Walker Blames Feds For Blocking New Jobs At Stalled GTAC Mine

Gov. Scott Walker continues to blame the federal government for the halting of a planned mine in northern Wisconsin.

Walker has been touting Wisconsin’s unemployment rate dropping below 5 percent. But last week, the governor’s plan to increase jobs in far northern Wisconsin took another hit when the Gogebic Taconite mining company withdrew its pre-application notice for a possible mine near Mellen.

Walker said that, for now, federal entities like the Environmental Protection Agency and Army Corps of Engineers are insurmountable barriers.

“And we’re hopeful in the future that they’ll re-examine that. But there are good, inter-generational jobs that can be done there, in a way that’s environmentally sound and safe,” Walker said.

Environmental groups like the Sierra Club argue that sulfide minerals at the Penokee Hills site posed an environmental threat. The group has called for state lawmakers to repeal the iron mining law passed two years ago, which Walker championed.