Previous Action Alerts

ACTION ALERT! You can submit written comments on the Arrowhead-Weston Transmission Line Until August 29, 2004

Submit a letter to the Corps by August 29 expressing your concerns about the environmental impacts of the proposed line. Comments should be mailed to:

The time is NOW to give the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) feedback on the negative impacts of the proposed Arrowhead-Weston transmission line on the wetlands and other features of the national scenic riverways the proposed line would cross. A single public comment session has been scheduled for next week, so there are two actions you can take:

1. Attend the only Public Hearing held by the Army Corps:

BACKGROUND

You will remember that the WDNR once recommended that the A-W line not be built along its proposed path due to the line’s impacts on forests, wetlands, and rivers. Despite this, the Public Service Commission (PSC) issued a Certificate of Public Need (which carries the power of eminent domain) to build the line. This certificate is currently being contested by Clean Wisconsin and SOUL who contend that the certificate was wrongly granted by the PSC. They contend the PSC did not follow its own rules to wait until the WDNR had issued its permits before issuing the certificate. The Corps should not compound this error. The Corps should be urged to wait until the after this appeal of the PSC’s action before deciding on the line.

Other points of objection to the Corp’s environmental impact statement are contained in a comment submitted by Gaylord Nelson and others. The WSN has posted Gov. Nelson’s comment at http://www.wsn.org/transmission_line/deis_comments_052704.pdf

Finally, Sandy Lyon of WSN member group Anishinaabe Niijii/Protect the Earth will be happy to talk with anyone interested about the A-W line's environmental impacts in areas where the Corps has jurisdiction. Sandy has followed this very closely, and she suggests that before you call her at (715) 766-2725, you visit http://www.protecttheearth.org/Gaylord%20Nelson%201.htm to learn more about the wild places of the northwest that Gaylord Nelson seeks to protect from the destruction of the proposed Arrowhead 345,000 volt transmission line.

Todd Hanson
Executive Director
WI Stewardship Network
122 State St. Ste. 510
Madison, WI 53703
(608) 268-1218 (phone & fax)

On Monday July 19th the Council of Great Lakes Governors, led by Wisconsin’s Governor Doyle, released two draft documents designed as a contract between the eight Great Lakes states and two Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. These documents are the first step in drafting laws that will affect how your Great Lakes water is used by the agriculture industry, manufacturing, businesses, and municipalities.

One document is a good-faith agreement between the 10 states and provinces. The other document is a compact (called the Great Lakes Basin Water Resources Compact) to enhance joint decision making about the use of Great Lakes water. Both the agreement and the compact are designed to protect, conserve, restore, and improve the waters and water-dependent natural resources of the Great Lakes Basin.

When the Job Creation Act of 2003 (Act 118) passed last year, the DNR began developing rules to implement that law. When it came to water resource provisions, two major things had to be defined -- which waters would be considered “Areas of Special Natural Resource Interest” and when/how “general permits” would be issued for activities along navigable waters. Now those rules are up for hearings at locations across Wisconsin, and we can show our support for them. Hearings are set for:

Three weeks ago the Legislature’s Joint Committee to Review Administrative Rules (JCRAR) suspended portions of the “emergency rules” that had been in place. The JCRAR felt some of the emergency rules went too far in requiring DNR permit review (all along backers of Act 118 had wanted as many water permits as possible to be “general” permits to expedite their construction and building projects).

This JCRAR action sent the various interest groups (including the Governor’s office) back to the table, and they are still there as of this e-mail. George Meyer of the WI Wildlife Federation has been involved in these discussions on behalf of the environmental/conservation community, and he is confident the final rules brought to the hearings will be something that makes the best of a bad situation. Like it or not, we have entered an era of general water permits in Wisconsin, and these permits may not get the kind of review from the DNR we’d like to see to ensure water resources are not impaired. But the recommendation from George Meyer at this time is: “support the rules as written to make the best of a bad situation.”

The WSN can get you more information about the rules and talking points for your appearance at one of the hearings. Just let me know. I hope you pass this information along to your group members so someone from your organization can attend a hearing in your area.

