Input needed on comprehensive land use plan

To the Editor:

With most people focused on our national and state elections these days, it is easy to forget about what is happening locally. There are major issues dominating county board committee discussions, issues which will affect our lives, and the lives of our children and grandchildren.

The Planning and Development Committee of Oneida County is revising their Comprehensive Land Use Plan. This document is required by state law, and is revised every 10 years. The revisions proposed by this committee are alarming. In Chapter 2 of the plan, under Natural, Agricultural, and Cultural Resources, instead of encouraging the harvesting of timber responsibly and profitably, the committee has proposed changing Goal 6 of Chapter 2 to “Allow for necessary metallic mining through the County’s non-metallic mining and metallic mining exploration, bulk sampling, and mining ordinance while balancing the interest of County residents to comply with state laws.”

The mining issue in Oneida County should have been settled in 2018 when residents overwhelmingly voted against it in a referendum. We do not want mining in Oneida County. However, some of our county board supervisors wish to impose their unpopular will on us anyway.

The negative impact of mining in Oneida County cannot be overstated. Never in human history has there been a mine that has not polluted the land, air, and water. Sulfuric acid occurs when sulfides from the mines are exposed to oxygen, and leaks into our groundwater, lakes, and streams. In 2017 half of all toxic chemicals released into the environment originated from the mining industry. Exposure to these contaminants can damage every organ system in the body, leading to nervous system disorders, kidney damage, bone loss, cancer, skin disorders, liver damage, gastrointestinal disorders, and developmental disorders in infants and children, to name a few. Mines also require tremendous amounts of water, which has led to surrounding private wells going dry.

While seemingly profitable to the area in the short term, mines can end up costing the taxpayers in the long term. Mining is a boom or bust industry, operating for a few years until the minerals have been extracted, then leaving the taxpayers to pay the bill for the cleanup, which can take decades, and sometimes centuries. Even when the mining companies agree to clean up their mess, they usually do a perfunctory job of it, leaving the long-term problems to the taxpayers.

Do you think these proposed changes are a good idea? They are basically an open invitation for mining companies to pollute our land, forests, lakes, rivers, and health. If you object to these proposed changes, please contact your county board supervisors, talk to your neighbors, and show up for Planning and Development and/or County Board meetings. Please make a stand for our property values, our land, our water, our air, and our children.

Kathleen Cooper

Pelican Township