From: EarthWINS Daily <EarthWINS-Daily@earthwins.com>
Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2000 19:00:42 -0500

Please pray for peace

Contents

1. Wisconsin: Press on South African company takeover of Crandon mine
2. Wisconsin: Waterkeepers of Wisconsin Files Lawsuit Against Perrier Subsidiary
3. Wisconsin: Excerpts - Marathon County Board opposes power line
4. Wisconsin: WSN asked to adopt groundwater protection and power line alternatives as new priority issues
5. Wisconsin: Groundbreaking report on power plant particulates

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1. Wisconsin: Press on South African company takeover of Crandon mine

Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2000 11:52:20 -0500
From: Zoltan Grossman <mtn@igc.org>
To: mtnweb@oraibi.alphacdc.com, wisc-eco@igc.apc.org, pw-list@igc.apc.org

[Billiton's Nicolet Minerals Company still 
maintains it is staying in Crandon, and has 
scheduled a 1 pm press conference today.] 
**Keep e-mailing Billiton:** 
   mgonsalves@billiton.com 
SEE BOLDED STATEMENT BELOW 
Background: http://www.treatyland.com 

NEW MINE OWNERS FACE OPPOSITION 
Pressure mounts to halt project near Crandon 

http://www.wausaudailyherald.com/headlines/headstate1.html 

By Nikki Kallio <nkallio@wdhprint.com>
Wausau Daily Herald 
http://www.wausaudailyherald.com/

CRANDON -- The new owner of a company that wants to mine copper and zinc near 
Crandon is under pressure from environmental, tribal and sporting groups to 
halt the project. 

The London-based company Billiton Inc. at midnight Monday became the Crandon 
deposit's fifth owner in 25 years. 

"I don't think any mining company has seen this amount of opposition this 
early in a project anywhere in the world," said Zoltan Grossman, co-founder 
of the Wolf Watershed Educational Project, a coalition of about 30 
environmental, sportfishing and Native American groups. 

Project critics worry that a mining operation would destroy trout habitat and 
reduce water levels in tribal rice beds, and that sulfuric acid and cyanide 
used in the mining process would contaminate groundwater supplies. 

The company takes the community opposition seriously, said Marc Gonsalves, 
senior manager of corporate affairs in Billiton's London office. 

"We don't like to be where we're not wanted," Gonsalves said. "A lot of 
people are talking about it, and are kind enough to send an unending stream 
of e-mail. Obviously, we'll look at the issue very carefully." 

It's too soon to say what the company will do with the project, Gonsalves 
said. "I don't think at this stage it's helpful to be explicit about various 
possibilities" he said. 

Grossman, however, said the company has three choices: continue with the 
project, sell the rights to a different company or drop the permit 
application with the state. 

Billiton paid $1.2 billion for Canadian-based Rio Algom Ltd., parent company 
of Nicolet Minerals, which wants to open the controversial Northwoods mine. 

Billiton has no other mining or metal businesses in the United States. 

Supporters say northeastern Wisconsin, one of the most economically depressed 
areas of the state, needs the mine because it could create up to 500 jobs. 
They also dispute claims that the operation would destroy the environment. 

Crandon Mayor Pat DeWitt said the mine also would contribute to Forest 
County's property taxes in addition to the new jobs. 

"With the mine coming in it would give us a tax base that we could use to 
build a better future around here," he said. 

The Crandon mine project has been the target of environmental protests since 
it was first proposed in 1982. Exxon Coal and Minerals found the deposit in 
1975 and since then the project has changed hands several times. 

"I think this is a perfect time for Billiton to think carefully about whether 
it's worthwhile to continue Crandon," said Dave Blouin, coordinator for the 
Mining Impact Coalition of Wisconsin. 

The project also has run afoul of the Forest County town of Nashville, which 
ousted Town Board members after they forged an agreement with Nicolet 
Minerals to build the mine there. 

It also has inspired a new state law. In 1998, Gov. Tommy Thompson signed 
into law a mining moratorium that requires companies that want to mine in the 
state to show a similar mine has operated pollution-free. But questions about 
how to interpret the law have prevented it from being used effectively. 

In the last session of the Legislature, a bill was introduced that would ban 
the use of cyanide in Wisconsin mining operations. 

Ken Fish of the Menominee Nation said the Crandon mine would be detrimental 
to his tribe in several ways. 

