J.B.
You are getting better at the research. Nice links. However, you are still making some bad leaps of logic. Here are the two main ones.
1. Act 10 ---> Leap ----> Wisconsin Better
2. SB488 dies ---> Leap ---> Democrats thirsty for power

I notice you totally ignore the Democrats stated reason for opposing the bill - namely, that the environmental risks were not addressed. You also ignore the fact that Republicans control the Senate in Wisconsin. At least one Republican has to be opposing the bill. Is he also hungry for power?
I am also disappointed that we have lost these jobs. I actually agree with you that Democrats are too focused on this recall. But you fail to connect the dots between that and this mining bill. Perhaps Republicans should share some blame. If they had written a bill that was not a giveaway to the mining industry then maybe they would have not lost the support of some of their own party.
Don't worry though. That iron ore is not going anywhere. Someone will come along and dig it up.

Wisconsin has become an regulatory hell for trying to develop anything that involves industry. When you try you are branded as evil and a destroyer of the environment.

This was about not letting Walker win in the disguise of the environment. They would rater see him recalled than give him credit for creating, literally creating thousands and thousands of jobs by allowing us the private citizen to develop our own land.

The libs here know nothing about mining, have never seen one besides a movie. They put trillions of gallons of raw sewage into lake Michigan but we can't drill some holes and extract iron.

Thanks to them Michigan will soon see all our jobs. You truly are a cancer in our state.

@J.B. Schmidt...Well written piece. In spite of that I think you are missing some important points.

The general public of Wisconsin never had sufficient opportunity to speak out or to be convinced through arguments that the mine would not be environmentally damaging. The legislature never did hold a public meeting in Iron County to let the local residents to speak out.

The local tribes were highly outspoken against the project. You are talking about invading their homes and probably damaging them to the extent that will change their lives for the foreseeable future. Think about if someone pulled up to your property and started digging up your yard, with government support even over your objections. I don't think you would support that.

Something I think the Republicans forgot how committed the majority of Wisconsinites are to environmentalism. That's as much a part of the Wisconsin soul as are beer and brats.

Over the last 13 or 14 months, the conservative forces in the legislature and Governor Walker have "steam rolled" one piece of controversial legislation through one after the other. The current legislature and governor have lost the desire to horse trade. They haven't allowed any opposition legislation on the table for the entire period since they took control. Therefore, it's about the Democrats unwilling to cede any more power to the Republicans. Whether it's right or wrong, the Republicans are suffering a reaction to their own making.

Democratic libs don't want people in the Northwoods to make more than minimum wage...Democrats want people to starve and go onto foodstamps....Democrats are scumbags.

I long for the days when being a Republican meant supporting land and resource conservation. Abraham Lincoln established the first national parkland. Theodore Roosevelt protected lands and historic areas. Richard Nixon established the EPA. My questions are, why the secrecy about soil composition and the review process? Why were GTAC lobbyists text-buddies with Scott Fitzgerald? Why did GTAC back out now?

Unemployment is running high. We have an excellent opportunity to get some good paying jobs in WI. Mining equipment that can be purchased from Milwaukee. The impact of the dollars going thru the communities up north would cause a need for additional businesses to provide goods and services. What in the world were all these politicians thinking to let an opportunity like this go past. We have the DNR who will be a watchdog for environmental issues. What are we saving the iron deposit for? To be the last ones on earth to have such natural resource material? Vote them all out.

@J.B & Steve too: Great job! After the ridiculous liberal claims were made, you simply asked them 'how do they know that and can they prove it'. Not a single response! That is how we handle these outrageous statements. And yes, this bill did nothing to change the DNR evaluation and standards, it just got the answer to the potential investor in a timely fashion.

I agree that this was a very disappointing decision. From what I have read and heard, and although there was much already in place for environmental protection, the modifications the Dems were seeking to the bill in the name of environmental protection were like a poison pill to the bill, that would put the company at great risk of unending and expensive litigation and delays. It is most unfortunate to see the parties be unable to work together for the good of the state, and to see some of the unions oppose a bill that would bring jobs for what was clearly political maneuvering.

As to the recalls, I am sick to death of them. They are a huge distraction and waste of resources without adequate justification from any historical point of view. They are hurting our state and our communities. They are preventing our government from being effective. And I strongly oppose them (by either party) and encourage others to do the same. Let our elected officials serve out their terms. Give them a chance to carry out their ideas. If they are not successful you can vote them out when the time comes. I find the political environment here so toxic that I almost don't want to live here anymore. How about we have some political environmentalism and try to protect that a bit?

