Wisconsin’s sulfide mining moratorium law, also known as the Prove it First law, has been in place since it passed in 1998 with intentions to keep Wisconsin’s groundwater and surface water free from acid mine drainage (AMD). The law requires a company to back up their claims of clean mining and “prove it first” by demonstrating example mines that have operated and been closed without resulting in acid drainage. However, last week Sen. Tom Tiffany, R- Hazelhurst, introduced draft legislation designed to repeal the law and sweetened the deal for the mining industry by loading his bill with giveaways that further reduce protections that threaten public health and our environment.
Acid Mine Drainage is sulfuric acid and metal pollution produced when sulfide minerals in mines and mining wastes are exposed to air and water. AMD is toxic to fish and wildlife due to dissolved metals and contaminants such as mercury, lead, arsenic, cadmium, zinc, copper and many others that damage surface water and groundwater resources. The sulfide ores that companies are interested in mining in Wisconsin will produce AMD if developed into mines.
The Prove It First law is not a ban on mining, but has helped protect Wisconsin from unsafe metallic sulfide mining for many years. The Flambeau mine was permitted before the passage of the law, but the concerns about pollution from the mine were part of the reason the law was approved. Not surprisingly, the mine has been found to be violating the Clean Water Act by polluting a tributary of the Flambeau river at the mining site and groundwater is highly contaminated from mining wastes buried in the former open pit.
“I know of no metal-sulfide mines anywhere in the world that have met the criteria of Wisconsin’s 1998 moratorium on issuance of permits for mining of sulfide ore bodies without degrading the original water quality, long term.” Robert Moran, Ph.D., a Geochemist and Hydrogeologist with 45 years of domestic and international experience with mining and water quality issues in both the public and private sectors.
This law has been in place for years for our safety and our planet’s safety. We must keep the Prove It First law in place for the good of everyone. It is common sense to choose safety first. Show your support, sign this petition by the Sierra Club.