As the new home of WISPIRG's environmental work, Wisconsin Environment can be contacted with any questions regarding this report.
MADISON—Local and statewide
environmental, conservation and good government groups are unified in their
opposition to SB 313 and AB 655. While these bills were intended to spur jobs
and the economy in Wisconsin, legitimate reforms were buried in a laundry list
of rollbacks that limit the use of sound science in setting public health standards,
deny the public the right to have input in decisions that impact their communities
and natural resources, and tie the Department of Natural Resources' hands by
forcing them to make permitting decisions without adequate time and resources.
"A narrow minority
has used the current economic downturn to gut key environmental protections,"
said Jennifer Giegerich, WISPIRG state director. "But the real travesty
of the situation is that our legislative leadership and Gov. Doyle went along
with it."
The compromise reached between
Gov. Doyle and the legislature undermines existing environmental laws. Several
key examples of lowered water protections include:
- Limiting the protections
of public rights in navigable waters except for "areas of special natural
resource interests", which is currently defined under state law to include
10 percent of Wisconsin's lakes and streams.
- Requiring that DNR must
decide within 30 days whether or not an applicant will need to obtain an individual
permit or is exempted from needing one for activities in public waters. If the
DNR cannot reach a decision in that time frame, the applicant is automatically
exempted from needing a permit. However, given the large amount of responsibility
already placed on DNR permit staff, and continuous efforts to reduce their resources,
there is significant likelihood that projects that adversely impact waterways
will be allowed to happen by default.
- Taking away the public's
opportunity to have notice of and comment on projects that would be exempted
or only needing general permits under Chapter 30, which greatly undermines the
public trust doctrine under the Wisconsin Constitution.
"None of the versions
of AB 655 have met the stated goal of creating jobs while maintaining Wisconsin's
environmental standards," said Derek Scheer Water Policy Director Clean
Wisconsin. "It is a bad bill that eliminates protections for certain public
resources and is deregulation rather than regulatory reform."
Several key examples of
lowered clean air protections include:
- Restricting Wisconsin's
ability to protect public health and the environment by limiting adoption of
new air pollution standards that the federal government has not acted upon despite
the fact that the pollutant may pose a serious threat in Wisconsin.
- Requiring Wisconsin to
do a 'cost-effective' determination for regulated industries before new health
standards may be adopted despite the overall impact that pollution may have
on public health.
"AB 655 ensures that
the DNR will no longer be able to create air quality standards that go beyond
basic federal minimum requirements without first adhering to the bill's onerous
evaluation procedure", said Andrew Hanson, attorney with Midwest Environmental
Advocates. "While making it more difficult to protect our air quality won't
create jobs, it will devastate Wisconsin's health and quality of life."
Not only are groups opposed
to the content of the legislation and its impact on public health and natural
resources, but the process used to create the bill left citizens and impacted
agency officials unable to review the contents of the massive legislation.
"The Democratic process
needs to be more open to allow citizens the opportunity to get information in
a timely manner so that they can be informed about the content of legislation
and give their decision-makers input," said LuAnn Bird, Executive Director
of the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin. The League of Women Voters of Wisconsin
was unable to get and distribute the legislation to their Board members in time
to be able to register their position on the bill.
"We are not just concerned
about the actual content of the bill, we are upset that we never had the opportunity
to comment on it," said Lance Fanke, Executive Board Member of Wisconsin
Environmental Law Advocates.
If legislators and the Governor
really wanted to see regulatory changes that would streamline permitting processes
while retaining full public health and natural resource protections, they should:
-
Modernize the state's
permit and compliance systems so that they are all online. This makes submittals
easier for permitees, but also makes it possible for any agency person to have
immediate access so time is not loss transferring paper files.
-
Adopt Assembly Bill 514
that lays out clear and consistent permitting guidelines for activities in our
waters. The process carefully reviewed of the flaws of current policy, included
broad-based and public review of the policy options, and received bipartisan
support of those new options.
Restore personnel funding
for those who review permits at the DNR. Since 1997 the division of water at
the DNR has lost 50 percent of its funding requiring a reduction in staff. Less
staff means it takes longer to review and process permits.
"The waterways of Wisconsin
are important for tourism, recreation and our state's long-term economic health.
To reduce environmental protection for the waterways that represent Wisconsin's
heritage in such a hurried manner is counter to Wisconsin's long tradition of
conservation leadership," said Becky Abel Executive Director Wisconsin
Wetlands Association.
"150 years of our heritage
will be in serious jeopardy if this so-called "Jobs" bill is passed,"
said Karen Etter Hale, Executive Secretary, Madison Audubon Society.
