Defender
Winter 2016 join us:
Restoring Recycling Funding AB 515/SB 340 | Sen. Cowles & Rep. Tittl The bills will restore $3 million to the recycling fund. You may remember in the 2015 budget bill, the Governor cut $4 million from this fund, which has seen its funding steadily decrease in recent years. This bipartisan effort to repair the budget cut is hopefully a sign that we have seen the last of the continued attacks to this popular program.
Water Law Changes
Barreling Toward the End
With the end of the two-year legislative session nearing its conclusion this spring, things are moving fast and furious in the Capitol. The end of session is notorious for quick action, and it is critical that Clean Wisconsin members are making their voices heard. As of this writing, the following bills of great environmental importance were still pending.
AB 600/SB 459 | Rep. Jarchow & Sen. Lasee These egregious bills would allow huge amounts of dredging on lakes, more wetland fill, and deeds for publicly owned lakebed given to private interests. Fortunately, our voices were heard loud and clear during public hearings on the bills, with a packed room full of citizens who care about the quality of our waterways opposing these bills. While some changes are being proposed, they don’t go far enough to ultimately ensure our waters are protected.
Cuts to Focus on Energy AB 804 | Rep. Kuglitsch & Sen. Roth Focus on Energy is a public program that provides Wisconsin state residents and businesses with resources, incentives and support to implement energy-efficiency projects. This program directly assists almost 200,000 Wisconsin residents and businesses per year and saves all Wisconsin ratepayers money by holding the line on costly new energy generation. The Focus on Energy program generates $3 in energy savings for each $1 invested, is responsible for creating 24,000 jobs and almost $2 billion in sales for Wisconsin businesses, and has helped offset more than two gas powerplants’ worth of electricity demand. AB 804 would cut the program by more than $7 million, leading to higher rates and more health impacts from increased air emissions. A committee hearing is expected on the proposal in early February.
Groundwater/High-Capacity Wells Three different bills are still pending in the Legislature to address the impacts of over-pumping of groundwater on Wisconsin’s lakes, rivers and streams. In October, Wisconsinites packed a hearing room to express their frustration at AB 477/SB 291, a bill that would do little to resolve the huge problems of water drawdowns. That outcry caused several months of negotiations to find a solution to adequately protect our waterways. So far that compromise has not come to fruition, and we are trying to prevent Senator Gudex’s SB 239 from passing, legislation that
Nonprofit Org U.S. Postage PAID Permit No. 1291 Madison, WI
By Amber Meyer Smith, Director of Programs & Government Relations
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a new look at
TRANSMISSION LINES
Clean Wisconsin working ahead to identify issues of concern with Cardinal Hickory line proposal
Clean Wisconsin 634 W. Main St., #300 Madison, WI 53703-2500
By Katie Nekola, General Counsel
In the last five years or so, Wisconsin has experienced a large-scale upgrading of its highvoltage transmission system across the state. The controversial CapX line crossed the Mississippi River in the La Crosse area, and the even more hotly contested Badger Coulee line was approved to run from La Crosse to Madison. Other lines are being proposed and approved in other parts of the state as well. Clean Wisconsin has intervened in Public Service Commission (PSC) transmission cases in order to advocate for routing, construction and corridor maintenance practices that would protect our valuable natural resources.
Also in this issue
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Waukesha Advances | Clean Power Plan Report | Big Share