Todd Hanson
Executive Director
WI Stewardship Network
122 State St. Ste. 510
Madison, WI 53703
(608) 268-1218 (phone & fax)
stewardship@wsn.org

ACTION ALERT: The ESA Under Attack - Please Call Resources Committee Members and Urge Opposition to Anti-Endangered Species Bills. For more information see http://www.wsn.org/esa_alert_070604.html

ACTION ALERT! Members of the Wisconsin Legislature are threatening state rivers and lakes by attempting to suspend rules written by the DNR for the Jobs Creation Act of 2003.

The Joint Committee for the Review of Administrative Rules (JCRAR) has scheduled a Public Hearing for June 24 in Minocqua:

The purpose of the Hearing is to suspend many of the rules that DNR has adopted pursuant to the Jobs Creation Act of 2003 to assure the protection of Wisconsin lakes and streams. JCRAR is going after the heart of the Act 118 rules, those rules defining "areas of special natural resource interest", "public rights features" and "priority navigable waters" and section NR 1.016 which defines the DNR's responsibilities to implement the public trust doctrine. They are also going
after the chapters that contain standards on boathouses, piers and shore protection.

Your attendance is needed at this Public Hearing to voice your support for retaining the rules written by the DNR for the Jobs Creation Act.

Action Alert! Make Your Voices Heard on the Siting Review Board!
Send MEA Your Recommendations for Members of the Board

On April 13, 2004, Governor Doyle signed the Livestock Siting Bill into law for Wisconsin. While this legislation is a step backward for local democracy and sustainable agriculture, it is not too late to make sure we have a voice in livestock siting decisions.

The Bill creates a 7-member Livestock Siting Review Board which has the power to overturn a local government's decision to approve or deny a permit for a livestock factory. The Siting Review Board will be appointed by the secretary of DATCP and will consist of:

Midwest Environmental Advocates will submit a list of recommendations to DATCP in an attempt to ensure that the Review Board is informed, diverse and represents the interests of family farmers and local residents. If you know of someone who you think would be a valuable addition to the Review Board, let us know so that we can include them in our recommendations. With 4 seats potentially open to us to fill, it is critical that we send in as comprehensive of a list as possible.

We can still work together to protect and preserve Wisconsin's thousands of dairy farms, as well as the health and safety of Wisconsin residents. Let's continue to promote the local decision-making process by making our voices heard on the Siting Review Board.

Felicia Lin
Legal Assistant
Midwest Environmental Advocates, Inc.
702 East Johnson Street
Madison, WI 53703
Phone: (608) 251-5047
Fax: (608) 268-0205
Email: advocate@midwestadvocates.org

Last week, the Senate voted to pass AB 868, a divisive attempt by industrial agri-business to promote polluting livestock factories in Wisconsin and limit citizen participation in local decisions and appeals. This undemocratic bill now sits on Governor Doyle's desk, waiting to be signed. Instead, let's tell the Governor that AB 868 is just waiting to be vetoed.

Now is the time to call Governor Doyle's office and encourage him to uphold Wisconsin's tradition of family farming, environmental protection and local zoning control. You can reach the Governor's office at (608) 266-1212. You can also send letters to the editors of your local paper publicly asking the Governor for this important veto.

Below are some talking points you can use when drafting letters and speaking with the Governor's office:

We still have the opportunity to make our voices heard in the Capitol. Together, we can protect and preserve our local decision-making process, family farmers and right to clean air and water.

Felicia Lin
Legal Assistant
Midwest Environmental Advocates, Inc.
702 East Johnson Street
Madison, WI 53703
Phone: (608) 251-5047
Fax: (608) 268-0205
Email: advocate@midwestadvocates.org

When this bill was signed into law, Governor Doyle and Legislative leaders
assured us that environmental standards would not be lowered because the
DNR would be able to adopt administrative rules re-establishing
protections for these important public rights in navigable waters.

