Sixteen clean water advocates from across Wisconsin and a public interest law firm are calling on the federal government to strip away the state’s authority to control water pollution if it doesn’t do a better job.
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The pea-soup water of Petenwell Lake laps the shoreline in Adams County in this 2014 file photo. Nutrients and manure run off farm fields to cause unnatural algae, weed and bacterial problems.
Former DNR employees are writing in support of a petition asking the EPA to force better state control of water pollution.
Critics say private ownership means fewer controls on quality and on rates paid to water and sewage disposal systems.
The state's business lobby is backing several bills that contain dozens of provisions to provide 'certainty' for owners of sensitive lands.
High levels of nitrates are showing up less often in the Dane County area, but officials still advise testing and more controls on fertilizer use.
Robin Vos gathers backing for an opinion about a Supreme Court ruling that slowed permits for wells that critics say harm water quality.
Courts could no longer give weight to state agency expertise when individuals claimed in lawsuits to have lost property rights.
Walker had promised to tame an "out of control" DNR.
But water advocates and big farms commend lawmakers for tackling thorny issue, and offer many contradictory suggestions.
Walker said states could enforce pollution laws without EPA oversight. But Wisconsin's DNR has repeatedly failed to meet EPA standards.
Wisconsin lawmakers cut conservation spending by $88 million. Walker wanted a moratorium on stewardship land buys.
Experts say it costs more to clean up problems in lakes and rivers than it does to use scientific methods of prevention.
