Defender, Spring 2017

Defender Clean Wisconsin is working Hard to protect the environment & energy efficiency in biennial spending bill.

Bird-dogging THE

BUDGET

By Amber Meyer Smith Director of Programs & Government Relations

Spring 2017 we believe everyone deserves clean water and clean air

Gov. Scott Walker introduced his 2017-’19 biennial state budget bill in early February. At nearly 11,000 pages, the governor’s budget is the most comprehensive bill the legislature considers each session. It covers funding for everything from health care, to transportation, to education.

Clean Wisconsin takes a very close look each session at the budget bill’s impacts on natural resources programs and management. We then educate and engage our members and legislators to support and defend important environmental programs and policies.

While Gov. Walker’s current budget thus-far doesn’t contain the significant funding cuts and program eliminations we’ve seen in past budget bills, there are still plenty of proposals we’re working on, and we plan to inform our members and the public about in the weeks and months ahead.

Strip CAFO permitting from DNR? Legislative leaders have already scrapped a plan Gov. Walker offered as part of his budget to study shifting oversight of industrial-sized farms from the Department of Natural Resources to the Department of Agriculture.

We strongly oppose any proposal that moves oversight authority from the agency charged with protecting our waters to an agency charged with promoting agriculture. We’re pleased this study was scrapped early in the process, but we’ll continue to be on the lookout for any efforts to resurrect it.

Eliminating this study from the budget was a step in the right direction, but we’re also encouraging legislators to use the budget process to tackle the problems with polluted runoff and address DNR enforcement issues in a bigger way.

Most importantly, we’re asking lawmakers to restore a $1.3 million cut to county conservation staff. These staff work for county land conservation departments and help farmers and municipalities get the resources they need to reduce phosphorus pollution, soil erosion, polluted runoff, and other environmental impacts to our waterways. Local conservation departments also help manage forests, control invasive species, and manage stormwater. Their role in controlling water pollution is more important now than ever, and we will support efforts to restore the $1.3 million cut.

Eroding Energy Efficiency Efforts

The budget bill contains two provisions that impact energy efficiency.

In 2011, the legislature – with bipartisan support – allowed school districts continued on Page 4

LEAD

Time to give communities tools to get the lead out of drinking water.

By Amber Meyer Smith Director of Programs & Government Relations

The water crisis in Flint, Mich. highlighted the danger of lead in drinking water. But the problem isn’t just in some far-off place like Flint. It’s a problem right here in Wisconsin.

We know at least 81 water systems in our state have tested positive for unsafe levels of lead, and over the past 20 years more than 200,000 children were diagnosed with lead poisoning.

Knowing the danger lead in our drinking water poses to our children in Wisconsin, state Sen. Rob Cowles (R-Allouez) and Rep. Jeremy Thiesfeldt (R-Fond du Lac) introduced legislation to give communities more tools to provide financial assistance for replacing the lead service line to someone’s home.

In late March, the Senate Natural Resources and Environment Committee unanimously approved this provision, and it awaits a vote of the full Senate.

Just recently, Wisconsin Manufacturer’s and Commerce registered their opposition, and decided to fight the bill, claiming it will raise rates on businesses. Their opposition has chilled the bill’s momentum, despite the overwhelming support shown in the Senate.

PHOTO: Kelsey Pieper and Min Tang/Virginia Tech University

Clean Wisconsin 634 W. Main St., #300 Madison, WI 53703-2500

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L E A D I N G ON

Also in this issue

continued on Page 8

Not Giving Up on Groundwater | Keith Reopelle Bids Farewell | Epicurean Evening

&

News, Notes

Events

BECOME A SUSTAINING DONOR

Sustaining donations are our favorite kind of gift because they’re convenient for you and Clean Wisconsin. When you become a Sustaining Donor, it reduces paper and postage costs, divides your generous contribution into manageable monthly or quarterly payments, and provides Clean Wisconsin with a reliable stream of financial support. This means we can focus more on our work to protect Wisconsin’s air and water and less on fundraising. For more information, contact Sarah at sbewitz@cleanwisconsin.org or set up your Sustaining donation online at www.cleanwisconsin.org/donate.

LEAVE A LEGACY WITH A PLANNED GIFT

Be a steward of Wisconsin’s air, water, and the places you love for generations to come by making a planned gift to Clean Wisconsin!

