United States Army

Stop Asian Carp From Invading The Great Lakes

October 14, 2011 by The Political E...

Groups, petitioners, demand action to block invasive predator from nation's largest supply of fresh surface water.

OCT. 13, 2011

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (Clean Wisconsin – Freshwater Future -- Midwest Environmental Advocates – Milwaukee Riverkeeper -- River Alliance of Wisconsin – Sierra Club – Wisconsin Environment – Wisconsin Great Lakes Coalition -- Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters – Wisconsin Wildlife Federation)

    Citizens and conservationists call on Congress to force separation of Mississippi River, Great Lakes basins
   
    Thousands of people across the Great Lakes region want the federal government to immediately begin working toward separating the Mississippi River and Great Lakes basins, according to conservation leaders who gathered Thursday in downtown Milwaukee.

Dam A Trout Stream, Fill Wetlands - - For Many Years - - Get A Wisconsin Wrist Slapped

October 4, 2011 by The Political E...

Newspapers and blogs and social media have been buzzing about Republican-led efforts to sneak wetland filling permissions into Special Session job-creation legislation, but truth be told, when businesses are caught filling wetlands, damming streams, even laying in a road - - intentionally, without permits - - the fiscal consequence is chump change.

Like less than $3,000 a year.

Sounds like a bottom-line best practice, if you ask me.

Case in point:

NEWS RELEASE

Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen Announces Judgment Requiring Monroe County cranberry operation to restore wetland, restore flow to trout stream, and pay $50,000 for wetland filling violations

For Immediate Release    For More Information Contact:

Easing Mining Laws Puts Wisconsin At Odds With Powerful Opponents

September 29, 2011 by The Political E...

The Ashland Current has published the most detailed mainstream media account of the legal, scientific and procedural objections made by the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians to the efforts of state legislators and Gov. Walker to fast-track mining permit approvals.

You can read the paper's account and a full text of the Band's statement, here.

I wonder if the Walker administration and its legislative lieutenants read and fully absorbed it.

The Band's full statement gives get a better sense of the depth and sweep of the opposition, and the legal challenges facing the state if it proceeds against the Band on behalf of mining companies who want the permit procedure streamlined and eased.

And you wonder if these state officials also have read the US Army Corp of Engineers communication about the broader consequences of meddling with existing mining procedures?

Confidence-Builder Up North? - - "Responsible Mining" Endorsed

September 16, 2011 by The Political E...

The Ashland County Board endorses "responsible mining."

That's how you protect the Lake Superior watershed?

Isn't responsible [open pit, for 20 miles, on pristine land] mining a little like "clean coal" or "low-tar cigarettes" or "low-fat potato chips?"

And as the State Legislature gets set to again take up fast-tracked permitting by a DNR deliberately turned pro-business by Scott Walker, is anyone reading the US Army Corps of Engineers warning against short-cutting state mining reviews?

Remember that Walker said he wanted someone running the DNR with "a chamber of commerce mentality."

How's about instead some responsible oversight, responsible policy-making, responsible stewardship, etc?

Will Wisconsin Officials Find Federal Water Letter In Their Minnesota Field Trip Packet?

September 3, 2011 by The Political E...

Wisconsin officials travel to Minnesota Tuesday to see how our neighbors to the northwest handle iron mine permitting.

Open pit mining projects are on Wisconsin's radar, and Walkerites have been talking about fast-tracking them - - even embedding in the law a shortened and fixed-term review period, regardless of projects' complexity, consequences and public participation requirements.

I wonder if a month-old letter from the US Army Corps of Engineers will find its way into the Wisconsin officials' field trip reading material, as the federal agency warns Wisconsin not to cut corners when reviewing mine permit applications - - a responsibility shared among state and federal agencies - - under the Clean Water Act and related law.

Summed up, I'd say the letter says open for business should not mean closed to law and common sense.