Gogebic

"We're not going to sit here and try and screw the people of Wisconsin. But what they have to know is that if I drive down a street looking for a gas station, I pick the guy with the lowest price."-- Gogebic Taconine President Bill Williams, in a WisPolitics.com interview. 

We believe the part about the gas station.

Williams also told WisPolitics that allowing contested case  hearings to the proposed bill "would make it unworkable for the company."  But he later said "the company wouldn't necessarily reject a bill that had contested case hearings similar to Minnesota or Michigan, where the hearings were not so open-ended, but noted they make Wisconsin look less desirable to mining companies," WisPolitics reported.

Trust this guy as far as you can throw him.

In case there were any doubt, Republicans in the Assembly have now admitted that Gogebic Taconite, which wants to dig up 80 miles of Wisconsin for an open pit mine, was involved in writing the proposed new bill to regulate open pit mining.

State Rep. Mark Honadel explains:

Of course we worked with getting ideas from the mining company. "If a biotech company came here, we would sit down with and get all of their ideas, too.

Earlier, State Rep. John Klenke of Green Bay offered a different analogy:

The question is what happens when mining goes wrong, because it will. If we don’t expect problems, then we have learned nothing from the BP oil spill... the Legislature needs to take its time in rewriting the mining law. A speedy job done within a couple of months to satisfy one company will not do..."-- Racine Journal Times editorial.

It is probably not coincidental that State Rep. Cory Mason, who has been asking some godo questions about the proposed open pit mine in northern Wisconsin, is from Racine.

Coming soon to a pristine, scenic area near you -- a 21-mile open pit iron ore mine.

Have you heard? It's going to create thousands of new jobs, contribute $600-million a year to the local economy, and produce billions in new taxes.

All that, while protecting the environment, too!

Wow! Almost sounds too good to be true, doesn't it?

You know what they say about that: When something sounds too good to be true, it probably is -- especially when the news is coming from Northstar Economics.

Thing is, Gogebic Taconite doesn't just want to apply for a permit, go through the normal process, answer the many unanswered questions about environmental impact, hear from the public, and see whether the proposal will fly.

That takes too long. Bad for the business climate.

Just the summary is 22 pages long.

Mining bill draft.

Two southeastern Wisconsin legislators who plan to introduce a bill to fast-track permits for an open pit iron ore mine in northern Wisconsin say all the right things about wanting to hear from a variety of people. State Sen. Rich Zipperer (R-Pewaukee) and State Rep. Mark Honadel (D-South Milwaukee) visited the site and met with local officials and tribal members on Friday.

But they are on a fast track to introduce and pass a bill before June 30, which reportedly would shorten the time frame for approval of the mine from several years to 300 days.

Zipperer and Honadel say they want public input, but in fact their bill may be a done deal.

Wisconsin Republicans are moving to change state law to shorten the permitting process for a huge open pit iron mine in northern Wisconsin, which now takes from two to seven years, to a lightning-fast 300 days.

One report says the bill will be considered in a special session, to insure that it passes by June 30.

Two GOP state leggies, State Sen. Rich Zipperer of Pewaukee and State Rep. Mark Honadel of South Milwaukee, are touring the proposed site in Ashland and Iron Counties today.

Neither is what you'd call an environmentalist. Honadel scored 56% and Zipperer 28% on the League of Conservation Voters legislative scorecard last session.

Why should it take so long to issue a mining permit? To allow time for hearings, public participation, and studies on potential impact on the region's environment. The shorter the process, the less time and fewer opportunities for objections, studies, analysis, and discussion.

The proposal by Gogebic Taconite is no small matter. It involves moving mountains of earth and rock to get at the iron ore, creating huge tailings dumps.