Business leaders and water advocates agree that a new Republican effort to rewrite Wisconsin’s much-contested law on large-scale water extraction is both flawed and fixable.
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Bill to settle state's water war falls short in everyone's eyes
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Lakefront property owners say they suspect high capacity wells are responsible for falling water levels. In this file photo, at Wolf Lake in Portage County, Chelsea Zimmerman plays with her brother Levi but avoids swimming because the water levels have receded well below the beach. “This one hasn't dropped as much as the other lakes around here, but it has dropped quite a bit,” she says.
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.
More than four years after the EPA listed 75 deficiencies, the DNR is issuing pollution permits that fall short of minimum standards.
Realtors say they remain unhappy despite a 2011 law that made it easier to destroy acreage crucial to water purity and wildlife habitat.
Former DNR employees are writing in support of a petition asking the EPA to force better state control of water pollution.
The state's business lobby is backing several bills that contain dozens of provisions to provide 'certainty' for owners of sensitive lands.
Every major conservation group opposed AB600, and even one Republican lawmaker said dredging provisions were too loose.
Attorney General Brad Schimel says he may issue an opinion even though his office is involved in related court cases.
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.
MADISON (AP) | Republican state Sen. Rob Cowles has introduced a bill that would overhaul high-capacity well regulations.
