Geesh. More stuff going on behind the scenes. It could be a full-time job trying to keep track of shifty bills and corporate wheeling and dealing!
Back Track on Mining Regulation:Legislative ENR Committee Poised to Weaken Environmental Protections
Sunlight Media Collective March 24, 2024
"On Monday, March 25, the Maine legislature’s Committee on Environment and Natural Resources (ENR) will discuss a new “Zombie Bill” version of #LD1471, a bill that was tabled last year. This bill takes a dangerous U-turn on #EnvironmentalProtections protections for metallic #mining in #Maine. This new version of LD1471 replaces language about strengthening environmental and human health mining protections with language that instead weakens Maine’s mining law and creates a loophole that specifically exempts #OpenPit #LithiumMining from environmental protections in the law.
"Writing a “Zombie Bill” is sneaky, undemocratic politics. The Maine Board of Environmental Protection (BEP) missed the deadline for this legislative session to have the legislature review these new rules regarding open-pit lithium mining. Instead of going through a transparent, democratic process of review in the next legislative session, the #JanetMills administration, pushed by the mining industry and in cooperation with the ENR committee, is bringing this zombie bill forward in an attempt to rush it through without a public hearing.
"We deserve the right to a public hearing and to submit testimony on this legislation, but this undemocratic process takes away our right to do so. There is no online portal available to submit testimony, so please submit comment by email or in person."
#NoMetallicMiningInMaine #NoLithiumMining #NoOpenPitMining #ProtectTheForest #LithiumRecycling