From a Dec. 13 Peace Action email:
Background: Assembly Republicans introduced a bill to alter the state’s iron mining law to benefit Gogebic Tactonite, which wants to open a 22-mile-long open pit iron mine in the Penokee Hills of Ashland and Iron Counties. G-Tac originally stated they would not seek law changes, and then said they would suspend the mining project unless the legislature changed our laws to fast-track permitting and gut the state’s environmental standards for mining. Assembly leader Jeff Fitzgerald announced that the public hearing on the bill will be held in Milwaukee, 325 miles away from the Penokee Mine site, because the city is home to heavy equipment manufacturers that would benefit from G-Tac’s mine.
Take Action: Attend the public hearing on Wednesday, December 14th at 10 AM at the Tommy Thompson Youth Center (State Fair Park, 640 S. 84th St., West Allis) and protest the gutting of Wisconsin’s historically progressive environmental statutes.
Stand with the Bad River Ojibwe Tribe and others in demanding that regulations on mining be strengthened, not weakened to allow corporations to trample the rights of local residents. If you show up at 10 AM, expect to wait 4-5 hours before the public is allowed to speak. Bring copies of written testimony to submit and fill out a card registering your opposition in case you have to leave before speaking.
Contact for more info: Wisconsin Resources Protection Council: Al Gedicks,
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Wisconsin Bail Out the People Movement 