As this article goes to press, a bill creating a moratorium on sulfide mining activities in the state of Wisconsin sits on Governor Thompson's desk, awaiting his signature. The mining moratorium (Senate Bill 3) is the product of many years of effort, coalition building, grass roots activism and political struggle. I am proud to be a co-author of the bill.

Many concerned citizens have followed the progress of this bill carefully and know that in recent weeks, last minute political maneuvering almost resulted in stripping the measure of all its muscle. While the bill was being debated in the state Assembly, several eleventh hour amendments were offered at the behest of Exxon corporation. One of the Exxon amendments (Assembly amendment 4) actually passed in the Assembly, throwing environmentally conscientious legislators and citizen activists across the state into action.

The Exxon amendment would have redefined the word "pollution" in such a way that the very mining activities that the bill was intended to address would probably have been exempted. The Exxon amendment gutted the bill. Senate Bill 3 would no longer have provided protection to the citizens of the state.

Fortunately the action to weaken the bill resulted in an overwhelming public outcry. Several legislators reported receiving in excess of 250 telephone calls in the days following the Assembly vote. The citizen activism got results. The state Senate acted to correct the damage and ultimately both houses passed a bill that is a true moratorium. Now the same level of activism is needed to persuade the Governor to sign Senate Bill 3 into law.

You may wonder why we need a sulfide mining moratorium in Wisconsin. Mining for metals such as zinc or copper produces a byproduct waste (sulfuric acid). Unacceptably high levels of this waste enter our lakes and rivers, polluting our drinking water supply and damaging our environment. Mining corporations such as Exxon and its business partner Rio Algom claim that they now have technology that enables them to mine without polluting the water. The moratorium bill simply says prove that the technology works somewhere else first before you mine in Wisconsin. Exxon and Rio Algom have long had their sights set on a large mine near Crandon Wisconsin, at the headwaters of the Wolf river. The mining moratorium bill has had a long and arduous path through the Legislature because so many wealthy interests were involved in attempting to derail or gut the bill. The passage of Senate Bill 3 is a real victory for the people of the state who stood up to these enormously powerful interests and won.

I appreciate all the thoughtful communications I received on SB 3. Please feel free to stay in touch with me on the Mining Moratorium Bill or any other issues of interest. You can reach me at 266-8570 (voice) or 266-8463 (fax) or by writing me at P.O. Box 8952, Madison, WI 53708-8952. You may also E-mail me at tammy.baldwin@legis.state.wi.us or visit my web site at http://www.legis.state.wi.us/assembly/asm78/news/index.htm.

Representative Tammy Baldwin