Has the statute governing the regulation of metallic mining in Wisconsin been weakened in recent years?
No. On the contrary, Wisconsin’s mining law have been strengthened, environmentally speaking, within the last twenty-five years. Some key revisions include making an environmental impact statement mandatory for any proposed mining project, and requiring consideration of an applicant’s economic and environmental performance history at other U.S. mining operations. It should also be noted that since the mining law underwent a major revision in 1978, mining activities are regulated by other laws that more specifically address each particular activity. Consequently, any wastewater discharge from the Crandon Mine (if permitted) would be regulated by the same laws that regulate wastewater discharge from all other municipal and industrial operations in the State. Air emissions from mines are regulated by the State’s air pollution control statute. Tailings disposal is regulated, not by the mining law, but by the statute that regulates all municipal and industrial solid waste disposal facilitie
