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USGS confirms Central Wisconsin earthquakes

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Geologists are still monitoring central Wisconsin after a pair of earthquakes hit Waupaca County.

The USGS confirmed a 1.3 magnitude earthquake and a 1.5 magnitude earthquake hit the area on July 7th and 15th.

County Emergency Management Director Andrew Carlin says the shaking and noise were enough to be annoying, but not enough to be dangerous. “There’s nothing we can do about it other than recognize that ‘yep, that’s an earthquake.'”

He says those quakes did little damage, and mostly just spooked people. “A 1.5, it’s driving them nuts when they can’t sleep at night. It’s one of those mysteries of nature, you know?”

The location has been pinpointed to an area North of Iola. While the county does not commonly deal with earthquakes, they did have a similar situation in Clintonville in 2012.

WTAQ

DNR seeks volunteers to clean up parks and natural areas

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The D N R is looking for volunteers to help them clean up parks and natural areas this summer.

It’s part of a year-long program to help remove invasive species from the areas and help keep them clean for residents to enjoy.

Volunteer coordinator Jared Urban says cleaning up your local natural area is a not just a great way to help your environment, it’s also good for you. “Well it’s a great way to get out and get some exercise and get to see why Wisconsin is special.”

Much of the work that volunteers do in the summer is removing invasive plants from the natural areas. “Making sure there’s a place for the native flowers and plants to grow, and in response you get a lot of native wildlife that feeds off the native plants,” says Urban.

Work is coordinated and updated online and you can sign up for mailing lists for your area to learn when you can take part in cleanup opportunities.

“You sign up for that email list, and then you’ll get an email whenever there’s a volunteer event in those counties.”

You can find that page online at https://dnr.wi.gov/topic/lands/naturalareas/volunteer.html.

Monroe County frac plant subject of suit against DNR

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The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is being sued, over handling of a controversial frac sand permit. Clean Wisconsin and the Ho Chunk Nation argue DNR secretary Dan Meyer should not have agreed to review a judge’s ruling, invalidating a permit issued Meteor Timber for a proposed $75 million sand processing and loading plant in Monroe County.

Companion complaints filed this week aim to block the ongoing review while a judge considers if DNR rules even allow the agency to potentially reverse a judge’s order. A DNR spokesman declined to comment, citing the pending litigation.

DNR: human error caused Kraft Heinz spill into Wisconsin River

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The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources reports human error is to blame for the release of sewer water into the Wisconsin River last January.

About 6500 pounds of anhydrous milk fat from the Kraft Heinz cheese plant in Wausau drained into the sewer and plugged it up when the material solidified. That led to 3.7 million gallons of sewer water flowing into the river.

The human error involved a valve being set incorrectly during a production run. The cleanup cost the city more than $51,000.

State agencies working to assess Northwoods flood damage

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As flood waters recede in northwest Wisconsin, state workers are out in force assessing damage and planning rebuilding efforts.

Ashland, Bayfield, Burnett, Douglas and Iron Counties all remain in a state of emergency while damage assessments take place.

Wisconsin Emergency Management spokesman Andrew Beckett says many of the affected areas are very rural, meaning it’s going to take time for assessments to happen. “We have a lot of areas where there are roads that aren’t traveled frequently. So it may take time for somebody to even realize there was damage done to that route.”

That doesn’t mean summer vacations need to go on hold. People should still plan to come north, Beckett says, but just make sure you can get where you want to go.

“They should make sure that the route is safe and go. But it does take time to make sure that all areas are safe again.”

Many roads are closed due to flooding, washout and damage. If you come across a blocked road, please follow the detour.

You can check http://511wi.gov for updated road information.

DATCP culls CWD positive deer herd

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A deer farm in Iowa County had to be depopulated after animals tested positive for chronic wasting disease.

State officials ordered the move after deer shot in Waupaca County that tested positive for CWD were traced back to the farm.

State ag spokeswoman Leeann Duwe says the culling was required because the only way to test for CWD is after death. “This farm was depopulated, and those 21 CWD positives are a result of those animals being tested.” A total of 103 animals were culled for testing.

Duwe says better testing among game farms is helping the state better track CWD infections. “It allows us to determine to where animals are transmitting the disease, where they are coming from, so we can do traceback from all animals in those locations.”

The farm will now have to undergo cleaning, and won’t be able to be used to raise deer in the future.

DNR reports ‘no immediate toxicity’ from sludge spill

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The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources reports early test results find no harmful chemicals after a spill of sludge last month. The problem bgan at the Hi-Crush mine when a bulldozer slid into a pond in western Wisconsin.

Rescuers emptied 10-million gallons of water from that pond at a fracking operation, in order to save the opertor. Thick sludge drained into the Trempealeau River and eventually reached the Mississippi. No fish kills have been reported and oxygen levels are good. The preliminary test results show “no immediate toxicity.”

 

The last (plastic) straw at new Bucks arena

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Wisconsin’s deer will have nothing to fear, from the new Milwaukee Bucks arena. Plastic straws will not be offered at the new Bucks arena. Officials with the new Wisconsin Entertainment and Sports Center say they will only use compostable food packaging during events at the arena.


It joins a growing list of companies and restaurants that are doing away with non-compostable packaging and plastic straws, which accumulates in the environment and poses hazards to wildlife and human health.

‘Suck the Muck’ project to improve Dane County lakes

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Crews will spend the summer cleaning sediment on the bottom of streams that feed Dane County’s lakes. They plan to remove 870,000 pounds of phosphorus from 33 miles of tributary streams. The $12-million initiative is called “Suck the Muck,” and County Executive Joe Parisi says it will mean cleaner lakes in the future.

“This is what we refer to as ‘legacy phosphorus,'” Parisi said. “It’s been here a long time, it’s in the streams, and it’s continuing to impact our water quality.” A study concluded that if nothing is done now, it would take 99 years for Madison-area lakes to reach current water quality standards.

WIBA

More Northwoods does available for this year’s deer hunt

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Most Wisconsin hunters will have a chance to bag a doe in this year’s deer season.

The Natural Resources Board has approved the plans for this year’s deer hunt. Only Iron County remains a buck-only hunting area.

The move signals that state biologists are confident that Wisconsin’s Northwoods deer herd has bounced back after a series of harsh winters.  

Ashland, Eau Claire, Iron and Vilas Counties were all buck only last year.