JB
Well. Republican - Democrat? Democrat - Republican? I am amazed that people will continue to believe what they believe regardless of any evidence provided to them. Global climate change? Oh ya, who says so? Mining in Northern Wisconsin. Environmental damage? When you think of mining, you probably have an image of somebody just digging a whole in the ground and carrying the ore away. Nope. The process of digging and preparing the ore for transport is very devastating to air, ground water and run off. Pehaps you could do just a little research about the actual impact to the environment for everyone east and downstream of the mine.

Take just a few minutes to do a little research about the impact of mining and get back to us. Tell us what you think after you do.

TAKE THAT MINER OFF OUR FLAG AND REPLACE IT WITH A PROTESTER.

Heck, make that obnoxious blue fist the new flag, we don't need private industry anymore, lets all work for the gubmint!

Regardless of party, Wisconsin needs jobs. If the paperwork involved mandates that the Corporation set aside funds for all clean-up and planned restoration when the mine runs out I just don't see a problem

Enviornmental risk?
That's EXTREMISM and it's left wing fear mongering.
At one time around the early 1900's people thought electricity available in homes was a risk. Just follow the money to figure out where that logic came from.

And as it sit's this vote by the Dems and one RINO has been orchastrated in the hopes by the left that Walker will lose the recall so they can then clear the way for mining and take the credit for bringing jobs to Wisconsin as talking points in the 2014 elections.

Thank God at least one voice of the union Democrat party called it like it is, "Playing politics with peoples lives". Yeah, one voice but loud and clear enough, and it sure makes the rest of the cronies in the Democrat/Progressive party look pretty disingenuous and unscrupulous.

The more I read about Ron Paul the more I agree with him. I've read one of his books last year, End The Fed, and his policies to reduce the size of Washingtons bureaucracy should pretty much stop the politics that continue to play with peoples lives.

I have to print this one off and save it. This is really ironic. Every since Walker took office and the Republicans took control of the legislature, whenever something passed that the left didn't like and reacted to it; all you heard was that they were a bunch of whiners and crybabies. The Republicans lose one piece of legislation and they're ready to wage war and now who is whining and being crybabies. C'mon, get over it, life's not fair.

Love the phrase, "Fighting for the little guy" that democrats use so often. Not really the case with mining I guess.

Excellent article J.B. Maybe just maybe some of our private union brothers and sisters will have their eyes opened by this incident. Since 95% of the jobs the mine would have created would have been union jobs. Yah the dems care about you as long as it doesn't get in the way of them regaining power. On top of this I've learned one of them (Carpenter) had agreed to support the bill via handshake with Fitzgerald and then after being brow beat by his fellow marxists backed out of the agreement. Wonder what he was threatened with. All this bill would have done is set a definitive timeline for approval of a mine. Companies aren't run on a never ending supply of tax dollars......unless there a wall street bank or a green energy company anyways.... they need reasonable timelines and regulations in order to be profitable since without profit they cease to exist. As for that traitor Schultz I will
personally donate time and money to see him replaced by a primary challenger next election cycle. We've got to be able to do better then that turncoat. As for the dems strategy of painting Walker as a jobs failure the latest job numbers out today show that may be a hard sell with Wisconsin back on the right side of the Job equation despite todays cowardly action by the traitor and his democratic conspirators.

If the mining bill would have passed the enviromental groups and the DNR wouldn't have been allowed north of Highway 64 to look at the enviromental impact. The miners would be running ruff shot, displacing Indians, picking rice out of season, there would be no more wetlands. We would now have the WI badlands and the sky would fall.

Hey Lyle that is satire. Does the left really think that the DNR would let them destroy the streams and lakes in the area? Lyle, Indians displaced? This isn't on Indian land. The enviromental groups will be watching every shovel full and monitoring the water to the point that they could tell if a doe or a buck went to the bathroom in it.

This is nothing but the kaos portion of the lefts plan to get back the power they lost at the expense of the people they where elected to serve. As an employer why with all the indecision with the reacll and the posibility of getting some one like Falk in office why would you hire? She has claimed to make the state business unfriendly again.

What gets me is that Walker and his ilk can pound the piss out of most public unions (excepting the corrupt badge unions which paid him off) but he can't control one GD department (WDNR) under his direct watch? How pathetic is this guy? Which just puts more credence on what I have been posting all along, NO MORE POLITICAL APPOINTMENTS! He should be on his hands and knees with his mouth open to get Gogebic back here. Another Doyle like POS.

Move the "contested hearing process" to within the permitting process time-line and you will have a mining bill by the end of next week!

