{Updated] Having willingly led on behalf of corporate interests and ideology Scott Walker's demolition of the agency she blustered and mocked her way into leading, DNR Secretary and former builder
Cathy Stepp has followed Walker's finger-pointing lead by claiming that the weakened agency she now heads is just another victim of that bad old state legislature:
Cathy Stepp has followed Walker's finger-pointing lead by claiming that the weakened agency she now heads is just another victim of that bad old state legislature:
..."a GOP-controlled Legislature that has cut funding and reined in regulation. "Here's the cold, hard truth: They run things," said Stepp, a former home builder who was appointed by Walker in 2011.The DNR workforce has fallen 18% since 1995 to 2,558 employees, according to DNR figures.This beaten-down, doing-'more'-with less Stepp must have an evil stepsister - - the reliable Walker water-carrier - - who likes Walker's erasing the DNR's role by telling the Legislature to cut and curtail the DNR;
DNR Secretary Defends Walker's Proposed Cuts to AgencyOh, there she is again:
DNR Secretary Cathy Stepp defends Scott Walker's changes to advisory boardAnd not a peep from Stepp in the face of this Walker initiative:
Scott Walker's budget cuts $5.7 million from runoff pollution remediesNote how Stepp changed the subject and suggested others - - like Counties -- could pick up the slack, and presto! - - problem solved:
On Wednesday, DNR Secretary Cathy Stepp told a gathering in Green Bay that fighting runoff pollution was a high priority. She likened counties to "boots on the ground" that get voluntary cooperation the DNR has struggled with...
"Farmers trust their county conservationists. Farmers don't necessarily trust the DNR..."
Rep. Gordon Hintz (D-Oshkosh), a member of the Legislature's Joint Finance Committee, also took a dim view of the cuts.
"You can't have it both ways," he said. "You can't say addressing runoff is a priority and undercut or underfund the very resources that do something about it."And before you say things like, 'well, that's how the game is played,' or 'she's just being a loyal appointee,' remember her attitude going in about DNR staff and work:
For example, people who go to work for the DNR's land, waste, and water bureaus tend to be anti-development, anti-transportation, and pro-garter snakes, karner blue butterflies, etc...This is in their nature; their make-up and DNA. So, since they're unelected bureaucrats who have only their cubicle walls to bounce ideas off of, they tend to come up with some pretty outrageous stuff that those of us in the real world have to contend with.
The puppet has little puppets. It trickles down from the top. Puppet Walker does the Koch's bidding, and all his baby puppets do his bidding. That's how Walkers so-called leadership rolls. Did you expect her to actually have a backbone and stick up for the DNR, to fight back on all of the cuts? A good little puppet does what the puppet masters tell it to do with no discussion and no comments.
ReplyDeleteThe Secretary and upper management are going to travel to several DNR offices all over the state for listening sessions with employees. That way, when they make changes, the Secretary can say that the ideas come from rank and file DNR staff during these listening sessions. We will never know if these ideas actually do come from staff because no one keeps official minutes or recordings of the meetings. They keep "notes" which aren't considered worthy of open records requests.
ReplyDeleteHere is a guy from the DNR trying to defend the DNR because the judge did not "exclusively blame the DNR"for what he calls a "growing pollution problem".
ReplyDeleteThursday, DNR spokesman William Cosh said Boldt did not exclusively blame the DNR for the
county’s growing pollution problem.
“When Boldt uses the broad term ‘regulatory failure,’ he declined to fault DNR over the county health departments and other regulatory entities shown in the record to play a role in safe drinking water,” Cosh said. “No one is disputing that groundwater is a problem in Kewaunee County. But Judge Boldt specifically refused to hold this permit or this permittee, or even the DNR accountable for that.”
http://host.madison.com/news/local/environment/judge-blames-toxic-kewaunee-county-wells-on-massive-regulatory-failure/article_4fa6d382-6103-11e4-8d51-f711cef8c3a7.html
"groundwater is a problem." I think the problem isn't groundwater but the tons of manure spread on the groundwater which leach to groundwater. Groundwater is an innocent bystander here. Also Bill Kosh is now spokesperson for DATCP and the DATCP spokesperson has moved to DNR. Maybe both get raises by switching jobs.
ReplyDeleteSecretary Stepp does not know s#$% about s#$%. Her comment proves she is full of s#$%. She is a simple piece of s#$% appointed by Governor Walker who has s#$% for brains. No wonder our ground water is saturated with dirty cow s#$%. I have had enough of this horses#$% from our worthless bulls#$%ing DNR Secretary.
ReplyDelete