Public Hearings on Project ELF

NORTHERN WISCONSIN - The Wisconsin Sierra Club, Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute, and the Great Lakes Intertribal Council will sponsor five public hearings in September and October regarding the health and environmental impacts of the Navy's Project ELF submarine transmission near Clam Lake.

The Lac Courte Oreilles Project ELF Public Participation Project, as the panels are dubbed, seek to inform the public about the effects of electromagnetic pollution on human health and the environment from the Navy' s Extremely Low Frequency (ELF) antennae.

The hearings are free and statements by concerned citizens are encouraged. The hearings will be recorded and scientific experts will be available to answer questions about electromagnetic pollution. The first and last hearings will be broadcast live on WOJB-FM, (88.9). See Talking Points on Project ELF.

While the ELF antennae has not received any funding for human studies, the World Health Organization has listed ELF electromagnetic radiation as a "possible human carcinogen." More than forty peer-reviewed medical studies now point to a link between electromagnetic pollution and human cancers.

The Lac Courte Oreilles Tribe has worked since May of 1998 toward reaching an agreement with the Navy to study the impact of Project ELF, including studies of breast cancer incidence, stray voltage, and the impact of electromagnetic pollution on fish and wetlands.

Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold and Representative Tammy Baldwin have repeatedly introduced legislation in congress to close the Navy antennae, starting with the ELF Termination Act bill in 1995. The current ELF Termination Act amendments are S. 112 and HR 1160.

Public concern about Project ELF has resulted in hundreds of arrests at peaceful demonstrations at the site. On September 26, five activists from Duluth, MN, and Luck, WI, will go on trial in Ashland County for their participation in a nonviolent protest at Project ELF on Mother's Day 2001. They are each facing fines up to $1000.00 or 2-6 months in jail if convicted.

Lac Courte Oreilles Project ELF Public Participation Project, Public Hearings:

Tues. Sept. 18 6:30 - 9:00 p.m. Great Lakes Visitor Center, Ashland, WI
Thurs. Sept. 20 6:30 - 9:00 p.m. Flambeau Lanes, Park Falls, WI
Tues. Sept. 25 6:30 - 9:00 p.m. Cable Community Center, Cable, WI
Thurs. Sept. 27 6:30 - 9:00 p.m. Spider Lake Town Hall, Hayward, WI
Wed. Oct. 3 6:00 - 9:00 p.m. LCO Casino Convention Center
Hayward, WI (to be broadcast live on WOJB)

Contacts: Dan Peterson, Project Coordinator (503) 772-9253;
Lac Courte Oreilles Health Center (800) 323-2650;
John LaForge, Nukewatch