Wisconsin

hue

(4,949 posts) Thu Oct 17, 2013, 06:40 PM Oct 2013

Roll back local powers to regulate mines and blasting, GOP lawmakers say

http://journaltimes.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/e73929f6-bb95-5e84-95cc-2a6615052b9c.html

Two Republican state legislators are pushing for a far-reaching new law that would vastly diminish local government power to regulate rock blasting and frac sand mining.

If enacted, the statute would roll back local control of mine reclamation efforts, pollution monitoring and even excavation and disposal of soil and gravel by state highway contractors.

Sen. Tom Tiffany, R-Hazelhurst, on Wednesday circulated an email asking lawmakers to co-sponsor the 14-page bill that he said would provide more "certainty" for mining operations.

More than 115 frac sand mines and processing plants have appeared in Wisconsin in the last two years, and some local governments are resisting, in part because of potential health hazards from silica dust and effects on wells and roads.

Tiffany and Rep. Joan Ballweg, R-Markesan, want a law that would limit the ability of towns to use health and safety ordinances to regulate mining. Instead, town officials' only option would be zoning ordinances that require approval of their county boards. But the bill also would roll back the scope of local zoning authority, according to analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau.

"It's really shocking," Kimberlee Wright, executive director of Midwest Environmental Advocates in Madison said Thursday. "Local people should have the right to protect the health and safety of their community."

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Greed rules all!!