CONTENTS:
Sept. 21, 1999 - This is the text of the mining moratorium law in preparation for the natural resources board meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 29. 1997 SENATE BILL 3 AN ACT to amend 293.49(1) (a) (intro.); and to create 293.50 of the statutes; relating to: issuance of metallic mining permits for the mining of sulfide ore bodies. The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. 293.49 (1) (a) (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:
Section 2. 293.50 of the statutes is created to read: (1) In this section:
(b) The department may not base its determination under sub. (2) (a) or (b) on a mining operation unless the department determines, based on relevant data from groundwater or surface water monitoring, that the mining operation has not caused significant environmental pollution, as defined in s. 293.01 (4). from acid drainage at the tailings site or at the mine site or from the release of heavy metals.
(3) This section applies without regard to the date of submission of the
permit application.
This is the text of the petition requesting rules be written on the mining moratorium law in preparation for the Natural Resources Board meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 29 in Sturgeon Bay. RECEIVED OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY BEFORE THE STATE OF WISCONSIN DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCE
PETITION BY CITIZENS FOR THE ADOPTION OF RULES Citizen Petition for Rules Docket No. TO:
The Natural Resources Board P.O. Box 7921 Madison, Wisconsin 53707 The undersigned citizens of the State of Wisconsin hereby petition the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) and the Natural Resources Board to conduct rulemaking to assure thecorrect interpretation of the mining moratorium act, Wisconsin Statute §293 .50, (hereinafter §293. 50) The intent of the law is clear; the task before the WDNR is to interpret it properly. Last year, George Meyer, Secretary of the WDNR, stated that rulemaking was in order. Robert Imrie, Thompson Signs Mining Moratorium Bill, Star Tribune, Apr. 23, 1998. We, the petitioners, believe that rulemaking is required. Further, it is common practice to create rules to implement a major new law. In fact, every substantive mining law has rules. Rules have been requested prior to this formal request. Thirty-two legislators and forty-two environmental groups wrote letters, dated October 8, 1998 and September 8, 1998, respectively, to Secretary Meyer requesting rules for §293. 50. We, the petitioners, believe the WDNR is misinterpreting language in §293.50 and, thus, making de facto rules to implement §293.50. Rules allow interpretation of §293.50 to take place in public with public scrutiny, not behind closed doors. This petition is filed pursuant to the provisions of Wisconsin Statutes §§227.11 (2) (a) and 227. 12 (1 ) and (2) and Wisconsin Administrative Code NR 2.05. A petition for rulemaking must state the substance or nature of the rule requested, the reason for the request, the petitioners' interest in the requested rule, and a reference to the agency's authority to promulgate the requested rule, Wisconsin Statute §227.12 (2) . This petition fulfills these requirements and describes why rules are urgently needed. I. NATURE OF REQUESTED RULES The petitioners request WDNR and the Natural Resources Board to promulgate the following:
A rule requiring that only one mine shall qualify for the two ten-year terms specified in §293.50 (2) (a) and (b) Thus, the rule should establish that a single example mine must meet both the first and second ten-year requirements specified in §293.50. A rule requiring the criteria promulgated under §293.50 shall be analyzed by the WDNR after the mining applicant's Environmental Impact Report (EIR) is submitted to the WDNR and before the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) is issued by the WDNR. A rule requiring the first ten-year precondition in §293.50(2)(a) to begin upon ore extraction. Periods of ore extraction cessation shall not be included in the requisite tenyears. The second precondition in §293.50(2) (b) which requires that the example mine has been "closed" for at least ten years, shall begin after final reclamation and termination according to NR 182.15, Wis. Stat. §§293.01(23) and 293.21(l) (c) respectively, and discontinuation of water treatment facilities. A rule requiring the words, "verified by the department, " §293. 