Subject: Our environment.
Protect the public’s interests. 

Bring back the Wisconsin public intervenor. That’s what Natural Resource Secretary George Meyer says.

Meyer is emboldened by the likelihood that Gov. Tommy Thompson will leave state government for the Bush Cabinet.

So now Meyer is speaking his mind. At last.

The Public Intervenor Office was created in 1967 when the Conservation Department and Department of Resource Development were merged to form the Department of Natural Resources.

Conservationists feared that without independent oversight, development would overwhelm environmental concerns.

The two lawyers in the intervenor’s office defended the public’s interest in lakes and streams, drinking water, clean air and other natural resources in Wisconsin.

The intervenors ran up a long list of credits, including riding herd on the Crandon mine project.

During that period, Wisconsin became a national leader in environmental policy. It wasn’t painless — Wausau’s landfill was ordered closed as the state clamped down on sites everywhere — but it was needed. 

But in the 1995-96 state budget, Thompson tried to eliminate the intervenors. The Legislature cut the staff to one lawyer, took away secretarial support, moved the office into the DNR and took away the power to sue.

In that same budget, the Natural Resources secretary was made a member of Thompson’s Cabinet, removing the citizen-led Natural Resources Board’s ability to appoint the secretary.

A few years later the intervenor, stripped of any effective role, was quietly eliminated. It has become extremely difficult to fight actions by state agencies that harm the environment. 

“Now there is no avenue for environmental groups to challenge those in court,” Meyer said. “Unfortunately, they can’t afford to do it.”

The changes rankled environmentalists and outdoor sports enthusiasts. There were repercussions in the DNR, too.

Last spring, 91 percent of DNR employees surveyed said they thought the department secretary shouldn’t be appointed by the governor.

Without intervenors, Wisconsin environmental policy has been less progressive.

Septic system rules opened up land, readily susceptible to water pollution, so it can be developed. A mining moratorium law intended to stop the Crandon project only muddied the water. Both needed an intervenor’s input. 

The Crandon mine permit review process continues.

“I surely wouldn’t mind ... the public intervenor looking over our shoulder, looking at what we’ve done,” Meyer now says. “I think it would add to the credibility of the process.”

The DNR’s environmental efforts have lost credibility. Objectors say that if the DNR could stand scrutiny, certainly the governor and Legislature wouldn’t mind the attention.

With Thompson leaving state office, public intervenors and a citizen-led DNR are politically possible.

Lt. Gov. Scott McCallum will replace Thompson. By reauthorizing the public intervenor and restoring the DNR’s independence, McCallum can set himself apart from the long-term governor and win public approval at the same time. 

As the person in charge of our natural heritage, the people of Wisconsin need Meyer to be an outspoken advocate, too.

There are few chances to undo past wrongs. This is one of them. Don’t miss out.