We hope you’ll consider naming Clean Wisconsin as a beneficiary of your will or estate plan.

There are many easy ways this can be done. These gifts don’t have to be large or complex, but they have huge impact. Anyone can leave a legacy.

If you have already named Clean Wisconsin in your plan, please let us know. If you have any questions about leaving a legacy, contact Development Director Angela Cao at 608-2517020 x17 or acao@cleanwisconsin.org.

634 W. Main St., #300 • Madison WI 53703 Phone: (608) 251-7020 www.cleanwisconsin.org

Clean Wisconsin protects and preserves Wisconsin’s clean water, air, and natural heritage.

On behalf of our more than 30,000 members, supporters, and coalition partners, we have been your leading voice for Wisconsin’s environment since 1970.

STAFF President & CEO

Mark Redsten Director of Communications

John Adams Development Associate

Sarah Bewitz Development Director

Angela Cao Director of Science & Research

Tyson Cook Chief Financial Officer

Nick Curran, CPA Communications Associate

Jonathan Drewsen Staff Attorney

Evan Feinauer Organizing Hub Co-Director

Melissa Gavin Water Quality Specialist

Scott Laeser Staff Scientist

Paul Mathewson Director of Programs & Government Relations

Amber Meyer Smith

Thank you to everyone who supported Clean Wisconsin in the 2017 Big Share on March 7.

Water Resources Specialist

Ezra Meyer General Counsel

Katie Nekola Staff Attorney & Climate Resilience Project Manager

Pam Ritger

Together we raised

$26,203!

Senior Policy Director

Keith Reopelle Grant & Foundations Manager

Ella Schwierske Midwest Clean Energy Coordinator

Sarah Shanahan Of Counsel

Susan Hedman

Clean Wisconsin is a proud member of Stay informed on what’s happening in our state government

• Join our Action Network at cleanwisconsin.org/act • Watch legislative floor sessions, committee hearings and interviews at wisconsineye.org • Sign up to receive notifications about action on bills you care about at http://notify.legis.state.wi.us • Learn more about your legislators using the interactive map at http://maps.legis.wisconsin.gov/

The Defender is owned and published quarterly by Clean Wisconsin 634 W. Main St., #300, Madison, WI 53703 608-251-7020, info@cleanwisconsin.org A one-year subscription membership is $40. Please direct correspondence to the address above.

Volume 47, No. 2 Issue date: May 2017 ©2017 Clean Wisconsin. All rights reserved.

ISSN # 1549-8107

2

BOARD

Printed with soy ink on unbleached, recycled paper.

Chair Liz Feder, Madison Vice Chair Karen Knetter, Madison Secretary Glenn Reinl, Madison Treasurer Gof Thomson, New Glarus Past Chair Carl Sinderbrand, Middleton Belle Bergner, Milwaukee Shari Eggleson, Washburn Elizabeth Feder, Madison Gary Goyke, Madison Andrew Hoyos, McFarland Mark McGuire, Madison Arun Soni, Madison Board Emeritus Kate Gordon, San Francisco Board Emeritus Chuck McGinnis, Middleton

Spring 2017

from the President & CEO

Share Your Story Each issue we ask readers to tell us why they value and support Clean Wisconsin. Here's a recent letter we received from a member.

Natural Lawns Benefit Pollinators

By Clean Wisconsin Member

T

JoAnne Friedman, Cascade

he use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides are poisoning our water. Lawn “care,” for a cosmetic appearance, has been outlawed in other countries. I have educated people on the benefits of returning to the original lawn, one where Dutch white clover is mixed with grass seed. This feeds birds and pollinators on the surface. Underground, the deep roots feed the soil and pull carbon out of the atmosphere, thus reducing carbon impacts on climate change. This is a better, cheaper, and safer lawn than the monoculture lawns of today.

The Xerces Society sends me books, flyers, and photos that I use when I do a presentation. In their book, “Gardening for Butterflies,” they state more than one billion pounds of insecticides are used annually in the United States, more being used in urban settings than agricultural areas.

As I travel, I look at the world as if I was a pollinator or a bird.

Much of our current landscaping provides little for them to eat. In addition, more than 70 million birds die in our country each year because of lawn “care” poisons. The April 2016 issue of Reader’s Digest featured an excerpt from nature writer McKay Jenkins’ book “Contamination.” The article, “The Dark Side of the Perfectly Manicured American Lawn: Is It Giving You Cancer?” added to my education on this issue.

