A big win for clean water in Wisconsin

By Tony Wilkin Gibart | Wisconsin Examiner | July 12, 2021

Read the full article by Tony Wilkin Gibart (Wisconsin Examiner)

“Last week, the people of Wisconsin achieved an important victory in the fight for clean water and a healthy environment. The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that current law gives the state authority to enforce water quality standards through the use of permit conditions for large agricultural operations known as concentrated animal feeding operations or “CAFOs.”

In siding with clean water advocates, the Supreme Court ruled against Republicans in the Legislature and against powerful special interest groups including Wisconsin Manufactures and Commerce. WMC and its allies in the Legislature argued that Act 21—a 2011 law about agency rulemaking—eliminated the Department of Natural Resources’ power to impose certain permit conditions, even when those conditions are shown to be necessary to uphold the Clean Water Act and protect groundwater. In the end, the Supreme Court dismissed WMC’s flawed arguments.”…

This content provided by the PFAS Project.