Wisconsin Citizens Media Cooperative: Wisconsin State Sen. Jauch responds to mining bill

By Sen. Bob Jauch, Wisconsin State Senator
Posted Mar. 12, 2013, on Wisconsin Citizens Media Cooperative

[On March 11, 2013 Sen. Bob Jauch (D-Poplar) sent the following letter to his constituents. It is reproduced in its entirety on Wisconsin Citizens Media Cooperative with permission from Sen. Bob Jauch. The following is an intro with link to the letter.]

Dear Constituent:

As you are aware the Governor has signed the mining legislation (SB 1) into law following partisan passage in both houses of the legislature last week.

November 2012 Senate Mining Committee: l to r: former Sen. Jim Holperin (D-Eagle River), Sen. Dale Schultz (R-Richland Center), Sen. Bob Jauch (D-Poplar), Sen. Tim Cullen (D-Janesville), Sen. Glenn Grothmann (R-West Bend, ALEC Education Task Force Member, International Relations Task Force Member). (Photo © and courtesy Rebecca Kemble)

Throughout the process, Republican leaders along with the Governor have falsely claimed that the bill would not reduce environmental standards. However, the day following Senate deliberation of the bill, Senate author Tom Tiffany finally admitted the truth -- that his bill would not only allow for "adverse environmental impacts" to occur during mining, but that the bill was written to protect the company in the case of an inevitable lawsuit.

The day the Assembly deliberated and passed the bill, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ran a story that Christopher Cline, the owner of Gogebic Taconite, is dragging his feet to clean up groundwater contamination at his mining operation in Illinois. The situation will soon be referred to the Illinois Attorney General.

As I said during Senate deliberation of this bill, this entire process is a poster child for how a bill should never become law. The bill was written by a West Virginia coal company and modified to please the company. It is a sad day when this company with no roots in Wisconsin can have the power to control Wisconsin Government in an effort to weaken environmental policy, mute the public voice, and shortchange Wisconsin taxpayers.... Click here to read the rest of this letter on the Wisconsin Citizens Media Cooperative Web site.