Republican trashing of environment in mining bill may cancel out Federal Flood Insurance.

I don’t know, do you think Republicans should have considered this major problem before they raced through the approval process of a mining bill written by a magical all-knowing mysterious entity?

WSJ: A provision in the Assembly mine permitting bill being considered in the state Legislature Thursday could jeopardize the state's access to federal flood insurance, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The chief of FEMA's floodplain management branch said part of the Assembly bill that exempts mines from floodplain ordinances could prompt the agency to "seek enforcement of requirements that include suspension from the program."

The bill gives the state Department of Natural Resources 360 days to act on an iron permit application. It also relaxes a number of environmental protections for lakes, rivers and wetlands. One of those provisions would allow a mining company to dispose of mining waste in a floodplain.

But the letter from David Stearrett, chief of FEMA's floodplain management branch, said mining is specifically mentioned in a list of floodplain activities that would jeopardize communities' ability to qualify for federal flood insurance.

Maybe Walker can turn down big governments flood insurance policy in the state.