"It could mean potential devastation to the Wolf River that flows to the 
center of the (Menominee) reservation, to the animals that drink and live in 
the water which we as Menominees eat as subsistence, and it certainly would 
have an impact on our economy, whether it's our forestry industry or our 
tourism industry," Fish said. 

The mine would operate for 28 years and produce 55 million tons of mostly 
zinc and copper ore. The project would cost at least $288 million. Rio Algom 
has spent $65 million on the proposal so far, Blouin said. 

------------------------------------------------------------------ 

Wednesday, October 18, 2000 

CRANDON MINE FIRM HAS NEW OWNER 
Mine foes hope company drops project 

By Susan Campbell 
Green Bay Press-Gazette 
http://www.pressgazettenews.com/archive/biz/0010/1018crandon.html 

Rio Algom Ltd., parent company of the mining corporation that seeks to build 
a zinc and copper mine near Crandon, ceased to exist Tuesday. 

An August offer by London-based Billiton PLC to buy the parent company of 
Nicolet Minerals Co. for $1.7 billion in cash expired at midnight Monday, 
completing the buyout. 

In the aftermath Tuesday, Crandon mine opponents bemoaned the fact that the 
project has now changed hands five times in 25 years, but heralded the change 
in ownership as an opportunity to convince the new owner to drop the proposal. 

"It's a great time for any company to reconsider whether or not a project is 
viable," said Dave Blouin, spokesman for the Mining Impact Coalition of 
Wisconsin. "We're convinced the Crandon proposal is not viable, and our goal 
is to try to convince Billiton that this is a great time to give it up." 

Observers have speculated that Billiton might drop the Crandon mine proposal 
because of the obstacles various mining companies have faced in trying to 
obtain permits for the mine through the years, and the fact that Rio Algom 
has bigger mines that are closer to production in Chile and Peru. 

Nicolet Minerals spokesman Dale Alberts said there's been no indication 
Billiton is considering dropping the Crandon project. 

"Based on everything we know to date and everything we've been told, they 
love Rio Algom's assets and the growth and development projects," he said. 
"We consider our future to be as strong or stronger than ever." 

Blouin, meanwhile, said the continually changing companies and faces only 
serve to complicate the permitting process. 

"I've watched a parade of technical guys come and go," he said. "There could 
be an entirely new cast of project managers who have no relation to the 
original permit application -- that defies common sense." 

Blouin and other environmentalists also question whether Billiton will have 
the same commitment to building an environmentally safe mine in Crandon -- a 
mine Nicolet pledged would be the cleanest, safest mine in the world. 

"We've committed to do all these things to address environmental concerns and 
community concerns, and we're going to do it," Alberts said. 

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2. Wisconsin: Waterkeepers of Wisconsin Files Lawsuit Against Perrier Subsidiary

Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2000 16:30:06 -0500
From: Alice McCombs <info@friendsofthemecan.com>

To the media and others interested in the Perrier issue: Please send to
others on your mailing list. Can be used for web sites. Thank you.

--------------

Waterkeepers of Wisconsin, Inc.
P.O. Box 66
Briggsville, WI 53920

For immediate release:

October 18, 2000
Waterkeepers of Wisconsin Files Lawsuit

Friendship - Waterkeepers of Wisconsin (WOW) filed a lawsuit today in
Adams County against Great Spring Water of America, Inc. (GSWA), a
subsidiary of the Perrier Group, involving proposed high-capacity water
wells in the town of New Haven.

According to Gary Dreier of First Law Group, a Stevens Point law firm
which represents WOW, the basis of the claim is the installation of
commercial test wells and the proposed installation of high capacity
commercial production wells violate Adams County zoning laws.

The lawsuit contends the shoreland protection zoning and the exclusive
agricultural zoning of Adams County do not allow GSWA to place
their commercial test wells and commercial production wells at sites
disclosed by Perrier to the DNR.

The relief requested includes the removal of wells that have already
been installed, an injunction forbidding drilling, construction and
utilization of wells which violate Adams County zoning ordinances, and a declaratory
judgment determining the test wells may not be utilized and production
wells may not be installed or utilized because they violate local zoning laws.

