A project to drill for metals on federal land in northern Wisconsin has been added to the Trump administration’s list of infrastructure projects taking part in a fast-tracked permitting process.
The Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council announced Friday that the Bend project in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest is among the latest additions to its federal dashboard. The 16-member council includes representatives from 13 federal agencies, councils and offices who are responsible for environmental reviews and permitting infrastructure projects.
Canadian mining company GreenLight Metals, operating as GreenLight Wisconsin, asked to take part in the expedited permitting process as it’s been conducting exploratory drilling of the Bend deposit near Medford in Taylor County. The deposit contains around 4.2 million tons of ore containing primarily copper-bearing sulfides with significant gold and small amounts of silver.
“The addition of Bend to the federal permitting dashboard is an important milestone for GreenLight and provides a transparent, public framework for tracking the federal review process as Bend advances,” GreenLight President & CEO Matt Filgate said in a news release.
In 2015, the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act, or FAST Act, established the council and permitting program, known as FAST-41, to improve transparency and efficiency in permitting projects. In Friday’s announcement, Emily Domenech, the council’s executive director, said it’s been a “game changer” for advancing critical mineral projects.
“Domestic mining is a critical part of President Trump’s energy dominance agenda and protecting supply chains essential for economic growth and national security,” Domenech said.
President Donald Trump has sought to boost domestic mineral production under an executive order issued last year in an effort to create jobs and reduce foreign reliance on metals.
GreenLight is currently drilling 26 holes at the Bend deposit, which was last explored by Aquila Resources in 2012. The company is also seeking a prospecting permit from the federal Bureau of Land Management. GreenLight wants to drill up to 25 holes up to 30,000 feet deep across a roughly 500-acre parcel in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest.
The project is being reviewed under the National Environmental Policy Act, said Steve Donohue, the company’s vice president for Wisconsin. Since the Obama administration, he said the FAST-41 process has improved transparency and efficiency in permitting projects.
“It’s an easier process for the agencies and the public to navigate through, and in that manner speeds the process up because it was widely recognized that these reviews are taking too long on all sorts of projects across the country,” Donohue said.
Projects under the program aren’t presumed to receive approval, according to the council. Under the process, an advisor will be dedicated to the Bend project, and a permitting timeline will be developed. Quarterly reports detailing an agency’s compliance with timetables are shared with Congress.
The company had to request coverage under the voluntary program. Dave Blouin, mining committee chair with Sierra Club Wisconsin, said the project’s listing likely does little or nothing to speed up permitting of exploratory drilling because Wisconsin has its own regulatory process and timelines.
Despite that, he expects GreenLight will receive a prospecting permit, saying applications for exploration are often “rubber-stamped.”
“FAST-41 could have a significant impact for Bend, at least on the federal permitting side, if they can advance this project to the point of actually applying for mining permits,” Blouin said. “Even the company has said it’s probably years before they would submit an application.”
However, Donohue said the project’s listing only applies to the company’s request for a prospecting permit, saying separate approval would be needed if they are able to develop a mine.
Metals like gold and copper that occur in sulfide minerals haven’t been mined in Wisconsin since the Flambeau mine shut down in 1997. However, a repeal of the sulfide mining moratorium in 2017 by the Republican-controlled Legislature has opened the door to such projects.
The Bend project has prompted pushback from environmental advocates and tribal officials over fears that drilling or mining would contaminate water and harm cultural resources.
In the meantime, GreenLight’s plans to drill, submitted to the state in March, are still under review by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. The DNR has requested more information on its proposed water consumption and plans to pump directly from the North Fork of the Yellow River among other details.
Molly Gardner, the DNR’s metallic mining coordinator, said the company has not yet submitted an application for a wetlands permit or amended other approvals that are needed before work begins.
At the federal level, the Bureau of Land Management considers the Forest Service the lead agency on a prospecting permit for the project. A representative of the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest said in an email Tuesday that the FAST-41 process ensures “timely decision-making” on projects . A permitting timetable will be publisehed on the permitting council’s website on or before July 30.
The Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management will determine NEPA compliance based on public comments, tribal consultation and anticipated environmental effects.
Federal regulators are expected to conduct an environmental assessment on the project, and Donohue expects a draft will be available by the end of July while a final assessment will be released later this fall. A permit decision is currently anticipated by May of next year.
By – https://www.wpr.org/news/mining-companys-project-wisconsin-fast-tracked-federal-permitting