CNOW Week of February 17, 2020

This week's notices:

• Oppose AB 794: Allowing Polluters to Undermine Science in Groundwater Standards
• Support AB 790: Funding for County Conservationists
• Support AB 795: Assistance to Farmers for Conservation
• Support AB 796: Nitrate Pilot Program
• Oppose AB 798: Throwing Money Away With Biomanipulation
• Support AB 797: Prohibiting Sale or Use of Toxic Sealant Products
• Support AB 791: Extending Assistance to Fix Failing Septic Systems
• Oppose AB 793: Undermining the Municipal Flood Control Grant Program
• Support SB 252: Natural Flood Prevention Demonstration Project
• Support AB 842: Funding for PFAS Research and Testing
• Support AB 843: Getting Started on Setting PFAS standards
• Oppose SB 808 & AB 894: Undermining Meaningful Livestock Siting Reform

Wisconsin Conservation Voters urges you to oppose AB 794, which is before the Assembly on Tuesday.

Currently, all members of the public are allowed to participate in the process of approving new health-based standards for groundwater once submitted to the DNR. Our health depends on sound science and our state agencies provide balanced unbiased scientific review with robust public comment opportunities. Polluters have begun a push to influence the scientific review of public health impacts of groundwater. These polluters clearly have a self-interest in the outcome of such review. AB 794 would, for the first time, require the Department for Health Services to solicit input from self-interested parties on how health standards are developed.

Wisconsin Conservation Voters urges you to support AB 790, which is before the Assembly on Tuesday.

County conservation staff are the boots on the ground for water quality protections. AB 790 will increase funding for county conservation staff by $2,960,900 in fiscal year 2020-21, bringing the total of $12.4 million for county conservation staff in fiscal year 2020-21

Wisconsin Conservation Voters urges you to support AB 795, which is before the Assembly on Tuesday.

Farmers are currently encouraged to employ practices that reduce water pollution runoff. AB 795 would fund several important programs to help farmers reduce pollution through measures such as managed grazing, producer-led watershed protection grants, and certification in the Water Stewardship Program.

Wisconsin Conservation Voters urges you to support AB 796, which is before the Assembly on Tuesday.

Nitrogen is one of Wisconsin’s most widespread contaminants, and is linked to diabetes, birth defects, and cancer. AB 796 requires DATCP to develop a grant program to develop best practices for reducing nitrogen loading in soils. The grants would go to agricultural producers, working with academic researchers, to pilot projects using less nitrogen, improving water quality.

Wisconsin Conservation Voters urges you to oppose AB 798, which is before the Assembly on Tuesday.

Biomanipulation attempts to control algae growth not by removing its root cause, phosphorus, but “parks” it by controlling for the conditions that lead to algae growth. Biomanipulation does nothing to address the causes of algae bloom because it doesn't stop phosphorus from entering water systems. AB 798 would allocate $150,000 GPR funds in fiscal year 2019-20 to a process that is a proven failure at addressing algae blooms.

Wisconsin Conservation Voters urges you to support AB 797, which is before the Assembly Committee on Tuesday.

Coal tar-based driveway sealants are extremely toxic and can lead to increased cancer rates and cause tumors in fish and other aquatic animals. AB 797 would prohibit the sale of coal tar-based sealant products and high PAH sealant products beginning Jan. 1, 2021, and prohibit the use of such products beginning July 1, 2021.

Wisconsin Conservation Voters urges you to support AB 791, which is before the Assembly on Tuesday.

Septic systems can leak and contribute to groundwater quality problems. AB 791 would delay the sunset for the Wisconsin Fund program until June 30, 2023, which helps homeowners to repair or replace failing septic systems. The bill also provides Department of Safety and Professional Services with two staff positions to help conduct sanitary permit applications and plans reviews and assist with the program.

Wisconsin Conservation Voters urges you to oppose AB 793, which is before the Assembly on Tuesday.

Many communities in our state are experiencing flooding due to extreme weather events. These flooding events threaten people’s lives and cause property damage. AB 793 would eliminate the requirement that DNR prioritize municipal flood control grants on projects that would protect public health and safety and would require the DNR to consider economic impacts over water quality concerns. These changes also do not allow for consideration of future flooding risks, which are only accelerating due to climate change.

Wisconsin Conservation Voters urges you to support SB 252, which is before the Assembly on Tuesday.

As climate change continues to increase extreme weather events, Wisconsin communities need more tools, including wetlands, to help reduce flood risks and damages. SB 252 will fund the creation of flooding demonstration projects in Ashland County to help governments understand how restoring and protecting natural areas can help reduce flooding.

Wisconsin Conservation Voters urges you to support AB 842, which is before the Assembly Committee on the Environment on Tuesday.

PFAS have emerged as a serious threat to our drinking water and our communities. AB 842 would provide funding for municipalities to test their drinking water, blood and cancer cluster studies around areas with known concentrations of PFAS, and research at the UW to destroy PFAS.

Wisconsin Conservation Voters urges you to support AB 843, which is before the Assembly Committee on the Environment on Tuesday.

PFAS are human-made chemicals that have been found in our groundwater. These chemicals are known as “forever chemicals” because they do not break down in the environment, which means we must move quickly to protect public health. AB 843 would require DNR to establish and enforce emergency rules that set groundwater standards for PFOA and PFOS, the two most well-known of the PFAS class of chemicals. The bill also would establish emergency rules for any other PFAS for which the DHS submits a recommended groundwater enforcement standard.

Wisconsin Conservation Voters urges you to oppose SB 808 & AB 894, which are before the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Revenue and Financial Institutions on Monday and the Assembly Committee on Agriculture on Tuesday.

Large agricultural operations have been expanding into more communities and are having an outsized impact on our natural resources and public health. They do not pay their fair share of permit fees and can exert undo political pressure on local elected officials. SB 808 & AB 894 would create a task force weighted heavily with large agriculture interests that could effectively undermine any new livestock siting rules from going forward. This would thwart any effort to reform the outdated siting rules making it difficult to protect water and quality of life in rural communities.

Conservation Notices of the Week (CNOW) announce the pro-conservation positions on issues before the senate, assembly and/or governor in the week ahead to state legislators. Others wishing to follow activities in the state legislature also receive CNOW, including legislative staff, conservation voters, and media. All of these issues are tracked on the Vote Tracker. Issues in the CNOW may appear in the Conservation Scorecard, to be released in the summer of 2020.