Public comment period for Gogebic Taconite’s bulk sampling activity ends Sept. 3
DNR extends public comment period for preapplication process until Sept. 17
MADISON – While the public comment period for Gogebic Taconite’s bulk sampling activity ends September 3, the Department of Natural Resources has extended the deadline to submit comments on the preapplication process for the company’s potential mining project in Iron and Ashland counties. The new deadline is September 17.
The agency extended the deadline to September 17 to give members of the public additional time to consider the preapplication notification and preapplication description, which provide a preliminary description of the potential mining project.
The public is invited to submit comments on all aspects of the preapplication notification, including the preliminary project design, associated impacts and the scope of environmental baseline data collection.
The deadline for the 30-day public comment period on the company’s bulk sampling plan remains September 3. The bulk sampling activity and potential mining site are located in the town of Anderson, Iron County, and in the town of Morse in Ashland County, with the majority of the site in Iron County.
The department has already held a public informational hearing in Hurley August 15 to take comments on the bulk sampling plan and preapplication process. Approximately 250 people attended the hearing, and more than 100 individuals spoke on the project.
Any member of the public may submit comments via email or through regular mail. Comments on the bulk sampling plan may be submitted by September 3, 2013, and comments on the preapplication process may be submitted by September 17, 2013, via mail to Larry Lynch, DNR, 101 S. Webster Street, Madison, Wisconsin 53707, or by e-mail to: DNRWAMINING-GOGEBICTACONITE@Wisconsin.gov.
More information available on-line and at local libraries
Information submitted to the agency by Gogebic Taconite, including the proposed bulk sample plan and preapplication description, is available on the DNR’s Gogebic mining project web page.
You can also view some of Gogebic Taconite’s project materials at the Hurley Public Library, 405 5th Ave. N., Hurley, 715-561-5707; and at the Vaughn Public Library, 502 West Main Street, Ashland, 715-682-7060.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Larry Lynch, 608-267-7553