50 (2) (a) and (b) to mean A rule requiring the words, "relevant data," §293.50(2m)(b), to mean A rule requiring "tailings", §293.50(2)(a), (b) and §293.50(2m)(b), to be defined as, but not limited to II. REASONS FOR RULES REQUEST Rules are always needed to implement law. The WDNR is currently misinterpreting the intent of §293.50 by allowing two mines to meet the twenty-year test, §293.50 (2) (a) and (b) , thus, the need for rules is plain. Rules. allow interpretation of §293.50 to take place in public with public scrutiny, not behind closed doors. The WDNR has already made decisions regarding the twenty-year test behind closed doors. The WDNR is required to adopt rules for §293.50. Wis. Stat. §293.13(l)(a). Section 293.50 and its implementation are vital to protection of Wisconsin's invaluable natural resources, such as the Wolf River which is one of the few Wisconsin Rivers to be designated as an Outstanding Resource Water. The mining industry is notorious for its historically poor environmental record. There are currently 557,650 abandoned hardrock mining sites in the United. States and the estimated cost for cleaning-up these sites ranges from $32 billion to $71.5 billion. Lyon, Hilliard, and Bethell, Burden of Gilt, Mineral Policy Center 4 (June 1993). Wisconsin's natural resources are an important part of our history. These resources are also vital to the state economy. Furthermore, the natural resources in Wisconsin provide marvelous recreational opportunities. The petitioners seek to ensure §293.50 is interpreted to guarantee that dangerous substances produced by mining operations do not threaten their health and welfare or the resources they enjoy. The Wolf River, the fifth most endangered river in North America, is one of the last wild, whitewater, trout riverways in the Midwest and it is a component of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. Sara E. Johnson, Wolf River Named One of Most Endangered Rivers in North America, River Alliance of Wisconsin, Apr. 16, 1997; Beth Norcross, Wolf River Threat: Zinc/Copper Sulfide Mine, American Rivers, Apr. 1997. The Wolf River is specifically designated by the state as an Outstanding Resource Water. At least seven endangered and threatened species depend on habitats provided by the Wolf, including bald eagles and osprey. The petitioners fear that the Wolf River will be contaminated by mining waste from Nicolet Minerals' proposed enormous metallic sulfide mine. The mine is to be built in the river's fragile headwaters area which is located north of Mole Lake Reservation and the Mole Lake rice beds. Waste from the mine could also harm Menominee Nation and Chippewa resources which are associated with the Wolf River. The mine threatens to harm tribal cultures and depress the important tourism and recreation-based economy of the area. If §293.50 is not implemented correctly, the Wolf River could be in jeopardy. The petitioners are concerned about the gamut of consequences that could result from construction of the proposed Crandon mine. It appears that the proposed mine's most significant environmental impacts would be on surface and ground water resources and waste management as it relates to these water resources. There are several additional aspects of the proposed mine construction that are important to the petitioners, however, such as air and noise pollution. The petitioners hope that a rulemaking will assure that these issues will be properly addressed by the WDNR.
Significant Environmental Pollution
One Mine for Two Tests My bill will prohibit the opening of a new mine in a sulfide ore body until a similar mine has been operated elsewhere for at least 10 years and reclaimed for 10 years without significant environmental damage. State Representative Spencer Black, Statement to the Assembly Environment Committee, Throughout legislative consideration of SB3, the WDNR interpreted legislation to mean that one mine must meet both tests. On February 17, 1997 at a Green Bay hearing on the mining moratorium bill, Stan Druckenmiller, Executive Assistant of the WDNR, speaking on behalf of WDNR Secretary George Meyer, stated, . . . the applicant would have to find, and the Department would have to evaluate, a mine at least 20 years