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2013 Iron Mining Reform – Assembly Bill 1/Senate Bill 1
Economic Impact – Largest private investment in State History – Good paying jobs for Generations!
- $1.5 billion in Private Investment, NO Tax Dollars needed to secure it
- 700 direct construction jobs in Phase One of the mine
- Thousands of jobs to support the mine thereafter
- Two of the largest mining equipment manufacturers are located in Wisconsin, Joy Global and Caterpillar are both located in Milwaukee and will benefit greatly from the mine
- Other companies gaining business will be L&S Electric in Schofield, Valley Plating and Fabricating in Green Bay and Phoenix Products in Milwaukee
- Restaurants and hotels in the area of the mine as well as homebuilders, road builders and support services for the employees will be positively impacted.
- Iron County is suffering an unemployment rate of 11.9%, second highest in the state
What’s in the Bill?
- Based off of 2011 Assembly Bill 426 that ultimately failed by one vote in the Senate
- AB 426 received several public hearings in Madison, Milwaukee and Hurley
- It received more public hearings than any single bill other than the State Budget
- This is yet another hearing on a bill that has had significant public exposure
- This bill does not issue a permit for any mine or mining company. It simply creates certainty in the permitting process by establishing a timetable for granting or denying a state mining permit.
- Environmental protections remain intact. This bill simply creates a defined timeline for permit approval
- This bill does nothing to affect federal environmental regulations. The Army Corps of Engineers and Environmental Protection Agency still need to “sign off” before any mine is permitted
Why Now?
- Wisconsin, like our neighbors in Michigan and Minnesota, has a long history of iron mining. However, despite one of the largest iron ore deposits in the country, a new mine hasn’t been opened in Wisconsin in over 40 years
- Michigan is reforming their mining tax structure to entice companies to start operations, many of these mines are right across the border in the Upper Peninsula. Wisconsin is in a race for this development and the jobs associated with it.
- The testing phase, before a permit can even be applied for, needs to start in the spring. If we don’t pass a bill now, the process will be delayed another full year.
- The last major mining reforms happened in 1998 and Wisconsin has been effectively closed to mining ever since
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