Helping people understand the importance of getting rid of manicured, monoculture lawns and replacing them with landscaping that benefits birds and pollinators is my quest. This is why I support Clean Wisconsin.

On April 22, 2017, people around the globe Marched for Science, celebrating and speaking out for the importance of science in making our world a better place, and imploring our elected officials to use science when making decisions that impact us and our environment.

It was also Earth Day, and the 47th anniversary of Clean Wisconsin’s founding. So, Clean Wisconsin staff set out around the state from Ashland to Marshfield, MilwauMark Redsten kee to Madison, to join the science marchPresident & CEO ers and speak to impressively large crowds.

It was just one day of hard work and celebration in a long, successful history of protecting Wisconsin’s clean air, clean water, and natural heritage.

Clean Wisconsin’s staff of experts use science every day to guide our policy work and legal actions. By conducting and reviewing the latest science, we can effectively translate and disseminate new and innovative information to the media, our members, and decisionmakers.

A great example of this happened in April, when our team uncovered disturbing information about the impacts recent decisions by Wisconsin’s attorney general and Department of Natural Resources are having on the state’s groundwater. (See story on page 4).

Our team discovered that high-capacity well permit holders recently sought — and received — removal of pumping conditions previously put in place by agency scientists to protect nearby water resources. The state ignored the science and authorized the pumping of an additional one billion gallons of water during summer months.

Clean Wisconsin brought the issues to light and now we’re educating the public and our elected officials about the serious longterm impacts of this unprecedented groundwater giveaway.

Science is not only showing us that our state is giving away too much water, causing our lakes and rivers to dry up; science also shows that our waters are contaminated with too much phosphorus, toxic PAHs, and other pollutants we spread on the land, making us sick and fouling our water with algae. Science shows us pollution from burning fossil fuels is causing air pollution and climate change, which impacts our health and wreaks havoc on our local economies.

Our 47-year history is marked by many environmental gains, and our nearly five decades of working in this state has taught us how to be relevant in environmental policy making. We know how to efficiently get work done in Wisconsin by acting with integrity and by basing our work on facts and science.

Our history and our scientific understanding tell us that right now we need an urgent call to action.

I hope you learn from this quarter’s Defender articles, and that you’ll stand up and take action on the many issues affecting Wisconsin’s environment. When you do, please tell your family and friends and ask them to speak out, too. We need all of you to support Clean Wisconsin, and to tell our elected officials that their action is needed and that you are watching what they do.

SHARE YOUR STORY WITH CLEAN WISCONSIN We can’t protect Wisconsin’s environment without you.

We want to know why you care enough to support us.

Did you learn your conservation ethic from your grandparents? Do you take a daily hike through the woods near your home? Are you worried about the impacts of climate change? We want to learn about the places you love in Wisconsin, why they’re worth protecting, and why you support us. To share your story, contact John at (608) 251-7020 x15 or jadams@cleanwisconsin.org. Thank you again for supporting our work! www.cleanwisconsin.org 3

NOT GIVING UP On Groundwater

By Evan Feinauer, Staff Attorney

Last fall we filed nine lawsuits aimed at protecting Wisconsin’s groundwater from irresponsible and unsustainable pumping. To date, the Legislature and the DNR continue to fail in their duties to responsibly manage groundwater, allowing overuse and harmful impacts on nearby waterbodies and private wells.

This failure comes at a critical time, because applications for high-capacity wells in the sensitive Central Sands region are on the rise.

That is why Clean Wisconsin is continuing its fight to protect the state’s waters from over-pumping by high-capacity wells, both in the Legislature and in the courts.

Billion-gallon groundwater giveaway

In April , our legal team analyzed dozens of recently modified well permits and discovered a massive water grab underway in Wisconsin.

These permit modifications illustrate how Attorney General Brad Schimel’s flawed 2016 legal opinion created a billiongallon groundwater giveaway by allowing

high-capacity well permit-holders to pump enormous quantities of water in total disregard of the well-documented concerns of the agency’s own scientists about harmful impacts to natural resources and nearby private wells.

The DNR is now issuing permits for proposed wells their own experts previously determined would harm state waters.