old that was operated with a comparable technology proposed by the applicant. Stan Druckenmiller, WDNR, SB 3 Hearing, Furthermore, in an October 3, 1997, letter to Representative Marc Duff, Chair of the Wisconsin State Assembly Committee on the Environment, WDNR Secretary George Meyer wrote, . . . for a mine to qualify as an example of sound technology, it must have been operated a minimum of 1.0 years and closed another minimum of 10 years. George Meyer, WDNR Secretary, Department Comments on SB 3 and Assembly Amendment 1 to SB 3, Even individuals and organizations working in industry understood §293-50 to mean that one mine should meet both tenyear tests. On October 14, 1997, in a memo to the Wisconsin Assembly Committee on Environment, James Buchen, Vice President of Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, a leading opponent of SB3 who spent considerable resources lobbying against SB3, stated, . . . before a mining permit can be issued in Wisconsin there must be proof that a mine has operated in the US or Canada for at least 10 years without polluting groundwater or surface water, and that the mine has been closed for 10 years without polluting groundwater or surface water. James Buchen, Memorandum to Wisconsin Assembly Committee on Environment, The January/February 1996 issue of the Badger State Miner, a publication by the Wisconsin Mining Association, reported the mining moratorium bill would, . . . place up to a 20-year moratorium on sulfide metallic mining in the state of Wisconsin. More specifically, the bill says there must be proof a mine has operated in the U.S. or Canada for at least ten years without polluting groundwater or surface water, and that the mine has been closed for ten years without polluting groundwater or surface water. Badger State Miner, Wisconsin Mining Association, Now, the WDNR interprets the law to mean that one mine may meet the operational ten-year test and another mine may meet the closure ten-year test. We feel this change constitutes a serious deviation from the intent of the law and -could endanger our precious resources. We believe the WDNR is misinterpreting the law in such as way as to operate contrary to the spirit of §293.50, its own original interpretation and previous public interpretations of the law. Finally, §293.50 itself repeatedly refers to one mine. In §293.50 (2) (a) and (b) , the law states,. "A mining operation. In §293.50 (2m) (a), the law states, "any mining operation that has been listed on the national priorities list, 11 and "any mining operation for which the operator is no longer in business". Section 293.50(2m) (b) refers to "A mining operation" and states, "THE mining operation has not caused significant environmental damage, " and "at THE tailings site or at THE mine site". Wis. Stat. §293.50 (1998) emphasis added. The intent of the law is clear. one min mine is to meet both ten-year tests in §293.50 (2) (a) and (b). Timing of WDNR Analysis of Example Mines our understanding is that the DEIS will contain an analysis of the example mines the company submitted to the WDNR. We believe that the analysis is crucial at the DEIS. stage. If this analysis occurred at a later point and the example mines were found to be unacceptable, the time and energy expended in creating and evaluating the permit application would be squandered. We think example mines should be considered before the DEIS is issued because consideration at any other time is a waste of WDNR and taxpayer time and resources.
Operation and Closure
WDNR Verification
Net Acid Generating Potential
Relevant Data Relevant data or evidence is"[e]vidence tending to prove or disprove an alleged fact." Black's Law Dictionary 1291 (6th ed. 1990). The Mining Moratorium Law, §293.50, clearly requires that the WDNR cannot use data from an example mine purporting to satisfy §293.50 if the data from that mine does not tend to prove that the proposed mine will not cause contamination or render unclean or impure the air, land or waters of Wisconsin. This would arguably exclude any and all example mines from regions with significantly different air, land and water characteristics than those found in Wisconsin. It would also arguably exclude any and all example mines from areas with significantly different climates and geological, soil, groundwater, and surface water characteristics.
