Wisconsin GOP legislators, bellhops to corporate agriculture, will continue to serve brown tap water to rural constituents and the back of the hand to residents statewide.
Consider these two comprehensive proposals in which GOP leadership has no interest:
One Assembly bill would expand eligibility and financing for private well improvements, boost state bonding authority to speed up lead pipe replacement and facilitate other drinking water and environmental upgrades.
A second Assembly bill would provide more clean water funding through an increase in the ridiculously-insufficient annual Wisconsin CAFO operating fee of $345, in addition to other anti-contamination measures
These measures to bring about safer drinking water face three, fatal obstacles:
* The bills have no Republican co-sponsors.
* The GOP is politically-attached to CAFO proliferation.
All of which underscores the need for a clean sweep of legislators this November who draw a state salary but won't a priority on basic human needs.
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| Manure flows from a Kewaunee CAFO. It's a repetitive health hazard in several counties statewide. |
One Assembly bill would expand eligibility and financing for private well improvements, boost state bonding authority to speed up lead pipe replacement and facilitate other drinking water and environmental upgrades.
- Under current law, an individual owner or renter of a contaminated private well may apply for a grant from DNR to cover a portion of the costs to treat the water, reconstruct the well, construct a new well, connect to a public water supply, or fill and seal the well.
- To be eligible for a grant the well owner's or renter's annual family income may not exceed $65,000. A grant awarded under the program may not pay more than 75 percent of a project's eligible costs and may not pay any portion of eligible costs in excess of $16,000.
In addition, if the well owner's or renter's annual family income exceeds $45,000, the amount of the award is reduced by 30 percent of the amount by which the annual family income exceeds $45,000.
The bill increases the family income limit to $100,000 [and] a well owner or renter whose family income is below the state's median income may receive a grant of up to 100 percent of a project's eligible costs, not to exceed $16,000.
The bill also eliminates the requirement to reduce an award by 30 percent if the well owner's or renter's family income exceeds $45,000 [and] increases the amount appropriated to DNR for payments under this program by $1,600,000.
...the bill creates several sum sufficient appropriations to ensure rapid response time for the State Laboratory of Hygiene to perform testing relating to water contamination; for DNR and the Department of Health Services to perform emergency testing of public and private water supplies near areas of known contamination from perfluoroalkyl or polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)....
* The bills have no Republican co-sponsors.
* The GOP is politically-attached to CAFO proliferation.
Vos, Fitzgerald go to bat for 'existing and expanding CAFO operations'* The legislative session is drawing to a close, which guarantees that common sense measures from safer state water supplies to vital assistance homeless kids and veterans - - during the winter - - will remain delayed, ignored and buried.
All of which underscores the need for a clean sweep of legislators this November who draw a state salary but won't a priority on basic human needs.
Too bad neither will likely get a hearing.
ReplyDeleteIf a landfill or industrial facility were to contaminate a private water supply well the entity for causing the contamination would have to supply an alternative source or new well/treatment, why should an agri based facility be any different?
ReplyDelete