water, Chris Cline resides in his 33,000 square-foot house (pictured right) and takes his investors on 164-foot-long yacht named, 'Mine Games'.
What you can do:
- Urge your legislators to oppose AB 426, and follow up with a phone message to your State Senator today (a vote on this bill is expected in late February). The message is simple: Please OPPOSE AB 426. This far-reaching bill, which rolls back Wisconsin's traditions of allowing public input, can NOT be fixed!
- Volunteer with the Sierra Club! Call (608) 256-0565 or e-mail elizabeth.ward@sierraclub.org to get involved!
Links to more information:
Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission - Iron Mining in the Lake Superior Basin, 2011 Report
Bad River Watershed Association - mining page
Penokee Hills Education Project
Clean Wisconsin - mining page
WI League of Conservation Voters - mining page