According to state records, these highcapacity wells, taken together, are now authorized to pump an additional 1 billion gallons of the public’s water per month above what was previously allowed, during the summer months. More than 80 percent of the well permits analyzed are in the Central Sands region of the state, which has already been hit hard by unsustainable pumping levels.

Schimel was wrong when he opined that the DNR lacks the legal authority to review impacts of high-capacity wells, and the result of his flawed opinion is the state is now issuing high-capacity well permits without any

1 BILLION

The additional amount of water the state authorized high-capacity wells to pump per month above what was previously allowed.

80%

of the well permits analyzed are in the Central Sands region of the state, which has already been hit hard by unsustainable pumping levels.

continued on page 8

budget

continued from cover

to exceed school revenue limits so they could take advantage of energy efficiency programs that help the districts reduce energy consumption and save on utility costs.

Gov. Walker’s budget would eliminate this energy-saving program. Giving school districts flexibility to implement energy efficiency projects has exponentially increased these projects in recent years. For the 2016-17 school year, there are nearly $80 million in projects in school districts across the state, which is a sixteen-fold increase over the past nine years. Gov. Walker’s budget bill seems to try and make up for this cut by directing $10 million to school energy efficiency programs through the Focus on Energy program.

However, this $10 million is not new money. It would come from existing customers. And $10 million is only a drop in the bucket compared to the $80 million schools are currently investing in projects.

Clean Wisconsin supports energy efficiency projects in schools, and we want to work to maintain the integrity of the Focus on Energy program while fully funding the common sense financial investments schools are making. We will work with legislators and other interests to restore this critical cost-saving and emission-saving measure.

4

Eliminating the DNR Magazine In one of the more puzzling provisions of his budget Gov. Walker proposes to eliminate the 100-year-old Wisconsin Natural

Re sourc e s Magazine, which highlights the science behind natural resources management. Its elimination would not result in state budget savings because the magazine is entirely selfsupported by its 88,000 subscribers.

A former editor of the magazine speculated that “scrutiny grew tighter” after the magazine carried a special section on climate change and planned an article about the habitats of endangered species around the site of a proposed controversial mine project in northern Wisconsin.

This denial of the DNR’s mission to educate Wisconsinites about the science of natural resources management is extremely troubling. When combined with DNR’s recent scrubbing of climate change information from its website, these changes represent a fundamental denial of basic scientific principles and the DNR’s mission to educate the public. We will push for continued publication of Wisconsin Natural Resources Magazine as this issue is debated throughout the budget process.

State Parks in Jeopardy The last state budget ended state support for Wisconsin’s State Park System, and instead created a system solely dependent on user fees. This user fee model has proven unsustainable in other states and their parks have fallen into disrepair. Instead of fixing this mistake, the governor’s budget continues to rely on increase fees at highdemand parks and campsites to cover the shortfall created when the state pulled its support. We are extremely concerned about the long-term sustainability of our treasured State Park System, and will be watching this provision closely.

Spring 2017

Green Infrastructure Picking up Steam

by Pamela Ritger Staff Attorney & Climate Resilience Project Manager Clean Wisconsin is excited to again partner with the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD), Marek Landscaping, and active neighborhood groups throughout Milwaukee’s 30th Street Corridor to educate residents about the “triple-bottom line” benefits of green infrastructure stormwater management practices and to assist them in installing small-scale green stormwater projects at their homes.

As a consultant to MMSD, Clean Wisconsin has worked over the past three years to engage residents in 29 neighborhoods throughout the northwest side of the City of Milwaukee to educate people about small-scale practices such as using rain barrels, installing rain gardens, and planting native plants to help reduce stormwater runoff pollution and reduce the risk of basement back-ups and combined sewer overflow events. Residents have seen firsthand the additional benefits of green infrastructure, which includes community engagement, neighborhood beautification, and new job opportunities.

Over the past three years, Clean Wisconsin has participated in 15 community events, including

National Night Out and neighborhood farmers’ markets, where we’ve engaged residents throughout Milwaukee’s 30th Street Corridor area. We provided 34 educational presentations at neighborhood association meetings and led or participated in 31 green infrastructure demonstrations, maintenance projects, rain barrel paintings, and other neighborhood clean-up events.

In total, over the past three summers working with MMSD, we’ve installed 232 rain barrels and 25 rain gardens (totaling 1,943 square feet) throughout Milwaukee’s 30th Street Corridor neighborhoods.

