The following Feb. 7 news release comes from the Headwaters
Group of Northern Thunder
Eight separate leases had been signed between June and November of 1996 by local landowners in the towns of Farmington, Holmen and Onalaska consisting of 1,545 acres. Careful investigations of records at the Register of Deeds reveals that all eight leases have been canceled and the mining company holds no remaining exploration claims in the county.
Several landowners who were contacted on this issue indicated that they felt they were dealt with fairly by the mining company—that they did receive their annual lease payments, but felt that local opposition to the prospect of sulfide mining had possibly been a factor in the mining company’s decision.
Kim Dowat, spokesperson for the Farmington Chapter of Friends of the Coulee Region which scheduled a series of informational meetings last Spring when the leases were first discovered, is quite pleased with this outcome. "I think the great outpouring of public opinion and the excellent coverage by the local print and broadcast media had a major impact on both Kennecott’s pull-out and the overwhelming support for the Mining Moratorium Bill," said Dowat.
Omar Poler of Driftless
Earth First! is less than complacent with this condition. "There
are still over 5,300 acres of land in Jackson, Trempealeau and Clark Counties
contracted to Flambeau Mining. All of them are upstream from here,
draining into the Black, Trempealeau, Buffalo, and Eau Claire Rivers, some
as close as Irving Township just north of Melrose," Poler explained.
"Mining activities in any of these areas still poses a threat to our ground
and surface waters in La Crosse County. We also don’t know the extent
to which Kennecott or other mining companies still hold mineral rights
on privately held land."
Tom Wilson, spokesperson for the Headwaters Group of Northern Thunder
and Cleveland Township (located in northern Jackson County) resident is
still very concerned. "Although 74% of the respondents and landowners
to a recent town-wide survey in our community indicated that sulfide mining
is not an appropriate land use, Kennecott still has control over a dozen
parcels in the township."
In response to this survey, Kennecott Exploration’s Hans Rasmussen responded, "I hope your township can work things out. At this time I do not foresee any activity by Kennecott Exploration in the Black River Falls region for three reasons: first your community told me last year they didn't want exploration (I passed my observations on to my bosses), the passage of the Moratorium Bill sends a clear message to any mineral exploration company, and our North America budget was cut by 20%. Believe it or not we are sensitive to communities."
Al Gedicks, UW La Crosse professor and author of a book on global mining conflicts is not reassured by this sensitivity. "If Kennecott and the other mining companies were so in tune with community sentiments," asks Gedicks, "why did they spend millions of dollars lobbying against the Mining Moratorium Bill which was supported by the most broad-based environmental, sport fishing, Native American and labor union coalition ever to come together on a single issue?"
Although all eight leases in La Crosse County were canceled last September, it was not discovered until recently due to the way the documentation was filed with the Register of Deeds in the County Courthouse. Although the original leases were signed by and filed under the name of "Flambeau Mining", the releases were filed by another subsidiary of the parent company, "Kennecott Exploration."
Wilson reports that he is "not sure whether this name switch was purposely deceptive or not, but it sure makes it hard for the average citizen to track what’s going on in their community. In general, environmental groups all across the state can feel satisfied with the passage of a meaningful mining moratorium, the abandonment of the Crandon Mining Project by Exxon, and this most recent revelation of Kennecott’s pullout, but there is still a great deal left to do."
Dowat notes that, "Wisconsin’s mining regulations have been seriously
eroded over the last dozen years, we no longer have an independent DNR
and we have to restore the Public Intervener’s office. Once we correct
these problems we might be able to trust that the structural changes will
have been put in place to seriously protect our precious water resources."
Kim Dowat — Farmington Chapter
of Friends of the Coulee Region (608) 857-3173
Al Gedicks — Wisconsin
Resources Protection Council (608) 784-4399
Omar Poler — Driftless
Earth First! (608) 781-0232
Hans Rasmussen — Kennecott Exploration (801) 238-2413
Tom Wilson — Headwaters Group
of Northern Thunder (715) 334-2271