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GLIFWC Water Model Spurs On Democrats
Posted 02/23/2013
The Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission in Ashland released a map showing the potential impacts a mine in Iron and Ashland counties could have on the Lake Superior watershed.
Democratic Representative Fred Clark said the bills to allow the mining law changes probably go against the Public Trust Doctrine of the Wisconsin Constitution...
"....the mining bill basically allows the mining company to largely fill lakes, streams or ponds with mining waste. Under most circumstances, it requires the DNR to approve that activity as long as they mitigate the destruction of water bodies by trying to restore some water body somewhere else..."
Clark says that goes against 200 years of Wisconsin law which works to protect navigable bodies of water. Clark says Democrats had GLIF-WICK model the impacts...
"....and they basically mapped out all the water bodies that have watersheds less than two miles and all the ponds and water bodies smaller than two acres that the bill allows and they showed us what it looked like. It's pretty startling. It's the headwaters of the Bad River..."
Clark says changing the law would set a precedent statewide allowing for water degredation by usurping the Public Trust Doctrine.
