MADISON — The Assembly jobs committee has approved a Republican bill that would streamline Wisconsin's iron mining permit process.

The bill is designed to help Florida-based Gogebic Taconite open an iron mine just south of Lake Superior. The company insists the mine would create hundreds of jobs. Environmentalists fear the mine would pollute one the most pristine regions.

The committee made a number of changes to the bill during a hearing today, including raising a cap on application fees to $2 million, upping the amount of ore taxes local governments can retain, entitling American Indian tribes with land near mining sites to a copy of permit applications and ensuring the Great Lakes Compact trumps permitting statutes.

The committee approved the bill 9-5.