Professional Documents
Culture Documents
3/11/13
The Legislature relied upon illusion and perpetuated myths to justify a wholesale weakening of the regulatory process. Publicly they claimed to trust the agency professionals but in reality they pushed for radical changes that prescribe the DNR decision making process, limits the discretion of these officials, and deprives them of the time and tools to make the best decisions. The authors of the bill werent listening to the public, or to the experts on the subject, they were taking orders from the company. Last year Gogebic Taconite President Bill Williams affirmed the role of the company in drafting the bill. He said, it was if they said, there is a Santa here and it is a Christmas listwhat is it you want for Christmas. This law offers a sweetheart deal for the mining company and shortchanges the taxpayers. At the request of the company the authors deleted $5 million in pre-payments that the company agreed to pay a year ago. As lawmakers our job is to serve the public. It is not to be Santa Claus to a private company and scrooge to the taxpayers. Every step of the way the company has held the state hostage and Republican lawmakers have been sacrosanct to the wishes of the company while ignoring the will of a very skeptical public. The rush to push this controversial and poorly written bill has led to a growing public distrust of the company and the legislature. Recent public opinion polls show a dramatic shift in opposition to the bill from a year ago, when the same polls showed the state nearly split on the topic. Opposition to the law has come in overwhelming numbers from Democrats as well as Republicans. They are not conservatives or liberals but Wisconsinites who are offended by this sell out of Wisconsin values and policies to protect those natural resources that define us and sustain our quality of life. Water defines our boarders and describes the character of our people. As Gaylord Nelson so eloquently said, Our economy is a wholly owned subsidiary of the land we walk on, the air we breathe, and the water we drink. Soon the company will apply for drilling permits to conduct hydrological tests. Most experts believe that these tests will take at least two years. This is a highly controversial project that will require significant baseline testing to be part of any permit application. Even though most taconite mine projects take 5 to 7 years or longer to permit, the authors pretend that the new law will lead to construction within three years. While our state regulatory agency will be stifled by this unworkable and irresponsible law, I remain confident that the Federal agencies will assert the proper adult supervision that is necessary to protect our resources and will take much, much longer before making any decisions. Then, the inevitable lawsuits will extend the process for years. This company must not only comply with federal standards it must find a way to convince investors that this is a viable project on which to spend $16 billion. There are many unanswered questions that have been avoided during the past two years and just as the public recently learned of Mr. Klines poor environmental record in Illinois, I expect that there will be many more revelations that may heighten public concern about this project. I appreciate your interest and intend on keeping in touch with the company, regulatory officials, and local community leaders regarding the process. I will keep you informed. Thanks again. Bob Jauch State Senator
https://www.icloud.com/#mail
2/2