MADISON — Clean Wisconsin government relations director, Amber Meyer Smith, released the following statement today after the State Senate rejected the Joint Finance Committee’s version of the open-pit mining bill by a 17-16 vote and sent it back to committee:

“The Wisconsin Senate stood with the people of Wisconsin today by rejecting the Joint Finance Committee’s version of the open-pit mining bill, which rolls back commonsense environmental protections and limits the voice of the people in the mine permit process.

“Over the last few months, Wisconsin residents have made one thing clear: they oppose weakening environmental standards for mining. We applaud the seventeen senators who listened to the voice of Wisconsin residents and stood up to the bully tactics of out-of-state mining interests by opposing this bill.

“Tonight we especially applaud the efforts of Senators Schultz and Jauch who reached across party-lines, traveled to the proposed mine site, listened to concerns of people across the state, sought input from all stakeholders, and took a firm stand against weakening environmental protections.”

“As the session winds to a close, we will be vigilant of any attempt to weaken environmental protections for mining.”