Next Wednesday, the Natural Resources Board is taking up the necessary
emergency rules to carry out this “promise.” Already the development
interests that led the effort to strip the environmental safeguards from
the statutes have indicated that they will be fighting to stop the
adoption of strong environmental rules. Please send an immediate letter
to the members of the Natural Resources Board via DNR Secretary Hassett
asking them to adopt strong emergency rules.

Please don’t miss this opportunity to use your voice to protect Wisconsin’s
navigable waters. Please personalize and send the letter provided today!

Rally for a Responsible Energy Policy
April 25, 2004 at 12:30pm, Madison
UW-Madison's Library Mall

A rally to oppose the promotion of nuclear power and waste disposal in Wisconsin.
For more information see Wisconsin Nuclear Watch Dog at http://www.wnwd.org/

Illegal Transmission Line – Landowners in Midway Township, Minnesota are calling for your help to stop the illegal construction on their lands by Minnesota Power/ATC. Rally Sunday, February 29 at 11 AM. The utilities are going onto people’s lands while they are away and DRILLING when they have no permit. SOUL, Save Our Unique Lands, is asking you to help stand in solidarity with these brave landowners who are saying no to this OUTLAW company. SOUL has received a legal opinion that the company does not have the power to take this illegal action and TAKE land (this is the Minnesota leg of the northern Wisconsin 345,000 volt transmission line). SOUL will be presenting this legal opinion to the television cameras. SOUL of Midway is begging for your help. The Arrowhead 345,000 volt OUTLAW line is truly “The War at Home.” It is the first transmission line3 to be built in WI-MN by a private for profit electric line utility that THINKS it has the power of eminent domain, and ratepayers are the ones footing the bill (even paying for all those horrible ads on the radio!!).

A Statewide conference on Global Warming, At the Tipping Point: From Global Warming to Global Stability, will be held in Oshkosh on Feb. 8-9. Sponsored by the Wisconsin Interfaith Climate and Energy Campaign, the conference will promote next steps in Earth Stewardship. The conference will be held at the UW-Oshkosh campus. For more information, email or call Dave Steffenson at 920-623-4360. You can also find conference updates at www.wicec.org.

The Wisconsin Wetlands Association and the Wisconsin Woodland Owners Association present Wooded Wetlands on January 30-31 in Mosinee. The gathering includes a science forum, field trips, a silent auction and a banquet. Discussions include the connection between hydrology and habitat, animals of wooded wetlands, types of wooded wetlands and their restoration. Field trips will visit the Mead Bottomland Floodplain Forest, the Mead Swamp Natural Area, and Nine-Mile Swamp. For registration details and lodging information, call 608-250-9971 or visit http://www.wiscwetlands.org/wausau.htm .

The Department of Natural Resources is hosting public listening sessions on proposed changes to the Shoreland Zoning rule, NR115. The DNR says the rule change is necessary to facilitate the revision of county shoreland zoning ordinances, introduce a level of flexibility for property owners and to address the current weaknesses in the statewide minimum standards. Their goal, they say, is to reflect the needs of our citizens while continuing the dedication to the protection of our natural resources. Attend a listening session and provide your input. You can choose between two identical meetings (2-5:30pm, 5:30-9pm) for each of these dates: November 11 - Spooner Agricultural Resource Center; November 12 - Lake Tomahawk Community Building; November 13 - Eau Claire DNR Regional Headquarters; December 1 - Onalaska City Hall; December 3 - Crivitz Village Hall (Tenative;)December 4 - Grande Chute Town Hall; December 9 - Madison at the DATCP Board Room; December 11 - Waukesha County Board Room. color="#990000"> The DNR is also seeking public comments on such issues as Minimum Lot Sizes, Impervious Surface Limit, Nonconforming Lots, Setback Averaging, Nonconforming Structures, and Shoreland Setbacks and Buffers. For more information, visit www.theshorelandconnection.org.
Will Fantle <wfantle@sbcglobal.net>
Eau Claire, WI USA - Thursday, November 5, 2003 at 16:47:25 (CDT)