Polluted runoff is the number one threat to water quality in Wisconsin today

Protect Your Water Ways

Attend the Key March hearings on Polluted Runoff

3/10/01

Polluted runoff is the number one threat to water quality in Wisconsin today. Polluted runoff comes from a variety of places, including lawns, construction sites, parking lots, barnyards and agricultural fields. This pollution affects:

40% of our streams;

90% of our inland lakes;

many coastal waters; and,

much of our groundwater.

The costs of polluted runoff in terms of tourism, water treatment costs, and the degradation of our fisheries have reached billions of dollars, not to mention the costs that future generations will bear.

Over the course of the next two weeks the DNR will be conducting hearings across Wisconsin on new rules representing the most significant step ever taken by the state of Wisconsin to stop polluted runoff.

This will be your last opportunity to be heard before the regulations are finalized and sent to the Legislature for review.

These rules, however, are not strong enough. Please go to these important hearings and ask the DNR to:

Increase monitoring, compliance and enforcement of the new standards,

Increase funding to ensure full and quick implementation of the program,

Support programs to increase vegetation along rivers and streams in urban and rural areas to control erosion,

Implement standards to restrict livestock access to rivers, lakes and wetlands,

Ensure that farms implement plans for managing manures, fertilizers and pesticides as soon as the rules go into affect,

Implement standards to control stormwater runoff in developments, and

Require all state agencies and local governments to abide by the standards.

Public Hearing Dates & Locations

There will be 2 hearings at each site—the first begins at 1:00 p.m. and the second at 6:00 p.m. Each hearing will include an informational presentation followed by testimony. Comments can be presented at the hearings, or submitted in writing to Carol Holden at the address below through April 6(comments cannot be accepted via email).

March 12, Richland Center - Richland Community Center, 600 W. Seminary St., Richland Center

March 13, Eau Claire - Best Western Midway Hotel, 2851 Hendrickson Dr., Eau Claire
March 14, Madison - Fitchburg Community Center, 5520 Lacy Rd., Fitchburg
March 19, Wausau - U.W. Wausau Marathon Center, Room 233, 518 S. 7^th Ave., Wausau
March 20, Green Bay - U.W. Green Bay Union, Christie Theater, 2420 Nicolet Dr., Green Bay
March 22, Waukesha - Waukesha Co. Tech. College, Room BO201/202, 800 Main St., Pewaukee

A more detailed Fact Sheet containing important background information can be obtained by clicking here or calling the Wisconsin Rivers Alliance at (608) 257-2424.

The new rules are part of proposed revisions to the following DNR regulations:

NR 120, Priority Watershed and Priority Lake Program

NR 151, Runoff Management including the performance standards and prohibitions, implementation and enforcement and the technical standards development process for non-agricultural performance standards

NR 152, Model Ordinances for Construction Site Erosion Control and Storm Water Management

NR 153, Runoff Management Grant Program (the Targeted Runoff Management Grant program)

NR 154, Best Management Practices, Technical Standards and Cost-Share Conditions

NR 155, Urban Nonpoint Source Water Pollution Abatement and Storm Water Management Grant Program (previously included in NR 153)

NR 216, Storm Water Discharge Permits (revisions only)

NR 243, Animal Feeding Operations

All documents concerning the proposed new rules are available in hard copy and all but the fiscal estimates are available on the DNR Runoff Management web page at http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/water/wm/nps/admrules.html. Hard copies of the entire rules package or specific rules can be downloaded from the website or requested from Carol Holden, DNR-WT/2, P.O. Box 7921, Madison, WI 53707, phone: (608) 266-0140, e-mail: holdec@dnr.state.wi.us.

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