Collectively, these small-scale green infrastructure practices capture approximately 246,300 gallons of stormwater and 195 pounds of total suspended solids per year.

In 2017 we are fortunate to work with a group of students from a UW-Madison undergraduate environmental studies capstone class who are interested in environmental justice issues affecting some of the more underserved neighborhoods in the City of Milwaukee, which include many neighborhoods in the 30th Street Corridor area.

Four University of Wisconsin — Madison environmental studies students helped Clean Wisconsin's green infrastructure efforts in Milwaukee this past spring. Picture clockwise from left are Amelia Rossa, Jordan Salinsky, Jacob Deyo, and Teal Staniforth.

The "River West" version of the StormGUARDEN, developed by Stormwater Solutions Engineering, LLC.

The students have helped Clean Wisconsin in our efforts to assess properties to determine good locations to demonstrate and monitor a new green infrastructure tool developed by Stormwater Solutions Engineering, LLC, known as the StormGUARDen. The StormGUARDen is a modified planter box that combines the best features of rain barrels and rain gardens, capturing a volume of rooftop runoff from homes or commercial buildings equivalent to more than six rain barrels, helping address both flooding and water quality issues.

The students will also investigate workforce development programs in other U.S. cities focused on meeting the need for longterm green infrastructure maintenance. Finally, they will assist with stormwater modeling to help develop targets for neighborhoods to capture the first half-inch of rain from every storm using green infrastructure, in line with MMSD’s 2035 Vision.

At Clean Wisconsin we’re

proud of our record of successful engagement and our strong partnerships with neighborhood associations and community organizations on Milwaukee’s north side. With emerging partnerships on the horizon, we look forward to another great year educating communities and installing green infrastructure to help improve local neighborhoods and protect local waterways and Lake Michigan!

The "Shorewood" version of the StormGUARDEN combines the best qualities of rain barrells and rain gardens.

www.cleanwisconsin.org 5

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Join us for the 4thannual Epicurean Evening, a culinary event benefitting Clean Wisconsin’s statewide work protecting Wisconsin’s air, water, & natural heritage!

THURSDAY, OCT. 5th

MONONA TERRACE

TICKET & SPONSORSHIP INFO AT:

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As the 2017 fishing season gets underway, now’s a good time to take a look at four studies published in scientific journals over the past year by Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) fishery scientists.

These studies illustrate the work DNR scientists do to better understand and manage the state’s fisheries, ultimately improving health of the fisheries and the experience for anglers here in Wisconsin.

The first study looked at body size trends for 19 fish species over the past 40 years in Wisconsin. The researchers found species that have been intensively managed due to high fishing pressure—lake sturgeon, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, northern pike, muskellunge, and sauger—have increased in size or stayed stable.

Conversely, four of the five popular harvest fish with less management included in the study—bluegill, green sunfish, yellow perch, and black crappie—have declined in size. The researchers suggest these findings demonstrate the effectiveness of fisheries management efforts.

A second study looked specifically at the effect of different size and bag limits on the body sizes of northern pike. The study compared body sizes in lakes with different limits and found the average size in lakes with more restrictive limits (i.e., higher size limits and reduced bag limits) increased more than in lakes with less restrictive limits. These findings are consistent with those from the first study, showing how targeted management regulations can be used to improve size structure.

A third study looking at size trends found that the average length of the top 10 largest muskies caught in the annual Vilas County Musky Marathon fishing contest has been decreasing since 1964. The researchers

Under

the Lens

FISH TALES New research finds Wisconsin lakes are changing, & “The Big One” is getting a bit smaller.

By Paul Mathewson Staff Scientist

thought the difference in findings from the first study—which found musky length increasing over time—may have to do with fact that the first study looked at all sizes, while their study only looked at the very largest individual fish. The decline in length of the largest individuals could be due to higher densities of muskies in lakes, resulting in more competition for food and slower growth, researchers suggested. Over the past 35 years, musky fishing in Wisconsin has shifted from mostly harvesting (2% catchand-release in 1978) to mostly catch-and-release (>90% in 2010). The reduced harvesting, along with minimum length requirements and continued stocking, may be resulting in higher densities of muskies.

Finally, populations of walleye, a coolwater fish, have been declining in Wisconsin.

The fourth study sought to predict the effect of climate change on walleye distributions in the state under different climate change scenarios.

