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LOCAL
NEWS
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Small victory
in fight against Perrier
By Ann McBride
- Daily Register
A grassroots
citizens' group is claiming victory over its legal battle to force the
state Department of Natural Resources to revisit drilling permits issued
to the Perrier Group of America.
Concerned Citizens
of Newport, along with the Ho-Chunk Nation, filed lawsuits last year against
the DNR as it was holding discussions with Perrier over the pumping of
water in Adams County.
Although Perrier
has put its plans on hold and is building a plant in Michigan, it continues
to retain leases near the village of Big Springs.
On Wednesday,
Marquette County Judge Richard O. Wright, who heard the case in Columbia
County, ordered the DNR to complete a new environmental assessment that
takes into account information that wasn't available when the original
document was completed.
As part of this
process, there will be an opportunity for public input, which could lead
to the state determining that a more detailed environmental impact study
is required -- a position Concerned Citizens strongly support.
"We consider
this a big victory," said attorney Glen Stoddard who represents the Newport
group. "It's a victory because the judge decided the DNR analysis under
WEPA (Wisconsin Environmental Policy Act) was inadequate and unreasonable
and the court remanded the case back to the DNR for further environmental
impact review and essentially agreed with us on that issue."
The state, however,
viewed the ruling differently.
"When you look
all the way down the road I'm not sure it really is a meaningful victory,"
attorney Carl Sinderbrand, who represents the DNR, said. "Right now they
had some success in today's battle. DNR will have to issue a new WEPA."
WEPA is the
state law that requires environmental impact reviews, which includes public
input.
Sinderbrand
said that overall he sees the ruling as one that doesn't interfere with
the DNR process, but rather requires the agency to follow the guidelines
spelled out in WEPA.
"When we get
to the point to determine the pumping rate, (the judge) wants to make sure
that's covered by WEPA and all of the information available is considered,"
Sinderbrand said. "He wanted to be sure that when pumping rates were decided
there would be full public participation."
Prior to Wednesday's
ruling, the DNR was not required to seek additional public input as part
of its decision to modify the Perrier permit to determine the pumping rate.
This rate hasn't yet been decided and won't be until Perrier has completed
a number of state-required studies.
Newport Town
Chairman Don Nelson, who was listed in the action as a petitioner, said
he was pleased with the judge's ruling, although he was initially unsure
how to interpret it.
"It took us
a while to determine if we won or not," Nelson said, adding the ruling
most importantly allows for more public input.
"The judge seemed
to indicate that they're going to have to start this process over," he
said. "We felt we won as much as we could of, with the statutes the way
that they are."
The judge did
rule in the state's favor on several matters, including the validity of
an agreement the DNR entered into with Perrier.
Under the state's
agreement, Perrier agreed not to contest DNR's lack of authority to complete
an environmental assessment and, in exchange, DNR gave the company an OK
to build two high-capacity wells.
Now, Perrier
must complete the required tests to determine the pumping rate and, once
this data is analyzed, the state will tell Perrier specifically where the
wells can be placed and finalize the pumping rate, Sinderbrand said.
The proposed
wells could pump up to 500 gallons per minute.
"We have public
input now into the process," Stoddard said, adding Perrier can no longer
"simply assume" it can make a deal with the DNR on the pumping rate.
"This sends
a strong message to Perrier," he said.
The group's
ultimate goal is to convince Perrier not to exercise its permit and withdraw
its application, Stoddard explained.
"If they do
that, then of course this becomes a mute point," he said. "But if Perrier
wants to pursue its permits, they're going to have to go through this whole
process."
At the outset,
the judge dismissed the Ho-Chunk Nation case, which asserted that the DNR
failed to consider the tribe's cultural ties to the area, over a difference
of opinion concerning state law. |
