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* David Takes on Goliath in Northeast Wisconsin ACTION ALERT Post and distribute widely Please distribute to groups without e-mail * Mole Lake statement to United Nations, Mar. 1997 |
| Wisconsin
Reservation and Township Battling Mine Suits
From the Midwest Treaty Network, Wolf Watershed Educational Project, Mining Impact Coalition of Wisconsin, Wisconsin Resources Protection Council, and EarthWINS Network Your support is needed NOW in critical legal cases involving two northern Wisconsin communities resisting Rio Algom's proposed Crandon metallic sulfide mine. The mine would be located partly within the Town of Nashville in Forest County (about 100 miles northwest of Green Bay), which includes the Mole Lake Sokaogon Chippewa Reservation. Nashville and Mole Lake residents are concerned about the future of their drinking water and wild rice beds, if the shaft mine releases sulfuric acid wastes or reduces the groundwater table. (For background and maps on the Crandon mine, see http://www.alphacdc.com/treaty/content.html, including the state Mining Moratorium law at http://www.alphacdc.com/treaty/minelaw.html) NASHVILLE voters in 1997 ousted their pro-mine town board after it made a Local Agreement with the mining company, and voted in a new town board that voted to rescind the Agreement. The new board has gone to court to prove that the Agreement had been reached illegally, in violation of open- meetings laws, and the company is expected to sue the town in return. In a positive example of interethnic cooperation, the Nashville board has been working closely with the Mole Lake Chippewa-- both to protect their common land and to secure more appropriate economic development. (See http://www.alphacdc.com/treaty/nash-twn.html) THE MOLE LAKE CHIPPEWA in 1995 secured enhanced regulatory authority to protect their reservation's water quality under the federal Clean Water Act. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) granted the tribe "Treatment-As-State" (TAS) status, which gives the tribe to set its own water quality standards and grant certain permits--powers previously afforded only to states. Now, Wisconsin Attorney General James E. Doyle is suing the EPA to rescind Mole Lake's TAS status. In so doing, the State is attempting to prevent one of its own communities from protecting its clean water and cultural resources. The tribe's wild rice beds are the center of its ancient cultural heritage, and should be a treasure for all citizens of the state. The state's legal action singles out a small tribe that is at potential risk from water contamination, in a clear case of environmental racism. In Wisconsin, cultural genocide is apparently not a relic of the past. Citizens need to send a message that the state lawsuit does not represent them, and only serves the interests of mining companies. (See Cultural Impacts of the Crandon Mine at http://www.alphacdc.com/treaty/mtn-cnx3.html)
If the Nashville town board or Mole Lake Chippewa prevail in these two legal cases, their authority alone may be able to stop the Crandon mine. We are asking groups concerned about the environment, cultural preservation, or human rights to IMMEDIATELY take this action:
David Takes on Goliath in Northeast Wisconsin
For information contact: (Nashville, WI) The tiny Town of Nashville is standing its ground against Nicolet Minerals Company, a subsidiary of the multinational, multibillion dollar Rio Algom mining company. The company wants to build an underground mine that would be partially within Nashville and extract approximately 55 million tons of ore over the next 30 years. Nashville is leading the fight in trying to prevent that from happening. The current members of the Nashville Town Board were elected in 1997 in an election that had over 99% of its eligible voters participate. The previous Town Board had entered into a Local Agreement with the mining company following a series of meetings discussing that agreement that were closed to the public. The previous Town Board approved the agreement despite the fact that at the public hearing for formal approval of it, the number of citizens opposing the agreement ounumbered those in favor by a four-to-one margin. Chuck Sleeter, Town Chairman, Duane Marshall and Robert Van Zile won their positions on the Town Board in 1997 by pledging to open Town government to the citizens, to undo the illegal Local Agreement and to fight to prevent the mine from being built. The Town is presently involved in major litigation relating to the closed meetings held by the former Town Board. The current Town Board stood up for the rights of its citizens by rescinding the Local Agreement that resulted from all those closed meetings. The current town Board also rescinded a lease that gave the mining company rights to any minerals under a Town road because the lease was created illegally. As a result of those actions, the Town also faces a real threat of more litigation because of a "Notice of Claim" filed by Nicolet Minerals Company alleging that the Town's recisions of those agreements were illegal. In direct correspondence to Nashville citizens, Nicolet Minerals is implicitly threatening to bankrupt the Town through litigation. In reality, the Town simply refused to honor illegal contracts that would have given Nicolet Minerals a green light to construct the mine. The Nashville Town Board and a majority of its citizens are committed to protecting the Town's environment and the health, safety and welfare of its citizens by standing up to Nicolet Minerals and Rio Algom. The Town has establised a legal defense fund to help cover the legal expenses necessary to defend itself. The fund belongs to the Town, as a public entity, and it will be used only for the public purpose of defending the Town against this litigation. Any contribution to it is considered a charitable contribution and is therefore tax deductible. The Town encourages those concerned about the environmental effects of such a huge mine at the headwaters of the Wolf River, and those concerned about the destructive behavior of multinational companies like Rio Algom, to give what they can afford to this fund to help protect our state. For more information on the status of the litigation the Town is involved in and the need to protect the Town's and the state's environment and natural resources, contact Chuck Sleeter, Town Chairman of the Town of Nashville. Nashville citizens have established a web site titled "Nashville Wisconsin Under Siege!" at http://www.nocrandonmine.com/nashville_wisconsin/index.html to help raise money for the Town of Nashville Legal Defense Fund. Tax-deductible contributions may be made to: Ph: 715-484-4501 (H) 715-478-2524 (W) FAX: 715-478-2527 Mining the Internet: Town uses Web page to attract support The Business Journal, WI Feb. 1999 
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