Tailings
Tailings Site Wisconsin Statute §293.50, and the manner in which it is interpreted, will affect the proposed Crandon mine and future mining in our state. Each of us personally enjoy the area that is the proposed Crandon mine site as well as areas down-river and adjacent to the site. We want to ensure that the areas we use and enjoy are protected from pollution and degradation. We believe, therefore, that the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources should promulgate rules that will serve to interpret and implement §293.50 correctly. III. AGENCY AUTHORITY TO ADOPT RULES REQUEST Section 293.13 (1) (a), requires the WDNR to adopt rules implementing ch. 293 which governs metallic mining. The mining moratorium bill is part of ch. 293 and, therefore, the WDNR is required to adopt rules governing the mining moratorium. Section 293.13 (2) (a) further requires the Department to adopt minimum standards that are consistent with the purposes and intent of the chapter. We believe these rules are consistent with the purpose and the intent of the mining moratorium law. In addition, §293.15(9) allows the Department to adopt rules that are more stringent for any particular applicant. Chapter NR 132 contains the Department's rules on metallic mineral mining. The purpose of the rules is to establish procedures and standards for the comprehensive regulation of metallic mineral mining. NR 132.02. In that chapter, the WDNR sets forth minimum design and operation requirements for metallic mining. See NR 132.17. The chapter also sets forth location criteria and environmental standards. See NR 132.18. The proposed rules contained in this petition also set forth criteria that should be used by the DNR and mining companies in determining if there are any mines that satisfy the language in the mining moratorium bill. Finally, additional authority for adopting rules can be found in the Wisconsin Environmental Policy Act (WEPA) §1.11, which governs governmental consideration of environmental impacts. WEPA is the Legislature's mandate that environmental regulators, such as WDNR, consider the environmental consequences of their actions.. IV. PETITIONERS' INTEREST IN REQUESTED RULES The rulemaking process is needed to allow citizen participation and evaluation of the WDNR's interpretation of §293.50. Decisions regarding implementation of the law will need to be made. Rulemaking allows these decisions to be made in public and with public scrutiny, not behind closed doors within the WDNR. The rulemaking process is, therefore, more protective of the public interest than interpretation by agency staff or an administrative law judge. The petitioners are individual citizens of the state of Wisconsin who have a direct and continuing interest in ensuring that the resources they use and enjoy are unpolluted. The petitioners' health, well-being and right to use and enjoy waters and air of this state are adversely affected when unsafe metallic sulfide mining practices cause degradation of the quality of the air and surface or ground waters of the state. The petitioners recognize that mining is an extremely valuable industry in Wisconsin. Their concern is that improper mine permitting will represent a threat to the health and welfare of the resources and citizens of the state. The petitioners, therefore, request that the rules proposed in this petition be adopted. Approval of these rules will allow for the conduct of all necessary mining practi ces without causing preventable harm to the citizens and resources of Wisconsin.Petitioner Spencer Black resides at 5742 Elder Place in Madison. He is a Representative in the State Assembly and coauthor of the Mining Moratorium Law, 1997 Wisconsin Act 27. For many years Representative Black has enjoyed the Forest County area for recreation and has a vested interest in preserving the natural beauty of this pristine area. Representative Black's constituents also use the area and have interests in protecting its natural resources. As the Assembly Author of the Mining Moratorium Law §293.50, Representative Black seeks to ensure the law is enforced and interpreted consistently with the legislature's intent. Representative Black supports the rules submitted in this petition. Petitioner Kevin Shibilski, Wisconsin State Senator and coauthor of §293.50, resides at 457 Scenic Circle in Stevens Point. Senator Shibilski is a lifelong resident of central Wisconsin and has hiked and fished the Wisconsin River area for years. Kevin and his wife own recreational property near the Wisconsin River in both Lincoln County and Portage County and have a vested interest in preserving the natural resources and landscape of the area. As the Senate author of the Mining Moratorium, Senator Shibilski's interest is to ensure the law in enforced consistently with the legislature's intent. Senator Shibilski is in complete agreement with the rules submitted in this petition. Petitioner Roger McGeshick, Mole Lake Chair, resides on the Mole Lake Indian Reservation in Forest County, Wisconsin. His family has lived in the area for over 300 years and has always been involved in traditional rice