New mining legislation passes Joint Comm. on Finance

MADISON (WITI) -- New legislation to allow mining in Wisconsin was passed by the state's budget-writing Joint Finance Committee on Monday, February 25th. The vote was 12-4 in favor of the legislation.

The co-chairs of the committee, St. Sen. Alberta Darling (R-River Hills) and St. Rep. John Nygren (R-Marinette), issued the following statement after the vote: "This mining legislation has been scrutinized for the last two years; we have listened to the experts, the public and legislators and voted on amendments that proved valuable in strengthening the bill... Residents in Northern Wisconsin are hungry for jobs. Today, we are we are pleased to support a bill that will protect the environment and create good paying jobs in an area that desperately needs them."

Amber Meyer Smith, the government relations director at Clean Wisconsin sees the vote differently. In a statement, she said, “The bill passed by the Joint Finance Committee today contains dozens of environmental rollbacks that leave Wisconsin’s water resources at risk. This bill was written by and for a single out-of-state mining company and seeks to increase company profits at the expense of the safety and welfare of Wisconsin residents.”

The mining legislation now heads to the full Senate and Assembly for approval.

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