The Legislature has tried to limit the DNR’s ability to appropriately manage our groundwater to ensure there is enough for everyone and that one person’s actions don’t harm their neighbors. In particular, there has been a lot of pushback on a Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling that said the DNR has to consider the cumulative impacts of high-capacity wells, or the impacts on a water source that has multiple wells taking water from it. Assembly Leader Robin Vos (R-Rochester) asked Attorney General Brad Schimel to issue an opinion about the authority of the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to make decisions for high-capacity well permits.
On May 10, when the Attorney General issued his opinion, he went even further, potentially removing the DNR’s ability to protect our air and water. Specifically, Schimel concluded that a 2011 law, aimed at restricting the authority of all agencies not only severely limits the DNR’s authority to regulate high-capacity wells, but it also severely limits the DNR’s authority to regulate many aspects of protecting our drinking water. Given the nuances and specifics of every project the DNR has to consider, this is devastating. 
For example, a coal plant proposal for downtown Milwaukee that could be surrounded by millions of people, many that already have respiratory problems as a result of air pollutants, would require different protections than a project in a less populated area. Similarly, a factory farm on or near Lake Michigan would have different considerations than a factory farm on the Wisconsin River, which would also have different considerations than a factory farm proposal in a place not near a water stream.
Also, every project comes with a different process, which requires different rules and pollution limits to consider. For example, a frac-sand mine that uses a closed-loop system (meaning it recycles its water) would have different pollution limits than a frac-sand mine with an open-loop system. A lot of concerns have been cited around the Little Plover River, a river in the heart of the Central Sands Region. That area has seen a huge increase in high capacity wells, with over 3,000 wells today. The River has dried up in the past. For this reason, a high-capacity well that could draw the water from the river should have different considerations than a high-capacity well proposal in a different area fewer concerns about rivers drying up.
Wisconsin is a very diverse state with vastly different areas and uses—from forests to world-class trout streams to very urban cities. Wisconsin’s diversity is shown through its top industries—agriculture, manufacturing, information technology (IT), and tourism. Every single project in every single place requires its own very specific consideration when determining whether or not it should get a permit. Partisan legislators do not have the skills, experience, knowledge, or time to analyze the specifics and local considerations of every single project. That is why we have the DNR, with staff with this expertise.
Making determinations based on these very specific circumstances is the way we are able to balance the needs of people with the use of our natural resources. The DNR must balance the needs of frac-sand mining companies, factory farm owners, and other developers with the need for all of us to be able to use and rely on Wisconsin’s natural resources. The DNR must ensure that as developments go in, the neighbors of that development can still drink their water; fish in the local river, lake, or stream and otherwise enjoy the other aspects of the area. By threatening the DNR’s ability to do its job, Attorney General Schimel threatened the ability for all of us to drink clean water, to breathe clean air and to enjoy the Wisconsin we love. He also threatened the ability for people to get permits for the project they may need in order to run their business because the DNR will have to take a much more black-and-white approach to granting permits.
This disturbing opinion also suggests severely undermining Wisconsin’s Public Trust Doctrine. The Public Trust Doctrine was put in into our constitution because Wisconsin’s founding fathers recognized the beautiful resource Wisconsin has in our vast, but vulnerable waterways. The constitution makes Wisconsin’s water a sacred, public asset. If followed, this opinion takes this public asset (and the DNR’s ability to ensure it stays clean and safe for all residents to enjoy) and could instead put our important waterways in the hands of partisan political officials, potentially selling them off to the highest bidder.
Even before this opinion was published, Wisconsin already has a slew of water concerns—residents in Kewaunee County have to drink bottled water due to polluted water. The lead pipes crisis that was discovered in Flint, Michigan could be happening in Milwaukee or Appleton. Increased levels of molybdenum in Oak Creek (possibly from coal ash contamination) still require attention.
In October, the Midwest Environmental Advocates sent a formal petition to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) asking the EPA to review these and other ways that the DNR is not properly managing Wisconsin’s water, as required under the Clean Water Act and other federal laws. This new opinion by the Attorney General underscores the need for the EPA to step in and oversee the protection of Wisconsin’s waterways.
Click here to tell the EPA we need them to ensure we have safe water for all.