Gas Utility - Natural gas service is available in only scattered portions
of Forest, Oneida, and
Langlade Counties. While the City of Crandon and some surrounding areas have
gas service, the
project site currently does not. Two pipeline systems provide natural gas
to the region. The first
pipeline runs from Rhinelander to Wabeno, passing north of Crandon. This
pipeline system owned by
ANR Pipeline Company would provide the natural gas for the proposed gas line
to the mine. The
second system is a large (30 inch diameter) pipeline which runs northward
out of the Green Bay area
into the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. This pipeline is about 30 miles east
of the project site.

Solid Waste Disposal
Presently there are 11 landfills serving communities in the local study area
(excluding the
Rhinelander Paper Co. sludge disposal area). Only three of these sites are
modern "approved"
landfills. All facilities (i.e., landfills) with plans of operation approved
under the provisions of NR
180 and Chapter 144 of the Wisconsin Statutes after May 21, 1978, are classified
as approved
facilities. Facilities approved between May 21, 1975 and May 21, 1978 which
have had their plan of
operations re-reviewed and approved by the Department also are classified
as approved facilities.
All other facilities are classified as non-approved.

Approved facilities have specified capacities, incorporate long-term care
and closure funding and
have been engineered to protect the environment. The provisions of NR 180.13(10)
govern the
operations of all licensed facilities (landfills) in the State of Wisconsin.
Non-approved landfills
"grandfathered" into the program have not been engineered to protect
the environment like modem
landfills.

All of the landfills indicated in Table 3-49 receive municipal refuse on
a regular basis. These
landfills could receive additional refuse as a result of the increased population.

SOCIOCULTURAL ENVIRONMENT

Sociocultural Characteristics
Two different sociocultural groups exist in the local study area. One is
the white majority, making up
more than 98 percent of the population. The other significant group is the
Native Americans
consisting of the Forest County Potawatomi, with lands scattered east of
Crandon, and the Sokaogan
band of Chippewa, with tribal government at Mole Lake. The Native American
populations are
discussed in more detail in separate sections.

The white majority shares general values but is not homogeneous in tradition,
demographic
characteristics, occupation, nor community self-perception. The Antigo area
of Langlade County is
an extension of Midwestern farm country. The decline in agricultural activities
has been countered
by the entry of metalworking manufacturing, but more industrial diversification
is desired. The
cultural values in the area have been influenced by North European immigrants
who took readily to
farming and dairying.

Langlade County north of Antigo, all of Forest County, and most of Oneida
County is North Woods
country. The economy has been based on logging and some wood products manufacturing.
Recreation
is and has been an important amenity. Recreation took on increased economic
value as
automobile-bome tourism resulted in small retail and service businesses developing
after
World War I. The independent traits of the loggers and related trades was
reinforced by several
thousand Kentucky families moving north from rural Kentucky because of railroad
and timber
company land promotions between 1890 and World War I.

Archeological Features
Beloit College researchers inventoried 3,760 acres of the project site and
identified artifacts at 14
sites. Stone tool manufacturing debris, a 19th century logging sleigh, and
historic bottles and cans
were discovered at 11 of the archeological sites. None of these sites qualified
for the National
Register of Historic Places (NRHP). The remaining three locations contained
insignificant standing
structures.



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