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Tribal Chair Asks To Keep State's Mining Moratorium Law

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The President of the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican Indians told Wisconsin legislators they should not repeal the Mining Moratorium bill. The bill was signed in 1998 by Governor Tommy Thompson with bi-partisan support in the legislature. The law requires mining companies to prove a sulfide mine can run for 10 years and be closed for 10 years without polluting groundwater and surface waters from acid drainage.

During a January listening session in Rhinelander, State Senator Tom Tiffany said he would introduce a bill to repeal the law. He said the moratorium law is unnecessary because the remainder of Wisconsin's sulphide mining laws are among the most stringent in the nation and courts have ruled no significant pollution has resulted, points that are disputed by mining opponents.

Shannon Holsey, Stockbridge-Munsee President gave the annual "State of the Tribes" address Tuesday. During the address she said a proposed mine on the Michigan side of the Menominee River poses a direct threat to Wisconsin's waters and tribal lands.

She said legislators should not consider repealing the mining moratorium bill....

"....Wisconsin must meet to the table to protect Wisconsin's interests in the coming wetlands permitting process. The Menominee nation and many allies, including local citizens, local governments, environmental organizations, and grass roots organizations are opposed to the mine and are committed to stopping the project... "

Tiffany said he was going to work to repeal the law because the closed Flambeau sulphide mine near Ladysmith, he says, has not polluted the environment to any major degree and that example meets the current laws.

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