Perhaps A Win for Environment, Business In Legislature Over Water Pollution Control

The Journal Sentinel is reporting that legislators on the budget-writing Finance Commitee are rebuffing Scott Walker's plan to suspend implementation of Wisconsin's existing, consensus-driven rules to remove polluting phosphorus runoff into state rivers, streams and lakes.

Though legislators are free to revisit the idea, it appears as if Walker's outrageous proposal is dead, for the time being.

Some quick observations:

Republicans heard effectively from conservation, outdoors', tourism, and environmental groups, plus local governments and citizens alike protesting the lack of logic in Walker's plan. Everyone knows phosphorus is algae food, and fouled waterways kill recreation.

The legislators knew if they followed Walker's lead, the US Environmental Protection Agency was likely to come into the state and take over waterway cleanup and management, further removing local inputs.

And I also think Republicans knew this would help spur the recalls pending against six of their Senate members; why give the opposition more ammo?

So for now, it feels like a victory, but we'll have to make sure pressure is maintained, and people understand - - as has been proven by a similar effort to retain the state's recycling program that Walker also tried to convince the Finance Committee to kill - - that grassroots politcking can have results.