Gogebic apparently did not even want a compromise bill with some sensible safeguards, as they had a hissy fit, pulled up stakes and headed out. Sounds like a real reputable outfit that we could trust with our land, air and water. Econ 101 tells me the mine was not going to be that profitable anyway unless the company could rape and plunder. Quite a business model to believe in.

A lot of common sense business people like John Torinus though that this thing was being rammed through.

You've got to ask yourself, if the native Americans who would benefit from the mine, if they had problems with the deal it is likely that there was problems with the deal.

And finally, it appears that the jobs many not have been happening from the mine -- if ever -- http://tinyurl.com/7e3v6yk.

One thing that we can rely on. If there is a cheap shot to be taken off of any isuee, you guys will take it.

J.B., whine and cry all you want about this recall. Governor Numbnutz brought it on to himself, and this mine bill is a good example why.

Know anything about Wisconsin history? We too have founding fathers in the this state, and they are the progressives, who rescued this state from the kind of people that you want to bring back in power. They believed that we -- the people -- have a right to yank people out of office when we -- the people -- deem it necessary. For any reason.

Sorry you hate democracy pal. That's they way it works.

Need to update your files Keithy, Serigraph is barely surviving, seems that the kook Torinus has driven this fine company into the ground, much like you would do if you ran anything of significance.

Keith would rather have us all buy into his pyramid schemes of Co-op book stores.

This bill didn't alter any of the safeguards or evaluations that were to me made by the DNR, The Corp of Engineers etc... All it did was create a shorter time line so a company looking to invest in WI could get their answer (yes or no) in timely manner. There were meetings by the bill's leaders w/ the DNR to review the time lines to find out if they would be ok with it, and after making modifications requested by the DNR finished putting the bill together.

@J.B. - Wow, several pejoratives in just the first sentence, including that Rush L. word, "liberal".
Just a couple of examples of reasonable safeguards, like not filling in the lakes, and not quadrupling the area around the mine currently allowed for legally poisoning water wells.
The recall is a Constitutional right we have as citizens of the sovereign state of Wisconsin. States Rights! You beg for righteous people to be reasonable and not recall. THAT is pathetic.
We all learned in kindergarten that you can judge a person by their behavior. Gogebic: "Wah wah wah. Me going to take ball and go home. I am not getting my way!. I am going to go tell teacher (Walker) on you. Me teachers pet.
I will come back in an instant if you give me five outs per inning, and a home run if I hit the ball past the infield."
.

JB, they just don't want mining, period. They don't like the idea of it. They think you can build windmills and electric cars and solar panels w/o iron and, even if you can't, we shouldn't be mining that here, the future home of Progressive World Nostalgia Theme Park.

@Bob
'Progressive World Nostalgia Theme Park', HA!

@ JB Schmidt:
Here are some quotes from today's Milw. Journal Sentinel, an article by George Meyer,"This Was Not a Responsible Bill" while I get the bill AB426 particulars for you.
"A responsible mining bill does not allow the filling in of lakes held in trust for Wisconsin citizens. Current mining law prohibits filling in public lakes. AB 426 would have allowed this, thereby violating the Wisconsin Constitution's Public Trust Doctrine protecting navigable waters."
"AB 426 also would quadruple the area where the groundwater adjacent to the mining site could be polluted greatly in excess of state standards. That is a major change from current mining laws".
There are many more bad points to the proposed law.
"AB 426 would have allowed the destruction of State Natural Areas, which are the most unique and valuable lands remaining in Wisconsin ..."

"The bill would allow a mining company to avoid showing at a contested case hearing that their mine meets state environmental standards and instead puts the burden and great expense on neighboring property owners to show that the mine does not meet the standards."
"the bill is significantly weaker than Minnesota's mining law."

So much for your view that the ultraconservatives are better for the common man.

J. B. - Those phrases are not lifted from the bill verbatim, of course. You are not that naive to believe a legislator would write a bill with explictness like that. You are evading and obfuscating again.
Make a bold, simple statement, and say there is no way any of these summarizing statements of AB426 are anywhere close to the truth. Allow me to pin you down, so you do not slip and slide Alinsky style!. .

I have just a minor curiosity. Does anyone know what was taken out of the earth, near the intersection of Douglas Ave. and 3 mile Road years ago, that left behind those deep holes on both sides of Douglas Ave.? Was a mineral mined out of there and left unfilled?

