Wednesday, November 30, 2016

At first glance, DNR reorg. is win for polluters, Part 1

About that big reorganization of the Wisconsin DNR, the agency which Scott Walker is running with his self-defined 'chamber of commerce mentality.' 

Lee Bergquist of the Journal Sentinel reports that privatization winners in the deal include the big manure-producing animal feeding operations which are growing substantially in number and capacity - - which also are commanding more and more millions of gallons of groundwater constitutionally-owned by all the state's residentsbut diverted thanks to the cooperation of the DNR and the Attorney General - - operations which will be allowed to write their own environmental compliance plans without which they cannot receive DNR operating permits:

The Department of Natural Resources said Wednesday it will turn over some regulatory duties to the private sector, including preparation of environmental permits for manure handling of Wisconsin’s largest farms.
That's a sweet deal for these polluting special interests, including major Walker donors, especially since there are several such big projects on the table. And, no surprise, big Walker donors are involved.

Note also that the DNR is claiming that it cannot do its traditional work, like permit plans, and other functions it intends to privatize or eliminate, because it doesn't have the staff anymore to carry out the work.

Which is exactly why Walker began cutting the DNR so drastically - - with Secretary Cathy Stepp's approval - - and why more cuts are coming.

It's the self-fulfilling prophecy of Grover Norquist's infamous drown the government in a bathtub theory of governing/non-governing that, by design, makes government inefficient and elevates tprofits over the public interest.

More on this later. 

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