Bill to end sulfide-mining moratorium moves forward

Wisconsin Republicans took their first votes last week on a bill (SB 395) that would lift the state’s nearly 20-year moratorium on sulfide mining, pushing the measure through committee and clearing the way for a full Senate vote.

The Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters says the bill, known popularly as the Prove It First law, is a gold standard, bipartisan law enacted 20 years ago that has protected the state from the effects of sulfide mining, which include poisoned rivers, ecological dead zones, and toxic drinking water, for a generation.

Under the moratorium, anyone looking to mine sulfide ores such as copper, gold or zinc must prove to the state Department of Natural Resources that a similar mine has operated in the U.S. or Canada for a decade without causing pollution...    ...more