The mining company has had some problems..
http://www.jsonline.com/news/wisconsin/owner-of-proposed-gogebic-mine-has-groundwater-problems-in-illinois-operation-l391f18-195554751.html
It's a very interesting battle lining up. Just when you start to think the jobs market and the
State is going to triumph - the American Indians have something big to say.
Who is the biggest and baddest of them all?
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Bad River Chippewa could have say in Gogebic iron ore mine
Tribe received authority from the federal government to regulate water pollution beyond the reservation
By Lee Bergquist of the Journal Sentinel
Feb. 17, 2013
The future of an iron ore mine in northern Wisconsin could be influenced by an American Indian tribe that opposes the project and recently received authority from the federal government to regulate water pollution on and off the reservation.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency approved a request by the Bad River Chippewa in 2011 to set water quality standards for the nearly 125,000-acre reservation on the shore of Lake Superior.
This new power also lets the tribe dictate pollution limits on others outside the reservation that could harm tribal rivers such as the Bad River, and streams and wetlands.
The Bad River Chippewa also are seeking authority to regulate air pollution that would allow it to impose standards on large emissions sources.
Gogebic Taconite - and its plans for a $1.5 billion open-pit mine about 5 miles from the tribe's nearest boundary - would have to abide by the Bad River's authority.
The pit, plunging to a depth of 1,000 feet, would produce enormous amounts of waste rock and, potentially, runoff pollution that would flow in the direction of tribal lands if not handled properly.
Gogebic also is planning a factory to process iron ore into taconite pellets. The plant would have to meet Bad River's pending air standards.
A legal expert says the tribe's new environmental authority and its long-standing treaty rights could pose trouble for Gogebic.
"I think they present a substantial obstacle for the mine," said Richard Monette of the University of Wisconsin Law School and a specialist on American Indian law.
But officials with the EPA and the Department of Natural Resources believe it's premature to say that Bad River pollution authority could determine the fate of the mine.
Indeed, much is unknown:
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http://www.jsonline.com/news/wisconsin/bad-river-chippewa-could-have-say-in-gogebic-iron-ore-mine-ek8pstn-191612841.htmlBill Blake
Note: As I was making this up Bruce wrote that he was going to move things to a new thread.
Please move it. It's not my subject to start the new thread.