Scott Manley, WMC Executive Vice President of Government Relations, appeared this week before the Assembly Committee on Environment to testify on CR 23-010. This is a proposed rule from the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to revise Wisconsin’s water quality antidegradation policy and procedures.
Antidegradation review applies to point source discharges to surface waters, including both wastewater and storm water discharges. A variety of businesses must have a wastewater or storm water permit to conduct their operations and therefore may be subject to antidegradation regulations, including many kinds of manufacturers, papermakers, food processors, and farms, including but not limited to large animal feeding operations (“CAFOs”).
This rulemaking began in 2021, and along with several other stakeholders, WMC invested considerable time and effort into working with DNR to improve this rule and to mitigate its negative impacts on Wisconsin businesses. According to Manley’s testimony, WMC was “incredibly disappointed to learn that three weeks ago the DNR decided to backtrack on its testimony to this committee earlier this year, and has resubmitted the rule with none of modifications the agency publicly stated they would make. This is a breach of good faith with the public and stakeholders, as well as the members of the committee who voted unanimously to request changes last session.”
