Spring hearing attendees want to repeal mining law

April 13, 2016 1:26 pm Leave a comment

A majority of Conservation Congress spring hearing attendees say lawmakers should repeal a law relaxing iron mining regulations.

Tagged with: DNR fracking mining

Group to ask public for input on repealing mining law

April 8, 2016 9:58 am Leave a comment

The group of sportsmen who advise the Department of Natural Resources on outdoor issues plans to ask the public whether Wisconsin's contentious iron mining law should be repealed.

Tagged with: DNR iron mine mining

Walker’s office considered giving mine lobbyist DNR job

April 7, 2015 3:18 pm Leave a comment

Republican Gov. Scott Walker's staff considered making a lobbyist for a company seeking to dig an iron mine in Wisconsin the state Department of Natural Resources' deputy secretary, according to a newspaper report.

Tagged with: DNR Gogebic Taconite mining Scott Walker

View from around the state: Citizen complaints about sand mines need full vetting

March 13, 2015 11:44 am Leave a comment

Frack sand mine opponents rally in Madison against a 2013 bill in the Legislature that would have weaken the power of local governments to regulate the industry. (AP Photo/Scott Bauer)

Those not directly affected by frack sand mines popping up in west-central Wisconsin like so many mushrooms are conflicted about whether their abundance is good, bad or neutral for our economy and environment.

Tagged with: DNR Midwest Environmental Advocates mining

Sand mining company to pay $80K for runoff

October 20, 2014 3:21 pm Leave a comment

the Flambeau open pit copper mine is shown in Ladysmith, Wis. While Minnesota lawmakers debate whether the state of Minnesota should allow PolyMet Mining Corp. to build the state's first copper-nickel mine, the big issue is whether the company can provide sufficient financial assurances to cover the costs for cleaning it up after it closes. The Flambeau Mine, which operated from 1993-97, was filled in, replanted and turned into a park with hiking and horse trails but a lawsuit alleged that it was still leaking pollutants into a river in violation of clean water standards and the company was fined $275 in 2012. (AP Photo/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel/Rick Wood,File)

An Illinois-based sand mining company has agreed to pay an $80,000 fine in response to allegations that it failed to prevent untreated rainwater from running off a mine site in western Wisconsin.

Tagged with: mining pollution runoff sand mining stormwater

Wisconsin regulators cite wrong mining company

October 15, 2014 9:07 am Leave a comment

Regulators in western Wisconsin say they took action against the wrong company after discovering permit violations at a frack sand mine: http://strib.mn/1CjFASO

Tagged with: mining

Mine safety violations down

October 3, 2014 3:05 pm Leave a comment

The number of chronic safety violators among mine operators has sharply fallen in recent years, according to government figures.

Tagged with: mining

Full inspections of frack sand mines mostly undone

October 1, 2014 10:14 am Leave a comment

Only 20 percent of active frack sand mine operations have been inspected by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources to ensure compliance with air pollution rules, according to a new report.

Tagged with: DNR fracking mining sand mining

For Walker-Burke, quiet differences on environment

September 22, 2014 8:41 am Leave a comment

(AP Photo/AP, Scott Bauer and The Journal Times, Scott Anderson)

With the November election six weeks away, neither Republican Gov. Scott Walker nor Democratic challenger Mary Burke has put forward any grand strategies for new environmental or outdoors policies.

Tagged with: DNR Mary Burke mining phosphorus Scott Walker Sierra Club Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce

Walker says he didn’t solicit mining company money

August 24, 2014 4:38 pm Leave a comment

Gov. Scott Walker speaks at the Republican National Committee summer meetings in Chicago. Court documents released Friday, Aug. 22, 2014, show that Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's recall election campaign team told him to instruct donors to give to Wisconsin Club for Growth, which would run ads for Walker and distribute money to other conservative groups backing him. The emails were part of some 1,300 pages released by a federal appeals court from a secret investigation into whether Walker's recall campaign illegally coordinated with conservative groups. (AP Photo/Kamil Krzaczynski, File)

Gov. Scott Walker said Saturday that he played no role in soliciting donations from a mining company on behalf of a key conservative group that ran ads supporting him during the 2012 recall attempt and that he didn't even know the company donated to the group.

Tagged with: Gogebic Taconite mining Scott Walker