harvesting and gathering resources from the local land and waters. He lives and depends on the lands and waters near and around Swamp Creek, Rice Lake and the area known as the Crandon mine site. Mr. McGeshick gathers plants for food and medicine, water, fish and game on these lands and waters. He uses these lands and waters for subsistence, religious ceremonies and other cultural and recreational purposes. Mr. McGeshick would be directly and personally affected by. the proposed Crandon mine, should it be permitted. Mr. McGeshick would like to ensure that the Mining Moratorium Act, §293.50, will protect his interests in Forest County. In order to be able to continue the uses of the area that would be affected by the proposed mine, Mr. McGeshick supports the rules submitted in this petition. Petitioner Chuck Sleeter resides on Pickerel Lake in the Town of Nashville. He has been elected Town Chairman twice to represent the interests of the people of Nashville. Chairman Sleeter has been a vocal supporter of the Mining Moratorium Act on *.behalf of his constituents. The Town of Nashville will be the first community that will be negatively impacted by the Crandon Mine proposal. Chairman Sleeter knows that it is his duty to protect the health, safety and welfare of Nashville's citizens. It is because of this, that he strongly supports the rules submitted in this petition to ensure that the law is enforced to be consistent with the legislature's intent of the Mining Moratorium Act. Petitioner Apesanhkwat, Chairman of the Menominee Indian Tribe, lives, works and recreates on the Menominee Reservation. He is responsible for the well-being of his tribal members, as well as his family, not only for the short-term, but for the next seven generations. Protection of tribal assets and resources depend on not merely reducing, but eliminating the threat of negative impacts from the proposed Crandon mine to the pristine Wolf River which runs through the reservation. He strongly supports the rules submitted in this petition to ensure that protection. Petitioner Herb Buettner resides at N4297 Buettner Road, White Lake, Wisconsin, 54491. Mr. Buettner owns property abutting the Wolf River and has operated the Wild Wolf Inn for 25 years and Herb's Raft Rental for 32 years which employ 57 people. Mr. Buettner's livelihood depends on the uncontaminated, pristine character and natural beauty of the Wolf River. The proposed mine threatens the water quality and quantity of the Wolf River on which the entire ecosystem depends. Mr. Buettner has worked with the WDNR and Tribal governments for the past 50 years in protecting and enhancing this unique and priceless resource. Petitioner Kira Henschel, who resides at 3805 Paunack Avenue, Madison, Wisconsin 53711, is former President of the Mining Impact Coalition of Wisconsin and founder of Kids for Clean Water. She owns property in northern Wisconsin near the proposed Crandon Mine and would be directly impacted by the mine's operation. Ms. Henschel is also a geologist who has witnessed first-hand the environmental, economic and social impacts of mining in Europe, Canada and the United States. She is petitioning on behalf of her daughter, Loris, and the hundreds of other children who would have to suffer the environmental and economic consequences of the proposed metallic sulfide mine, which would devastate the pristine Wolf River watershed and create Wisconsin's largest toxic landfill. Ms. Henschel is petitioning to ensure that the Mining Moratorium Act, §293.50, will protect the interests of these future generations. Petitioner John Berge, Chair of the John Muir Chapter of the Sierra Club, resides at 1529 Crabapple Drive, in Racine Wisconsin, 53405. He canoes frequently in the Crandon area and hikes extensively along the Wolf River. Mr. Berge wishes to protect the Wolf River because he views it as an invaluable pristine resource. Mr. Berge has canoed all around the state. He feels that the proposed Crandon mine site is probably not an appropriate place to mine, therefore, he would like to see the strictest standards used to protect it from potential mining mishaps. Mr. Berge is petitioning to ensure that his interests in hiking healthy forests, wetlands, and prairies and in canoeing clean waters in the Crandon area are preserved by these implementation rules for the mining moratorium act, §293.50. Petitioner Keith Reopelle, who resides at 183 Harvest Circle in Oregon Wisconsin, 53575, is the Program Director for Wisconsin's Environmental Decade. Mr. Reopelle has fished and harvested game fish, including walleye and smallmouth bass, from the Wolf River since boyhood. Mr. Reopelle is one among many members of Wisconsin's Environmental Decade who would be directly and individually affected by the proposed Crandon mine. Mr. Reopelle is also petitioning on behalf of all Wisconsin's Environmental Decade's other, 29,000+ members who recreate and earn their livelihood on and. around the Wolf River, the Crandon mine site and the adjoining affected environment. Mr. Reopelle is petitioning to ensure that the Mining Moratorium Act, §293.50, will protect the interests stated above.