Despite strong opposition from local residents and others, the
Department of Natural Resources (DNR) last month conditionally approved
the application by GSWA to drill two 200 foot wells to extract 720,000
gallons of water per day, 365 days of the year from the headwaters of
Big Springs in Adams County. The company also wants to build a 1
million-square foot bottling plant less than two miles away in the rural
community of New Haven.

Last week, Concerned Citizens of Newport, Inc. filed a lawsuit against
the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources alleging that the DNR
violated its own regulations, Wisconsin’s Environmental Protection Act
and its duty to protect the public trust in its actions over the past
seven months.

“There has been a lot of talk about how the DNR has never asked for a
stricter well application out of the 9,400 well applications,” said,
Mike Jacobi, of  WOW. “That may be true, but we need to reemphasize
that only 6 to 12 wells are extracting water directly from springs. The DNR
says it has no data available on those 6 to 12 wells.”

##

For more information please contact First Law Group, Stevens Point, WI.
at (715) 341-7855. FAX is 715-341-7255

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

For more information about Wisconsin citizens' struggle against Perrier visit 
http://www.friendsofthemecan.com/ 

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3. Wisconsin: Excerpts - Marathon County Board opposes power line

From: Burroak15@aol.com
Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2000 12:07:02 EDT

http://www.wausaudailyherald.com/headlines/headstate2.html

County Board opposes power line

By Nikki Kallio <nkallio@wdhprint.com>
Wausau Daily Herald
http://www.wausaudailyherald.com/
10/18/00

The Marathon County Board will officially oppose a proposed 345-kilovolt 
power line that would run through the county and connect to the Weston Power 
plant in Rothschild. 

The board's 24-7 vote against the project was applauded by about 50 power 
line opponents who attended Tuesday's meeting. 

.......................

Wisconsin Public Service and Minnesota Power jointly are proposing the 
220-mile line from northern Minnesota to Rothschild to increase electrical 
reliability in both states and help avoid power outages because of an 
overload on the system. 

Opponents fear negative effects on the environment, agriculture, health, 
property values and tourism in the state, and they say the utilities are 
building the line to make money. 

...........................

The resolution gives the county authority to officially oppose the line 
during the Public Service Commission's public hearings, which start at the 
end of November. 

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4. Wisconsin: WSN asked to adopt groundwater protection and power line alternatives as new priority issues

Date: Tue, 17 Oct 2000 11:37:59 -0700
From: "WSN" <wsn@chorus.net>

OCT. 17, 2000
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACTS:
Jim Wise, WSN Steering Committee President
125 W. Wisconsin Ave.
Tomahawk, WI  54487
(715) 453-3676 or (715) 453-8769

Todd Hanson, State Coordinator
Wisconsin Stewardship Network
122 State Street Suite 509, Madison, WI  53703
(608) 268-1218 After-hours phone or fax (608) 243-9025

 Following presentations from individuals and representatives of state sporting, conservation, and environmental groups, the Steering Committee of the Wisconsin Stewardship Network (WSN) has agreed to begin the process that could lead to the adoption of two new statewide priority issues for the coalition.

The proposed new WSN core issues are:
·       Enacting tougher state groundwater legislation, and
·       Encouraging alternatives to the proposed Arrowhead-Weston electric transmission line in northern Wisconsin.

Groundwater extraction and exporting issues have been the talk of the state ever since it was learned last December that the Perrier Company wanted to bottle water from the Mecan Springs in Waushara County. Several local groups have formed to oppose Perrier and fight for tougher groundwater legislation.

The Arrowhead-Weston line would be the state s longest high-voltage power line, running 250 miles from Duluth to Wausau. Citizens in northwestern Wisconsin fear the line will create health problems and scar the landscape, while alternatives are not being given due consideration.

Steering Committee members will now go back to their organizations to discuss whether their members can support the proposed new issues. 

The decision on whether to adopt these new issues will be made at the next WSN Steering Committee meeting to be held in conjunction with the WSN s annual conference Jan. 26-27, 2001, in Stevens Point. 

The WSN is a coalition of Wisconsin organizations that was formed in 1996 to encourage dialogue between sporting, conservation, and environmental groups and to provide a means of identifying issues these diverse groups all have in common.

The WSN has not adopted a new core issue since its inception. The WSN organizations currently support five core issues: 
·       Returning the WDNR to an independent, board-controlled agency,
·       Restoring the office of the public intervenor,
·       Opposing unsafe sulfide mining,
·       Protecting and enhancing the state s shorelines, and
·       Restricting the growth of factory farms.

