Breaking News: Awareness of Walker's water stewardship dismissal spreads to Great Lakes states - News Paper

I'd noted that the heavily-resisted push for a Lake Michigan diversion for Foxconn adds to Wisconsin's status as a Great Lakes environmental outlier.

So give a read to this explanatory piece posted by the non-partisan, non-profit site WisContext about Wisconsin, the Great Lakes Compact and what could happen as Walker and Wisconsin claim that the Wisconsin DNR and state laws he has hamstrung and weakened can enforce the Compact's spirit and letter: 

There are already indications that other Great Lakes states are worried about the depleted and politically constrained Wisconsin DNR's ability to enforce environmental regulations. The Waukesha diversion agreement received unanimous approval from the eight governors, but Minnesota officials insisted on including language reaffirming other states' ability to hold each other to account under the compact.

If another state in the Great Lakes Basin becomes convinced that Wisconsin isn't properly enforcing the compact — whether in the case of Waukesha, Racine (and Foxconn), or any other withdrawal or discharge — it can raise a complaint. 

"Any Person aggrieved by a Party action shall be entitled to a hearing pursuant to the relevant Party's administrative procedures and laws," the Compact reads.

I'd noted the imposition of those conditions by the other states' diversion reviewers nearly two years ago; clearly some of the other states were not buying all the assurances over the Waukesha diversion which Walker and his DNR were selling at the time:

I'd felt the reviewers' evolving "findings" were not strong on enforcement of a possible diversion agreement at the very time that GOP Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel had just given GOP legislators formal advice that undermined long-standing water access and quality protections guaranteed in the Wisconsin Constitution.

And while GOP Gov. Scott Walker had been for years weakening environmental enforcement and state water stewardship responsibilities and actions in favor of special interests across the state.

And while he has cut Wisconsin Department of Natural Resource science staff, and reduced enforcement actions in favor of so-called voluntary self-enforcement by 'regulated' businesses instituted by the "chamber of commerce mentality" leadership he placed intentionally atop the agency.

All of which is well-known in Wisconsin, and also noted nationally.

Just to remind everyone, despite all Walker's sabotage of the DNR and state water policy, those waters, like Lake Michigan - - 

- - belong to all the people of the state, says the DNR: 

Wisconsin's Waters Belong to Everyone

Wisconsin lakes and rivers are public resources, owned in common by all Wisconsin citizens under the state's Public Trust Doctrine. Based on the state constitution, this doctrine has been further defined by case law and statute. It declares that all navigable waters are "common highways and forever free", and held in trust by the Department of Natural Resources.

from The Political Environment https://ift.tt/2GBOqZp
Breaking News: Awareness of Walker's water stewardship dismissal spreads to Great Lakes states - News Paper