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Inside: Mining Legislation Update
winter 2012
we believe everyone deserves clean water and clean air
Why We Fight for Clean Energy for our health
for our environment
for our future
We are an effective voice in the Capitol for you and the environment read more starting on page 5
also inside
w w w. c l e a n w i s c o n s i n . o r g
The problem with coal ash
Coal ash is a dangerous byproduct of burning coal that has potentially toxic health effects if it enters our water. Containing over 24 known pollutants, coal ash made headlines at the end of 2011. In early November, a bluff collapse at We Energies’ Oak Creek coal plant sent coal ash spilling into Lake Michigan. Around the same time, we also learned that the owners of the S.S. Badger, a car ferry that dumps over 500 tons of coal ash into Lake Michigan on its trips between Manitowoc, Wis. and Ludington, Mich., had applied for National Landmark status of the ferry and its engine in order to circumvent the Clean Water Act and continue dumping coal ash into Lake Michigan. Lake Michigan is a source of tourism, recreation, food and water, yet these coal ash instances are just two of the many dirty energy-fueled threats to this natural gem. Clean energy would offset the need for polluting fossil fuel-burning plants like Oak Creek, and there are several cleaner options for the S.S. Badger. Clean energy options keep harmful pollutants out of our air and water and out of our bodies.
The heart of the Valley
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Compact Update pg 3 Focus on Energy pg 5 Wetlands pg 8
because we get down to the nitty gritty, but our work is driven by something greater. Fighting for clean energy isn’t always popular or easy, but we do it for some very important reasons: our health, our environment and our future. In the past few months, we’ve had many opportunities, good and bad, to remind ourselves of what’s at stake.
Clean Wisconsin has been working closely with the Cleaner Valley Coalition for over a year. A coalition of health advocacy groups, civil rights organizations, grassroots organizations, local service providers and individuals working is to clean up the Valley coal plant in Milwaukee’s Menomonee Valley. Here, there are certainly health issues at stake. The plant is bordered by low-income communities, but the plant has no modern pollution controls; we’ve met dozens of parents whose children and family members suffer from asthma and other ill effects of coal-burning pollution. In December, the coalition hosted a public meeting with top EPA officials, who were impressed by the packed room and powerful stories from people suffering from the effects of the plant’s air pollution. Thanks to the coalition’s work highlighting the issues at Valley, the EPA secured a commitment from We Energies, which owns the plant, to reduce the plant’s SO2 pollution tenfold. That’s great See “Why We Fight,” page 6
Attacks on clean energy
Clean Wisconsin 634 W. Main St., #300 Madison, WI 53703-2500
By Katy Walter, Clean Energy Specialist
We’ve noticed an alarming trend over the last few months in the state Legislature: A series of unrelated bills that, taken together, constitute a serious attack on Wisconsin’s clean energy laws. Individually, none of these measures would mean the end of clean energy in Wisconsin, but taken together, they have grave consequences. The challenge we face in the Capitol is to keep the focus on the big picture.
Wind
While some of our legislators are willing to sell out our natural resources for mining jobs, they continue to pursue policies that crush clean secSee “Attacks,” page 6