Giant Leap Backward for Wisconsin's Waters
On Tuesday, May 24, the Republican members of the Legislature's Joint Finance Committee (JFC) voted to overturn Wisconsin's rules for controlling polluted runoff, and set the stage for routing recently approved rules to control algae-causing phosphorus and to protect lakes and rivers by managing shoreland development.
Polluted runoff --fertilizer and manure from farm fields, and oil, metals and other toxic stuff from city streets -- is the biggest source of pollution to Wisconsin's waterways. Without any discussion, JFC voted to direct the Department of Natural Resources to repeal and recreate NR 151, the state's rules for controlling nonpoint pollution.
In place since 2002 after years of painstaking negotiations and compromise, and lauded as a model program across the country, the nonpoint rules were amended just last year to improve how they work for private land owners and municipalities. Even though last year's update took years of work by citizen advisory committees and DNR staff, the direction from Joint Finance is to redo it by the end of this year!
Pardon us for failing to believe the new version will provide the protections our waters deserve.
JFC also directed the DNR to complete, by the end of the year, an "economic impact analysis" of two rules adopted just last year: standards to control how much phosphorus can enter waterways; and standards for development along shorelines to protect lakes and rivers from the impacts of development. Clearly this is the first step to gutting the phosphorus rule and the shoreland zoning rule too, as the analyses will be used to argue that protecting Wisconsin's lakes and streams is "bad for business."
The dismantling of these three important rules would be a giant step backward in the protection and restoration of Wisconsin's waters, but there's still a chance to fix this bad situation. These issues are inappropriately buried in the state budget, which is still under review by the Joint Finance Committee. They could choose to revise their vote, but they need to hear from you why gutting these rules is a bad idea. Please let them know today!
Contact Your Legislators
You can find contact information for your senator and representative http://legis.wisconsin.gov/w3asp/waml/waml.aspx, and register your comments with a quick email or phone call.
Contact the Joint Finance Committee
It is especially important to contact your legislator if they are a member of the committee, but the entire committee should hear from you: Senator Alberta Darling, Co-Chair Representative Robin Vos, Co-Chair
Senator Luther Olsen Representative Dan Meyer
Senator Sheila Harsdorf Representative Dan LeMahieu
Senator Joe Leibham Representative John Nygren
Senator Glenn Grothman Representative Pat Strachota
Senator Randy Hopper Representative Joel Kleefisch
Senator Lena Taylor Representative Tamara Grigsby
Senator Robert Jauch Representative Jennifer Shilling
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Expensive Bridge Over Troubled Scenic Waters On a Fast Track
A controversial bridge over the federal Wild and Scenic St. Croix River, at Stillwater, Minnesota, got a boost this week from Wisconsin legislators who, while being thrifty with so many other things, seem willing to spend twice as much money as necessary to build this bridge.
The bridge's controversial nature was underscored recently when American Rivers put the Lower St. Croix on its 2011 list of "Most Endangered Rivers."
The plan is to put a massive four-lane bridge in an area that doesn't need that capacity and will mar the beauty of the Lower St. Croix. Both states will pitch in to build it at an estimated cost of $700 million. Critics (including the River Alliance) argue a most adequate two-lane bridge could be built for half the cost. (There's a six-lane interstate bridge seven miles south of this site.)
Sen. Sheila Harsdorf, who represents that part of Wisconsin (some of whose constituents drool at the prospect of the land they can develop) introduced legislation this week to remove the requirement that a federal subsidy be provided before the bridge is built. This bill will likely pass, and most legislators at a hearing this week had clearly drunk the "gotta have a 4-laner" Kool-Aid - a four-lane bridge at the expense of taxpayers and a Wild and Scenic River.
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A Look Back at 2010
The newly published 2010 Annual Report for the River Alliance is available to view online. The report covers our fiscal statements from the past year and recognizes the donors who make our work possible.
View the 2010 Annual Report (PDF)
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Lies. Dam Lies.
The Rat is riled. A bill that passed the Wisconsin Senate this week and is on track to be voted on by the Assembly will allow hydropower from megadams in Canada to count toward utilities' renewable energy requirements. This proposed language would alter state law as a sweetheart deal for one utility: Wisconsin Public Service (WPS), of Green Bay.
Read the Rat
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New Guide to Wetland Protection from
WI Wetlands Assn.
This May, in celebration of American Wetlands Month, the Wisconsin Wetlands Association has released a new publication, Land Use and Wetlands: Zoning Opportunities to Improve Wetland Protection. The publication provides detailed recommendations on how Wisconsin's local governments can use zoning and other land use ordinances to improve local wetland protections.
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