The study predicted that between one-third and three-quarters of the lakes that currently support walleye populations will no longer be able to by the end of the century. The study identified 85 “refuge” lakes that will remain cool enough for walleyes and where management efforts and resources should be focused.

While we hope these studies are of interest to Defender readers, we also wanted to share them with you as examples of the DNR using scientific research to make well-informed management decisions and to evaluate its actions. We hope quality science continues to inform the DNR’s fisheries management (as well as all other programs!) so future generations can get as much enjoyment from this pastime that has such a rich history in the state.

Keith Reopelle bids Clean Wisconsin

...a fond farewell

I began going on fishing and hunting trips with my Dad and brother at a very young age.

These trips kindled my love for the outdoors, and fishing is still my favorite outdoor activity… among many. I waged my first environmental campaigns in 5th grade—leading “litter drives” at school on the north side of Milwaukee. By sixth grade I knew I wanted a career working with, and in, nature. I earned my undergraduate degree in wildlife ecology learning from professors at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who were students of Aldo Leopold.

At that time, I thought I would end up in a career at the Department of Natural Resources, tagging fish, banding birds, or conducting ecological research. But my career path took a hard left turn when I answered a help-wanted ad from an environmental group called Wisconsin’s Environmental Decade. Making the cut by the skin of my teeth, I put myself through graduate school knocking on doors and raising funds to support the advocacy work of environmental legends such as Kathleen Falk, Spencer Black, and Peter Anderson. When I was

a grad student by day and knocking on doors by night, I remember telling myself that I wanted to experience a wide variety natural resource jobs; I remember thinking, “I doubt I will do any one job for more than five years.” So, of course, I proceeded to do just the opposite, working for the Environmental Decade/ Clean Wisconsin for 32 years.

Instead of tagging fish fins or banding bird legs, I began trolling the halls of the capitol for legislative support for environmental bills and holding press conferences in the Senate Parlor. I was extremely lucky to work for a great organization, with many talented advocates and with many dedicated and brave public servants and elected officials. continued on page 9

Photos, Top: Keith enjoying one of his favorite outdoor activities, ice-fishing for muskie; Center: Keith with Former Dane County Executive and "environmental legend" Kathleen Falk; Bottom: Keith meeting with members of the press. photos courtesy Clean Wisconsin archives.

www.cleanwisconsin.org 7

Groundwater

continued from page 4

regard for protecting our public waterways or neighbors’ private wells. And these are just the permit modifications we’ve seen so far.

Locking-in pumping problems Meanwhile, on May 2 the legislature gave final approval of a bill on that will further erode the DNR’s ability to manage the negative impacts of over-pumping. This bill exempts high-capacity well permit holders from seeking DNR review if they replace, reconstruct, repair, or transfer ownership of a well. The bill would exacerbate existing problems because it removes one of the DNR’s few remaining opportunities to review high-capacity well permits to determine whether they are causing or contributing to harmful drawdowns of rivers, lakes, and streams.

This measure will lock-in the current, unsustainable high-capacity well pumping levels and leaves areas like the Central Sands vulnerable for years to come.

It certainly does not represent the sort of forward-thinking, long-term solution that is necessary to protect Wisconsin’s groundwater.

At a nearly 10-hour public hearing on the bill in March, many concerned Wisconsin residents, environmentalists, and conservation organizations implored legislators to adopt common sense amendments to fix the bill. None of these suggested amendments were adopted.

Passed on party-line votes in both houses, the bill now awaits the governor’s signature to become law.

LEAD

Not giving up Because the legislature failed to enact groundwater protections, we took our case to the courts. In October 2016, Clean Wisconsin filed nine lawsuits challenging high-capacity well permit applications the DNR approved in late September 2016, despite the agency’s findings that those wells could further harm waters in the Central Sands region and other areas of the State.

The DNR disregarded its constitutional duty to manage Wisconsin’s waters as public resources to be held in trust for the benefit of all Wisconsin residents. Since Schimel’s flawed opinion, the DNR has become a rubber stamp for high-capacity wells.

That’s why Clean Wisconsin’s lawsuit is so important: we intend to force the DNR to fulfill its legal obligations and restore meaningful review of high-capacity well permits to ensure our waters are adequately protected for the benefit of all Wisconsin citizens.

