While Republicans and the news media view with alarm the projected costs of a statewide recall election, they don't seem quite as excited about the cost to taxpayers of a proposed open pit ore mine in northern Wisconsin.
A Republican bill designed to grease the skids for the mine could cost the state Dept. of Natural Resources as much as $3.8 million, the AP reports. The 183-page bill would make a number of broad changes, including placing time limits on the DNR to approve or deny an iron-mine application. It also caps at $1.1 million the amount that a mining company could be asked to reimburse the DNR.
The mine could operate for nearly a century, so costs over time could be astronomical.
And that's not accounting for the environmental damage that would surely result, or the loss in natural resources and scenic beauty, which are priceless.
Here's the story.
And a correction: Wisconsin DNR says [AP’s] mining bill story incorrect … overstates how much it will cost the DNR if Wisconsin lawmakers adopt Assembly Bill 426. DNR’s Polasek said bullet stating $350K-$2.7M cost for outside environmental impact studies is a total project not annual figure.