Organize Against Privatization, Degradation Of Wisconsin Waters

Now is the time to access the Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters website and tell legislators it's bad public policy to allow, through low-profile budget amendments, the expansion and reach of high-capacity wells across Wisconsin.

From the group:

Current Alerts

With large farming operation expanding and frac sand mining exploding, now is not the time to slash support for clean water. Act now to tell legislators to budget for clean water!

This disregard for publicly-owned water - some background here - -  is connected to the disclosure that a separate fiscal 'reform' bill will end the annual high-capacity well fee that funds DNR water program monitoring.

The bill is getting a lot of attention because it showers tax breaks on upper-income earners and hands out favors to certain businesses and industries, but a single paragraph on p. 23 of the bill will have a profound impact on well operations, ground water supplies and public water programs statewide.

Put this together with recent bills that allow wetlands filling, building into waterways or nearer shore lines, and dumping mining waste into lakes and waterways in the Bad River watersheds and you begin to see that there is a full-scale assault against the 226-year-old Public Trust Doctrine that defines and protects water- -  in the public interest - - that is incorporated into the State Constitution.