Is Rep. Steineke Stumping for a Special Interest?

Summary: Rep. Steineke supported the "mining bill" in an article in the Post-Crescent, but the bill appears to be a special interest bill that is designed to benefit Gogebic Taconite and its investors. Is Steineke stumping for a special interest?

Steineke Promotes “Reform” of the Review of the Review Process for a Proposed Iron Mine

On January 26, Rep. Jim Steineke advocated eloquently in the Post-Crescent for reforms in the permitting process for mining in Wisconsin. The issue has come up because of the mining permit requested by Gogebic Taconite for an iron mine near Hurley Wisconsin.  In order to expedite the permit, Gov. Walker’s administration has introduced a mining bill (2013 AB1/SB1) and presented the bill to the public as a much-needed reform that will stimulate economic development and create thousands of jobs. Steineke went to Hurley to see for himself what the bill could do for the community and came back with a glowing report.

Instead of Reform, the Mining Bill Creates a Special Process for Iron Mining

Unfortunately, the “mining bill” is not exactly the reform that it presents itself to be. It does not offer anything like a general reform of the reviewing process for proposed mining in Wisconsin.  Instead, it is tailored to the needs of Gogebic Taconite and its investors. You can see this in great detail by reading the Legislative Analysis of the bill on the state’s web site (https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2013/related/proposals/sb1). 

Wisconsin’s laws establish a permitting process for all metallic mining, and AB1/SB1 merely separates iron mining from other metallic mining.  The bill defines a special permitting process for iron mining that is less rigorous and quicker than the regular permitting process for other metallic mining. The special process also provides looser environmental requirements and less opportunity for public input than the regular process does.  The supporters of the bill have not explained why we should treat iron mining differently from other metallic mining. They have given us no reason to believe that iron mining is inherently safer or cleaner than other kinds of metallic mining.  So we have to ask ourselves why we should make an exception for iron mining.  Could the reason be political?  Could the mining bill be intended to reward a major campaign contributor?

Gogebic Taconite, a Major Campaign Contributor, Proposes the Iron Mine

The only company currently requesting an iron mining permit in Wisconsin is Gogebic Taconite, and the owner of that company is Florida billionaire Chris Cline. He, his executives and his business associates gave almost $40,000 (pocket change for a billionaire) to political campaigns in Wisconsin in 2010, including $10,000 to Governor Walker’s campaign, according to Wisconsin Campaign for Democracy. (http://www.wisdc.org/pr121510.php)  Other Wisconsin politicians who received money from Cline this group include Democratic State Senator Jeff Plale, Republican Representative Mark Honadel, both of South Milwaukee, and Republican legislative candidate Shirl LaBarre of Hayward.

This political campaign is a continuation of the effort that began a couple of years ago when Gov. Walker and his allies in Madison tried unsuccessfully to pass an earlier version of this bill. According to the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism (http://www.wisconsinwatch.org/2011/08/25/mining-bill-not-a-lobbying-success-story/), Gogebic Taconite spent $114,883 in 2011 on lobbying to pass the bill [AB426, the predecessor of the current bill].

The Mine May Create Few Jobs

Rep. Steineke would have us believe that the proposed mine will create thousands of jobs, but those jobs are far from certain. The Capital Times reported on January 25, 2013 (http://host.madison.com/33bad812-666e-11e2-97fc-001a4bcf887a.html) that mining companies in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan are laying off people and even shutting some mines down because of low prices for iron ore on the world market. The paper says,

… industry analysts are predicting a bear market for iron ore over the next several years.   Some commodity experts forecast the world supply of iron ore will exceed the demand by 2015 and beyond.

If Gogebic Taconite expects to make money from the mine near Hurley under these market conditions, they must be taking a very long view, and in that case, there is really no need for an expedited process.  We have plenty of time to do a thorough environmental review. Moreover, since iron ore prices will be low for several years at least, we should not expect a flood of new jobs in Wisconsin any time soon.

Big Benefits For Gogebic Taconite

On the other hand, the mining bill will certainly save money for Gogebic Taconite by shortening the permitting process and by limiting public input. The company will probably also save money by having fewer and less restrictive environmental requirements to meet. The bill gives regulators more leeway to ignore indicators of environmental damage, and in this case, the regulators will be working for Gov. Walker whose friendliness to business and contempt for environmental regulation are well known.

Is Steineke Stumping For a Special Interest?

So, Rep. Steineke appears to have been stumping for a bill that was designed to benefit a single company and its investors who have been major donors to political campaigns in Wisconsin. What do you think? Was Rep. Steineke promoting a pay-off to a special interest?