Natural Resources Board Decision Weakens Citizen Voices in Environmental Protection
Another FU walker moment...that makes me want to scream. I can't tell the dozens of high-capacity irrigation wells that have gone in this year. Nitrates are super high all ready.
http://midwestadvocates.org/news-events/news/natural-resources-board-decision-weakens-citizen-voices-in-environmental-protection/
Midwest Environmental Advocates said yesterday's decision by the Wisconsin Natural Resources Board to approve emergency rulemaking changes to Wisconsin's Environmental Policy Act will take away yet another opportunity for citizens to have a voice in environmental protection. The changes stripped language in the rules which gave citizens the power to ask the NRB to direct the Department of Natural Resources for a strategic analysis of issues or policies that impact the health of the public and the environment.
Described in the agenda as a "housekeeping" item, the emergency rule change greatly narrowed policies for strategic analysis, studies by DNR staff which take an in-depth look at the environmental impacts of industrial activities or development projects. We blogged about this issue and posted our comments (PDF) to the NRB last week.
"This decision is a blow to citizen voices in Wisconsin," said Kimberlee Wright, MEA Executive Director. "We deserve a guarantee for our right to petition our government and ask our state's science agency to take a deep look at the environmental impact of overpumping groundwater, frac sand mining or industrialized agricultural practices. The people of Wisconsin will lose another avenue to get real information, sound science, and to have a voice in decisions on whether or not their water, their air and their families' health will be protected."
One strategic analysis currently underway is the study of groundwater levels and irrigation practices in Wisconsin's Central Sands. Central Wisconsin has the state's highest concentration of high-capacity wells used on agricultural land or in industrial dairies. Citizens have seen impacts on their private drinking wells and surface waters like the Little Plover River and lowered lake levels. One recent example is how in the Town of Hull, citizens met for a public hearing to speak out about their concerns about access to water (WSAW-TV video). The strategic analysis of water use in the Central Sands could help people in the Town of Hull by informing elected officials and DNR agency staff on how to create policies for water use that balance demands by industry and households.
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