The regulation of metallic mining and related activities and making an appropriation. (FE)

2013 Wisconsin Act 1 modified the laws regulating metallic mining so that the laws apply to mining for nonferrous minerals only and created new laws for regulating mining for ferrous minerals.

Under current law, certain forested land may be designated as managed forest land (MFL) under a program administered by DNR. Under this program, the owner of land designated as MFL makes an annual acreage share payment in lieu of property taxes and must open the land to the public for certain recreational activities. The landowner may designate a portion of the land as closed to public access and make an additional payment per acre.

2013 Wisconsin Act 81 generally provided that requirements regarding public access to MFL do not apply to an area of land within a certain distance of a proposed iron mining site and required an MFL owner to make an additional payment per acre for land located in a proposed ferrous mining site if the land is not open to public access.

Prior to 2017 Wisconsin Act 134 , activities relating to nonferrous metallic minerals were regulated differently depending on whether the activity involved exploration, prospecting, or mining.

2017 Act 134 added as a regulated activity bulk sampling, which is the excavation of fewer than 10,000 tons of material with a license issued by DNR.

2017 Act 134 also eliminated requirements specific to mining for sulfide ore and repealed DNR administrative rules relating to mining and wetlands. The bill restores those provisions.