Vox Pop - Writer questions protections of waters

Are we doing enough to protect our waters in Wisconsin?

I have been keeping an eye on the potential for drilling at the Bend site for over a year and here we are seeing this come to fruition with no regard for social license. I look at the damage done by mining operations worldwide. Is that something we really want here? Clean water is a right. Once it is destroyed there is no getting it back.

Many of us have been out to the Bend exploration site on numerous occasions over the last year or so and we are now watching closely as things unfold. With the onslaught of rain we have conditions that are less than ideal out there. What I am seeing is that water is being hit at roughly five feet. Pictures have been taken confirm this. What is being done to monitor this water at the Soo Line Bend project and is it storm water or is it actually ground water? Can this be tested by temperature? Just what is being done to monitor the water? What has become of the storm water permit? If there is a breach of an aquifer, then what? Who is watching? Where is the oversight and who will pay the damages? Nature itself should have inherent rights.

I also have many concerns about what is being done with these large ruts that are being put in by heavy equipment and would think that activities should be suspended until the ground is more suitable. Is any type of utility mat being used?

GreenLight Metals greenwashed their presentation to the public. These companies come and go leaving a wake of destruction. We see the same names of executives come up again and again under a different name to create more damage. The metals they are going after are not needed. Copper for one can be recycled over and over. These are men out to make a fast dollar at the public’s expense. Always remember the words of Mark Twain, “A mine is nothing more than a hole in the ground with a liar standing on top.”

I look to the DNR to protect our environment and in this case the waters known as the Yellow River. Water is a source, not a resource. I would ask that the permit to drill in these wetlands be reconsidered immediately. Is there anybody listening?

— Nancy Stencil, Wausau