Mailing Address: This text is Wisconsin DNR Secretary George Meyer's response to the petition requesting rules be written on the mining moratorium law in preparation for the Natural Resources Board meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 29 in Sturgeon Bay. CORRESPONDENCE/MEMORANDUM
State of Wisconsin
TO: Natural Resources Board SUBJECT: Petition for Rules on Mining Moratorium Law Attached please find a petition requesting the Natural Resources Board to adopt rules to implement the legislation known as the Mining Moratorium Law. The Department is recommending that the Natural Resources Board deny the petition for the following reasons: 1. It is totally discretionary under the mining statute (of which the mining moratorium is a small part) for the Board to adopt rules in this situation. In the statute there is an expansive list of mining-related judgments to be made for which the Legislature has specifically directed the Department to adopt administrative rules. During the extensive legislative debate on the mining moratorium bill, the Legislature could easily have added this issue to the list of subects, for which rules are mandated and would have done so if it felt appropriate. 2. In light of the fact that the Legislature has not mandated rulemaking for this statute, the Board has the responsibility to determine whether the statute needs rulemaking to make the implementation feasible. Department technical and legal staff feels strongly that the statute is readily understandable on its face and does not need clarification by administrative rule. Later on in this memorandum specific examples will be discussed. 3. The mining moratorium bill was, by far, the most extensively debated bill in the last session of the legislature. Attached for the Board is the extensive legislative history of this bill. The final bill language was a heavily debated compromise which legally should not be modified by administrative rulemaking. The requested rulemaking in the petition is believed by Department staff to be inconsistent with the intent of and clear reading of the law. The petitioners are seeking interpretations of the law that could not be accomplished in the legislative process and changes the very meaning of the statute as written. It is not the role of an administrative agency to change the meaning of statutes by the adoption of administrative rules. The petitioners relate two highly visible areas where staff believe their request specifically changes the mining moratorium law. In the first instance the petitioners request that the Department adopt a rule which would specify that the applicant mining company, as a part of its approval process, demonstrate that there is one mine that has operated for ten years and has been closed for ten years without the pollution of groundwater or surface water from acid drainage. By reading the statute itself the Board can determine that it is clear that one mine can be used to determine ten years of operation without such pollution and another mine can be used to establish ten years of closure without such pollution. That is the clear reading of Department legal and technical staff. Adding undisputable credence to this reading is the attached memorandum of May 4, 1999 from the Wisconsin Legislative Council. That memorandum from the staff that actually worked on the mining moratorium law states that "it appears highly likely that a court would conclude that the mining moratorium law does not require that one mine be used to meet both of the requirements of the law in order for a mining permit to be issued." If the Board granted the petition on this issue, it would be changing state law. The petitioners also indicate in their petition that the mines in Arizona, California and Canada submitted by Nicolet Minerals are not similar to the Crandon site in geologic and hydrologic conditions due to the fact that they are in either permafrost, desert or mountain conditions. While the Department agrees that such mines are not representative of conditions in Northern Wisconsin, there is no requirement in the mining moratorium law that requires the "submitted mines" to be of similar geologic or hydrologic conditions. The Natural Resources Board cannot adopt rules. contrary to the clear reading of the statute. Department staff are fully implementing the Mining Moratorium Law. Department technical and legal staff have done extensive field inspections of the three mines submitted by Nicolet Minerals. They have met with representatives of the regulatory agencies responsible for, oversight of each of the mines. Boxes of regulatory documents are being reviewed to determine whether the submitted mines meet the clear standards of the mining moratorium law. The Department's judgments as to whether the submitted mines meet the standards will be contained in the Draft Environmental Statement to be released in August, 2000. At that time the public will be able to closely scrutinize the staff decisions at public hearings and in written comments. After reviewing the public input, the staff will include their final decisions with any revisions in the Final Environmental Impact Statement. At that time, at a contested case hearing, the companies' experts and department staff will testify under oath to their respective positions as to whether the submitted mines meet the clear standards of the mining moratorium law. At that time anyone disagreeing with that testimony can also testify as to their findings. All of the above-mentioned testimony will be subject to extensive cross-examination. The ultimate decision will be made by an independent administrative law judge. Lastly, you will hear that the Department has changed its position on the need for administrative rulemaking on this issue. Soon after the bill was passed, I indicated that it was likely that we would engage in rulemaking. We then heard comments from environmental, tribal and company representatives expressing opposition to rulemaking on the mining moratorium law, usually based on a concern that such rulemaking might be used to change the intent of a heavily debated law. At that time I asked Department technical and legal staff to do a detailed review of the legislation. It was their conclusion, as stated above, that such rulemaking as recommended in the petition was inappropriate. |