WI pollution story contains disclosure from my blog

Manure runoff and brown water in Wisconsin, and especially in Kewaunee County

keeps making the news.

I pulled this item off Twitter about Wisconsin's persistent manure runoff problems - - 

Natural Resources Board Continues To Define ‘Sensitive Areas’

- - and want to pass on an important August 7 deadline in the article and thank the writer for the hat tip at the end, as she writes: 

The Natural Resources Board at their meeting on May 23-24 in Madison heard a status report on work to develop changes for ‘Sensitive Areas’ to NR 151, a regulation that governs nutrient management in the state...

You can read more about the draft rules on the Midwest Environmental Advocates website at midwestadvocates.org/news-events/news/dnr-draft-livestock-waste-management-rules-show-progress/.

More general public comments will be accepted later in the process, but the economic impact assessment is the next step. EIA comments are due by Monday, August 7....


Relief for Kewaunee

Well-known journalist, James Rowen, made an effort to follow up on the status of the well-publicized DNR initiative to provide bottled water to well owners with contaminated water, rolled out by the Department three months ago.

James Rowen is a writer and consultant, and has worked for newspapers. His blog began in 2007, and posts also run at various news sites...

In mid-July, Rowen e-mailed DNR spokesman James Dick and asked how much of the promised water had been distributed in Kewaunee County. Rowen followed up because he'd been hearing that people in rural Wisconsin were dissatisfied with the program

DNR spokesman James Dick's e-mail response to Rowen was: As of yesterday [Tuesday, July 12], no one has applied for bottled water as required under the NR 738 criteria.

Rowen reported in his blog, ‘The Political Environment’ on Wednesday, July 12, [blog editor note, link added] that there had been reports that the directions for obtaining bottled included at the DNR's webpage are confusing for some elderly residents, that the eligibility requirements can be hard to grasp or meet, and that for some computer access was a barrier to seeking relief.

Rowen noted that while there is information on the DNR website about the program, he has yet to see a public awareness campaign to promote it.

Rowen pointed out that Wisconsin residents and taxpayers are supposed to get bottled water because the DNR and its CAFO permittees are not effectively stopping the flow of brown water into the drinking water.