For Immediate Release Contact: Rep. Hulsey 266-7521
January 5, 2012 Rep. Molepske 267-9649
State Reps Call on Mine Bill Authors to Take Their Own Advice
Legislative Council Finds WI Bill Compares Unfavorably with MN, MI Regulations
State Reps. Brett Hulsey (D-Madison) and Louis Molepske (D-Stevens Point) issued the following
statement today upon release of a new Legislative Council study of mining law in states surrounding
Wisconsin:
“It’s ridiculous for the proponents of this bad strip mine bill to point to other states as examples of why
we need to change our mining laws, when in fact Michigan and Minnesota’s laws are much more
protective of our shared environmental resources,” said Hulsey, pointing to the results of the study by the
state’s non-partisan research agency. “The bill’s authors should take their own advice and look at what
surrounding states do to protect the environment from what can be a very hazardous industry.”
Speaker Fitzgerald’s office pointed to laws in Minnesota and Michigan last month, saying that “you can
do similar mining in Michigan and Minnesota with a much faster and more clear [sic] permitting
process.”1
“For the Speaker to say that Minnesota and Michigan have a faster timeline for approval of a permit is
just untrue, according to this non-partisan Legislative Council analysis,” said Rep. Molepske, Democratic
Ranking member on the both the Jobs and Natural Resources Committees. “Those states don’t create
anything resembling the arbitrary timeline that this bill does.”
The analysis also showed that other states protect people’s rights to a contested case hearing, do more to
protect rivers, wetlands and other navigable waters including designated Areas of Special Natural
Resource Interest, and do not operate on the assumption of permit approval, as Wisconsin’s proposed
legislation would.
“The strip mine operators and lobbyists who wrote this bill should learn from other states,” said Rep.
Hulsey. “Rather than pushing legislation that is tailor-made to the specifications of strip mine special
interests, let’s write a bill that takes the best of what others have done and improve on that.”
“This bill takes away the citizens’ voice in the process, unlike Minnesota and Michigan law that
embraces citizen input. This bill even goes so far as to limit citizens from exercising their full
constitutional right to question the DNR’s decision,” said Rep. Molepske.
Legislators, including Rep. Molepske, will hold a hearing in Hurley next Wednesday so that locals who
were unable to make the 350 mile drive to Milwaukee for last month’s hearing can share their concerns or
support regarding the proposed strip mining legislation.
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