FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Date: November 7, 2017

Contact: Rep. Jonathan Brostoff, (608) 266-0650

Rep. Brostoff Condemns the Sulfide Mining Bill 

MADISON – State Representative Jonathan Brostoff (D-Milwaukee) issued a statement speaking out against a sulfide mining bill that is up for a vote in the Senate today. The bill, Assembly Bill 499/Senate Bill 534, looks to lift environmental protections regulating sulfide ore mining in Wisconsin.

In 1998, Prove-It-First was enacted and required companies seeking to mine sulfide ores such as copper, zinc, and gold to prove similar Canadian or U.S. mines had operated for 10 years and been closed for 10 years without damaging the environment.

“In almost 20 years, not a single company has met the burden of proof required by the Prove-It-First Law. State regulators were tasked by the Natural Resources Board to search for examples of safe and successful sulfide mining operations. They haven’t been able to find a single example.

“It took years to enact Prove-It-First, but Senator Tiffany and Representative Hutton have moved their bill, dismantling this important protection, through for a vote in the Assembly and the Senate in just a matter of months. This is yet another instance of money in politics taking precedent over the safety of people and our environment.

“I hope that my colleagues in the Senate put our safety and the safety of our water ahead of corporate greed in today’s vote on the floor. We have to ensure that we are good stewards of our environment for our neighbors today and those of our future generations.”

 

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