SJR68: Joint Resolution Text

LRB-3941/1

CMH:ahe

2017 - 2018 LEGISLATURE

2017 Senate JOINT RESOLUTION 68

August 3, 2017 - Introduced by Senators Hansen, Carpenter, Erpenbach, Larson, Ringhand, Risser and Vinehout, cosponsored by Representatives Stuck, Genrich, Mursau, Berceau, Brostoff, Considine, Crowley, Goyke, Hebl, Mason, Milroy, Ohnstad, Shankland, Spreitzer, C. Taylor, Wachs and Zepnick. Referred to Committee on Senate Organization.

SJR68,1,2 Relating to: opposing the development of Aquila Resources' Back Forty Project, a proposed open pit metallic sulfide mine in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

SJR68,1,6 Whereas, Aquila Resources' Back Forty Project, a proposed open pit metallic sulfide mine, would be located in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan on the banks of the Menominee River, which empties into Lake Michigan and is one of the largest watersheds in Northern Wisconsin and Michigan's Upper Peninsula; and

SJR68,1,9 Whereas, the Menominee River provides a unique habitat for species of special concern such as lake sturgeon and freshwater mussels, which would be negatively impacted by discharges into the river; and

SJR68,1,11 Whereas, the potential impacts of the mine include long term leaching of acid-producing wastes into the groundwater and the river; and

SJR68,1,14 Whereas, the hazardous wastes generated by the mine would degrade water quality and present risks to human health and the environment in Wisconsin and Michigan; and

SJR68,2,2 Whereas, potential economic losses including reduction in property values and loss of tourism revenue are not factored into the permitting review process; and

SJR68,2,5 Whereas, the approval of this mine will result in the loss of significant cultural resources of the Menominee Indian tribes of Wisconsin including Native American gravesites and other areas of historical significance; now, therefore, be it

SJR68,2,11 Resolved by the senate, the assembly concurring, That the legislature opposes the development of Aquila Resources' Back Forty Project, a proposed open pit metallic sulfide mine in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, due to its potential negative impacts on the natural resources, public health, and economy of Northern Wisconsin, and urges the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality to deny a mining permit for the project; and, be it further

SJR68,2,16 Resolved, That the senate chief clerk shall send a copy of this resolution to Governor Scott Walker, Department of Natural Resources Secretary Cathy Stepp, the county board chairs of Florence, Oconto, Brown, Marinette, Kewaunee, and Door counties, the governor of Michigan, and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.

SJR68,2,17 (End)