As the new home of WISPIRG's environmental work, Wisconsin Environment can be contacted with any questions regarding this testimony.
Wisconsin Public Interest
Research Group
League of Women Voters Wisconsin
Clean Wisconsin
River Alliance of Wisconsin
Lake Superior Waterkeeper
Northern Thunder
Lake Superior Greens
Madison Audubon Society
Red Cedar Peace Initiative
Mining Impact Coalition of Wisconsin
The above groups ask you to oppose Senate Bill 61/Assembly Bill 228, a proposal
that will weaken compliance and enforcement of Wisconsin’s environmental
laws and increase threats to our health and environment.
For the past several years, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has
been working to create a program that would reward industries that voluntarily
reduce their impact on the environment. During that same time, polluting industries
were working to pass legislation that would grant them special exemptions from
environmental laws.
SB 61/AB 228 is a proposal that combines both of those efforts. The result:
a bill that, if passed, will severely weaken the compliance and enforcement
of the laws protecting Wisconsin’s air and water.
Under this law, industries that are regulated under Wisconsin’s air and
water laws in order to protect human health and the environment would have the
opportunity to enter into contracts with the Department of Natural Resources
(DNR). These contracts would eliminate or severely limit the ability of the
DNR to inspect the facility for illegal pollution and grant immunity from enforcement
actions if the facility does pollute illegally.
In addition to taking the teeth out of Wisconsin’s environmental laws,
this program would cost money. Last week the Joint Finance Committee cut $3.8
million from the DNR’s Bureau of Cooperative Environmental Assistance,
leaving the DNR without any money to implement these programs if they are created.
And, a program that spends money to allow immunity from laws is a poor use of
taxpayer money.
Please oppose this attempt by polluters to evade Wisconsin’s air and water
laws. We ask that you oppose Senate Bill 61/Assembly Bill 228.