@J. B. - First, not buying that liberal media thing, that is getting more than stale. Liberals do not understand business as you know and espouse that they are better at being government payrollers, And the media arms are actually subsidiaries of multi-national businesses corporations now, run by megaconservatives with a killer instinct for business, like Rupert Murdock.
I will be bringing my evidence in support of those statements. I interpret you as saying these summaries of the bill I provided are wrong, and do not open up the mining laws to permit the mining company to do these nasty deeds. I would appreciate it if you would respond withter with what the Republicans do not want to compromise on, to the point of losing their arse this week and the company purportedly leaving town. If I really win the points, I do not expect you to graciously accept that. But you can lose more cred.

295.645 Groundwater quality, monitoring, and response
(2) DESIGN MANAGEMENT ZONE.
(b) … The department may not expand the design management zone unless the applicant demonstrates all of the following:

1. That preventive action limits and enforcement standards or alternative concentration limits cannot be met at the boundary of the design management zone if it is not expanded.

2. That preventive action limits and enforcement standards or alternative concentration limits will be met at the boundary of the expanded design management zone.

The existing version of this regulation is to catch contamination early, well within the property boundary, before it migrates outside the property and contaminate other properties. Basically, this bill changes that protection and states that if Gogebic believes it will not meet pollution standards where other facilities must meet them, they can simply move the monitoring points further out – where the groundwater contamination has not yet reached.

(c) Notwithstanding the rule-making authority in s. 160.21 (2), for the purposes of ch. 160, the vertical distance to the boundary of the design management zone for a mining site, including any mining waste site, extends no deeper than 1,000 feet into the Precambrian bedrock or than the final depth of the mining excavation, whichever is greater.

This section means that they will not have to set monitoring wells to intersect below the base of the mine. Since most contaminants are driven, at least in part, by gravity – this greatly increases the chance that contaminants will simply flow in by, well below the level of the monitoring wells supposedly protecting the public off site.

(5)(b) The department may only require a remedial action to be taken if the
remedial action is reasonably related in time and scope to the substance, activity, or practice that caused the enforcement standard or alternative concentration limit to an enforcement standard to be attained or exceeded and the quality of groundwater to be statistically significantly different from either baseline water quality or background water quality at the point of standards application.
With the previous information in mind, read the section below and ask yourself – why would Gogebic care about prolonging the time frame in which contamination related to its operations be detected.

Attention Fellow Walker Backers - This Is A Call To Arms:

Proudly show your support for Governor Scott Walker, Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch, and our fellow State Senators at a rally being held at Brookfield Square Mall on Saturday, March 24th from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

For more information on this event, brought to you by the same grassroots team that organized the highly successful 'Celebrate Walker' rally, please visit the official homepage for the event here:

http://www.facebook.com/events/307338025994069/

Hope to see you all there!!!

@P
They are still liable for contamination correct?

No. That is the concern.

First - they are changing the law so monitoring wells no longer have to extend to below the base of the facility. Current law requires they monitor groundwater to a level at least 100 feet below the base of the facility – because gravity affects contaminant entry and transport.

In order to mine, they will have to dry out the area being mined. They will use high capacity wells to pump groundwater out of the ground faster than it can flow in from underground. This will effectively lower the entire water table in what is called a cone of depression. The groundwater will be lowered so far that the monitoring wells do not even intersect it, and therefore, contamination during operations will go completely undetected.

There is a different section of the bill that says the company can pump as much groundwater as it needs – the DNR cannot limit the amount, or how far Gogebic can draw down the water table. If they need to pump more groundwater to ensure that the water table at their monitoring locations is lowered enough to not be detected, the DNR has no authority to stop them, as long as Gogebic says that the pumping rate is necessary for mining purposes.

This is the first aspect.

Paragraph (c) above from the bill requires the DNR prove a “reasonable” time frame and direct relation to activities to hold Gogebic liable. By moving the monitoring locations further out – they prolong the time from which contaminants may be detected. The simple act of pumping groundwater creates an artificial “pull” that keeps contaminants close to the facility, until operations cease and the company leaves.

During operations, they will dewater down to at least 1,000 feet. Groundwater will have to recharge to existing levels to even begin moving horizontally where the wells might detect concerns. Phase 1 is what is being discussed now – 4.5 miles long. The future phases encompass 22 miles – all adjacent to the previous phase, and all of which will be dewatered to below the base of the facility.

Groundwater goes down in a cone, not vertically at the facility edge. Dewatering for Phase 2 will prevent groundwater from fully recharging in the adjacent Phase 1. It will be years and years before monitoring wells configured as this bill allows could catch anything.

And Cline Group (the Canadian corporation that owns Gogebic) is a large, multi-national coporporation with a stable of on-staff lawyers with years of experience specializing in environmental liabilities, and associated loopholes. The cost to State taxpayers to hire comparable expertise would be staggering, and that is what Cline Group is banking on.