Attorney General Brad Schimel would need to go outside his office’s conflict-of-interest guidelines in order to issue an opinion sought by GOP lawmakers and dairy interests who want more high-capacity wells permitted with fewer conditions attached.
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HIGH-CAPACITY WELLS | FORMAL OPINION WOULD BE CONFLICT OF INTEREST
High-capacity well opinion would break with conflict-of-interest guideline
Lakefront property owners say they suspect high capacity wells are responsible for falling water levels. At Wolf Lake in Portage County, Chelsea Zimmerman and her brother Levi but avoided swimming because the water levels had receded so far. “This one hasn't dropped as much as the other lakes around here, but it has dropped quite a bit,” she says.
Robin Vos gathers backing for an opinion about a Supreme Court ruling that slowed permits for wells that critics say harm water quality.
Lawsuit says EPA went too far; agency maintains it is protecting health of downstream waters.
Every major conservation group opposed AB600, and even one Republican lawmaker said dredging provisions were too loose.
Courts could no longer give weight to state agency expertise when individuals claimed in lawsuits to have lost property rights.
The state's business lobby is backing several bills that contain dozens of provisions to provide 'certainty' for owners of sensitive lands.
Realtors say they remain unhappy despite a 2011 law that made it easier to destroy acreage crucial to water purity and wildlife habitat.
But water advocates and big farms commend lawmakers for tackling thorny issue, and offer many contradictory suggestions.
