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Taxpayer Expense?  |
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Taxpayer Expense? |
The Public Intervenor
Office did not represent environmental groups or their interests in courts.
The Intervenor represented "public rights in the water and other natural
resources of the state." Wisconsin's natural resources are not the
special interest of environmental groups --- public rights are shared by
all.  Everyone
has a stake in clean water, clean air, abundant wildlife, and a healthy
environment. Ordinary citizens should not have to pay out of their
own pockets to protect these rights. But now they are being forced
to do just that.
Wisconsin citizens and environmental groups collectively have few staff, and are frequently unable to muster the large amounts of money required for a typical lawsuit. Further, environmental groups represent their members in lawsuits, not necessarily "public rights" in natural resources. In fact, the Intervenors sometimes differed with environmental groups on issues. Often, Intervenors worked on public rights issues unaddressed by any other agency or private group. Opponents of public rights in the environment frequently have experienced lawyers and substantial dollars available to protect their interests. In fact, the enormous budgets of the Commerce Dept., DOT and DATCP provide an army of state staff people, grants and loans to promote private business development in Wisconsin, at taxpayer expense. Many of their bureaus and programs promote projects which can conflict with public rights in natural resources. For example, the Commerce Department has nine “Area Development Managers” around the state and their sole purpose is “to assist business expansions, promote business retention, and help local development organizations in their respective territories.” They also assist with “long-term marketing and planning strategies.” Even the DNR now refers to business people as “clients.” A new “Customer Assistance and External Relations Division” at DNR includes 11.5 full-time equivalent staff called “Business Sector Specialists” who each “work with 2 or 3 industrial or commercial sectors to act as conduits into DNR. They serve as the first point of contact for those businesses, providing coordinated, cross-media technical and compliance assistance.” Meanwhile, ordinary Wisconsin citizens are having trouble getting responses to their concerns and questions. The Wisconsin Public Intervenor Office is needed for balance against these powerful influences. If taxpayers are taxed to provide hundreds of millions of dollars to subsidize private businesses, they certainly deserve the small Intervenor office to ensure that taxpayers public rights are protected from these businesses. |