On March 16, a Dane County Circuit Court judge denied the state’s motion to dismiss our lawsuits, which means our case will proceed on its merits. The Judge understands that an issue this important requires a full hearing in court.

We hope to have further positive updates later this year as we continue to fight to protect our State’s groundwater in court.

continued from cover

Clean Wisconsin in among a long list of individuals and organizations supporting this effort to help address the issues of lead drinking water pipes in our communities, and we will work diligently to make sure this bill becomes law. We are also supporting other legislative efforts to increase disclosure of the presence of lead pipes, increase financial options to replace lead pipes, and encourage additional testing of child care facilities.

Concerned about lead in your drinking water? Check out suggestions and information from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources: dnr.wi.gov/topic/drinkingwater/lead.html Legislators need to hear about your support to overcome WMC's opposition – contact your legislator now and tell them to support SB 48/AB 78 and not be so easily swayed by industrial special interests.

For the latest information on ways to stay involved on this and other legislation, please join our Action Network at www.cleanwisconsin.org/act.

Join our email Action Network at www.cleanwisconsin.org/ACT 8

Spring 2017

PhotobyAlexisBonogofsky

Photoby JonDrewsen PhotobyJohnAdams

Clean Wisconsin is standing up for science and getting the word out about our work to protect our state's water, air, and the places we love. Pictured clockwise from below: Clean Wisconsin Grants and Foundations Manager Ella Schwierske tabled at the U.S. Bank Earth Day Expo in Milwaukee; Thousands of people gathered for the Earth Day March for Science in Madison on April 22; Clean Wisconsin's Director of Science and Research, Tyson Cook, gave a rousing speech at the March for Science about the importance of science in decisionmaking; journalist, author, and climate activist Naomi Klein spoke to nearly 200 Clean Wisconsin members and supporters via Skype at the Spring Doug La Follette Environmental Speakers Program which was held at the Majestic Theatre in downtown Madison on May 4; as part of the La Follette event, Clean Wisconsin held a special one-night-only screening of "This Changes Everything," the documentary film based on Klein's best-selling book; Alexis Bonogofsky, a Montana rancher, writer, photographer, and anti-coal activist— and one of the stars of the film— spoke about the importance of standing up for the environment in the face of tough odds.

PhotobyJohnAdams

PhotobySarahBewitz

PhotobyJohnAdams

Keith's Farewell

continued from page 7

I was lucky enough to work on campaigns to stop the Crandon/Exxon Mine, to create one of the most comprehensive recycling (reduce/reuse) programs in the nation, to make Wisconsin one of the first states to regulate acid rain emissions and to create the Lower Wisconsin State Riverway. I worked on campaigns to establish the state’s wetland water quality standards, some of the nation’s most extensive air toxin standards and the state’s first polluted runoff rules. Later, I led the campaign to make Wisconsin the second state in the nation to regulate mercury emissions from coalburning power plants. I played a leading role in establishing Wisconsin’s Great Lakes Compact legislation (the strongest of any state), in establishing the Midwest’s first renewable electricity standard, and establishing one of the most robust and successful statewide clean energy funds—Focus on Energy. I was lucky enough to serve on Wisconsin’s Global Warming Task Force and the Midwest Governors Association’s Greenhouse Gas Accord Advisory Committee.

Over the past 34 years I often thought about other jobs and other natural resource careers; jobs that would get me outside, in the forests, on the lakes, on the rivers. I dreamed about jobs that sounded a lot more fun, like untangling large game fish from fyke nets, or studying populations

of charismatic megafauna such as wolves, hawks, or bears. But there was one thing that kept me doing the often tedious and mundane work of long meetings, frustrating debates, and sometimes downright ugly politics that was often at the center of my work at Clean Wisconsin: I knew my work at Clean Wisconsin was having a much bigger impact protecting the environment than any of the other jobs I considered or was offered.

After more than 30 years with this terrific organization I am FINALLY ready for a change and I have found another terrific organization where I can hopefully make a greater impact. That organization is Dane County, where I was fortunate to be offered the position of Director of the newly created Office of Energy and Climate Change. In my new role I will undoubtedly closely collaborate with Clean Wisconsin on climate and clean energy policy matters, and I look forward to that.

Please continue to support Clean Wisconsin and all the incredibly important work they do to protect Wisconsin’s environment; and thank you for your support of my work these past years.

Sincerely,

www.cleanwisconsin.org 9

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