WSN core issues are adopted by a vote of two thirds of the Steering Committee. 

The WSN Steering Committee is composed of representatives of the following organizations: Audubon Society-Madison Chapter, Citizens for a Better Environment, Clean Water Action Council of NE Wis., ECCOLA, Federation of Fly Fishers, Izaak Walton League of America, Lake Superior Greens, Northern Thunder, Pheasants Forever, River Alliance of Wis., Sierra Club-John Muir Chapter, Twin Cities Rod & Gun Club, Wis. Association of Lakes, Wis. B.A.S.S. Federation, Wis. Conservation Congress, Wis. Council of Sportfishing Organizations, Wis. Trout Unlimited, and Wisconsin s Environmental Decade.

------------------------------------------
Todd Hanson
State Coordinator
Wisconsin Stewardship Network
122 State St. -- Suite 509
Madison, WI 53703
(608) 268-1218

Visit us on-line at www.wsn.org

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5. Wisconsin: Groundbreaking report on power plant particulates

Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2000 09:45:10 -0500
From: "Richard Bogovich" <bogovich@chorus.net>
Sender: owner-wisc-eco@igc.apc.org

This new report was covered by at least five TV stations in southern
Wisconsin, as well as Wisc. Public Radio and the Wisc. Radio Network.  If
people want to learn more about it, they can check out the webstite
www.cleartheair.org or call the Decade.

In dirtier cities like Milwaukee, peoples' lives are often being shortened
by 1.5 to 3 years due to power plant particulates.

Rich Bogovich
Climate Change Specialist
Wisconsin's Environmental Decade
Climate Hotline 608-268-1217
Decade Main # 608-251-7020

Pollution-related deaths highlighted
Study says 28 people a year die in Madison due to power plant pollution.

OCTOBER 18, 2000
By Ron Seely Environment reporter
<rseely@madison.com>
Wisconsin State Journal
http://www.wisconsinstatejournal.com/index.html

Fine particle pollutants from coal-burning U.S. power plants shorten the
lives of 448 people in Wisconsin and 30,100 nationwide each year, according
to a report released Tuesday.

The report, called ``Death, Disease & Dirty Power,'' was released by
Wisconsin's Environmental Decade and Clear the Air, the National Campaign
Against Dirty Power.

According to the study, 28 people a year die in Madison due to power plant
pollution, second only to Milwaukee in the number of such deaths.

Funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts, the study is the first to quantify the
health impacts of the extremely small particle pollutants that come from
burning coal. Such fine particles are dangerous because they can be inhaled
deeply, evading the lungs' natural defenses and causing health problems such
as asthma and aggravating heart and lung diseases.

The study was conducted using methodology approved by the Environmental
Protection Agency and reviewed by John Spengler, a professor of
environmental health at Harvard. It builds on earlier work by Spengler and
others on the dangers of fine particle pollution.

``There is no longer any legitimate doubt,'' Spengler said Tuesday, ``that
fine particulates at levels commonly experienced in many parts of the U.S.
contribute significantly to death and disease.''

Groups such as Wisconsin's Environmental Decade cited the report as reason
to tighten regulations on the nation's older power plants, many of which do
not have to meet the higher emissions standards set for new power plants in
1997.

There are 14 such plants in Wisconsin, according to Keith Reopelle, program
director for Wisconsin's Environmental Decade. These plants, he said, do not
have to meet the same requirements as new plants for the emission of
substances such as sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, which produce the
fine particles.

Steve Kraus, a spokesman for Madison Gas and Electric in Madison, said
installing cleanup equipment on old plants would drive up utility bills.

``To retrofit them would be extremely expensive,'' Kraus said.

Kraus said utilities such as MGE are lessening the problems related to fine
particle pollution by building new and cleaner plants and supplementing coal
plants with alternative energy sources such as wind.

In addition, Kraus said, new clean coal technologies are being tested and
are likely to show up regardless of regulations.

But Reopelle said utility consumers would be willing to pay extra on their
utility bills if it means fewer adverse health impacts. He said passing
federal laws that would require older plants to meet more strict emission
standards could reduce by two-thirds the number of deaths due to fine
particle pollution.

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