A Bad Idea Stays Alive
What is basically a private bill to sidestep full environmental reviews so that one developer can build one building for one retailer on one piece of wetlands in Green Bay continues to move through the State Legislature even though the retailer says as a matter of policy it doesn't build on wetlands.
But the anti-regulatory ideologues running the state these days want to make the point that a bad bill is better than following the rules.
This is worse than watching sausage being made. It's watching sausage being made with ingredients that won't pass both the smell and taste test.
3 comments:
It is a little piece of poorly drained soil with no connection to any stream. The DNR approved the permit. The developer agreed to create even more acres of poorly drained soil elsewhere.
The current process allows for anybody, even those with no credible arguments, to challenge the permit. This makes no sense.
Walker has gotten this one right.
Think precedent.
Legally, environmentally, etc.
Anon 4:29: You can't credibly argue that there are no credible arguments to be made by Wisconsin Wetlands Association, an extremely credible and respected organization whose sole mission is to protect and preserve wetlands. They have real scientists on their board and staff.
Furthermore, Bass Pro has declined to build there, saying "We don't build on wetlands" thereby acknowledging that the land is, indeed, a wetland.
You only destroy your own credibility by calling the wetland "a little piece of poorly drained soil with no connection to any stream". Even schoolchildren understand that a wetland isn't necessarily wet all the time or even most of the time. Neither are wetlands necessarily connected to a stream or river, or merely "poorly drained soil". Wetlands are complex ecosystems that are part of a bigger picture of land and water relating to each other. A complexity that you either purposely ignore or really can't understand from your black and white world view.
And I suspect that if state government intervened in a dispute between you and a neighbor by creating legislation specifically favoring your neighbor, you'd be the first to cry "It's not constitutional!" or "That's a taking!"
When your neighbors, employers, businesses and wealthy state and local residents gain access to legislators and have special legislation written just for THEM, by being campaign contributors or just friendly to those interests, suddenly, where are your rights?
Instead of complaining and trying to redefine what a wetland is, you should sit down and write Wis Wetlands a check right now so that they can continue their work of protecting wetlands--and your rights in the process.
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