MINOCQUA – Some 200 county and town officials from across the state packed a conference center in Minocqua Wednesday to learn from experts on how to regulate metallic mining operations on a local level.
New legislation signed last Dec. 11 by Gov. Scott Walker did away with a de facto mining moratorium on sulfide mineral mining. Now some counties may see sulfide mining coming to their backyards as a result. Local municipalities were given six months to enact their own mining regulations through zoning, licensing and environmental standards.
“The solution is not one size fits all,” said attorney Andy Phillips, von Briesen Roper, s.c. He is the general counsel for the Wisconsin Counties Association (WCA).
WCA and the Wisconsin Towns Association presented the three-hour seminar at Reuland’s Conference Center with speakers from the legal profession, as well as a professor of geology and the city administrator from Ladysmith with first-hand knowledge of a sulfide mine.
Following the seminar, Oneida County zoning administrator Karl Jennrich said the county’s planning and development committee would meet with the forestry committee Wednesday, Jan. 31 to discuss possible changes to the county metallic mining ordinance. There is a substantial sulfide ore deposit in the Township of Lynne in Oneida County. The property is zoned forestry and would have to be rezoned to industrial/manufacturing – the only zoning district where metallic mining is now allowed. Core drillings some years ago revealed that the approximate 8-million ton Lynne deposit is comprised primarily of zinc, but has significant concentrations of copper, lead, silver and minor gold. Proposed mining operations have generated opposition in the past as fears of sulfide drainage polluting groundwater and streams were raised. Proponents of mining say it would bring in high paying jobs. New mining technology and procedures have reduced the risk of pollution, they add. Dr. Robert Lodge, assistant professor at UW-Eau Claire, said the negative impacts of sulfide mining include that acid mine drainage, storage of mine tailings and risk of chemical spills. He also highlighted the benefits of mining, including minerals that America needs for a robust economy. Lodge also pointed out that the mining industry has learned from past mistakes.
Sen. Tom Tiffany (R-Hazelhurst) was a key player in having the mining moratorium language removed from state law. It essentially stated that before a mining permit could be issued, it would require proof that a sulfide mine operated for 10 years, followed by 10 years of closure – all without evidence of groundwater or stream pollution by acid drainage.
Ladysmith city administrator Al Christianson gave an overall thumbs up on the impact of the Flambeau Mine just outside of his community. The open pit mine site was successfully reclaimed and was made into a recreation area, he said, although the Flambeau Mining Company (a subsidiary of Kennecott) missed some spillage of ore dust in one area, which was addressed by repeated clean-up efforts. The direct impact of the Flambeau Mine was relatively small on employment level, he said, as only 45 of the 75 mine employees were local, and it operated only for four years (1993-‘96). “It was a very small mine by industry standards,” he said. Ore was shipped to a facility in Canada for processing so there were not mine tailings processed or stored on-site.
The mining company did make substantial financial donations to the betterment of the community. The company extracted 181,000 tons of copper, 334,000 ounces of gold and 3.3 million ounces of silver from the Flambeau Mine. Ironically, the mine operation resulted in an uptick of visitors to the community, Christianson said. Throughout the seminar, local officials and staff threw out questions to the speakers. Some related to using police powers, such as licensing permits; approaching the mining prospects through zoning controls; imposing environmental regulations; whether local controls can supersede the state (“depends on a case-by-case” was the reply), and many more.
Phillips noted that the county association was preparing a workbook for members on how to address mining regulations. It should be available in a few weeks.
