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Foxconn wins court ruling over Lake Michigan water diversions

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Foxconn has won court ruling over its water supply. The City of Racine wants to divert millions of gallons of water from Lake Michigan to serve Foxconn’s future factory complex in Mount Pleasant. State administrative law judge Brian Hayes ruled Monday that Racine’s plans to sell water to the village is within the requirements of the Great Lakes Compact.

Environmental groups argued the diversion wasn’t for “public water supply purposes,” but the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports Hayes ruled that the compact also allows for diversions for industrial and commercial users.

“While this ruling is disappointing, we stand by our interpretation of the “public water supply purposes” requirement which prohibits the diversion of Great Lakes water for the benefit of a singular industrial user,” said Tressie Kamp, Staff Attorney for Midwest Environmental Advocates, “We will be working with our clients to explore further legal options in this matter.”

 

DNR offers summer water safety tips

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Summer is here and more people will be heading out on the water, but the Department of Natural Resources is reminding you be safe out there.

Chief Warden Todd Schaller says the best way to prevent accidents is to wear your personal flotation devices and be sure your surrounding are safe.

“Wisconsin’s a great place to enjoy the outdoors, and certainly our waterways. And we want you to do it for years to come and not have that tragic event.”

People need to be especially careful in the Great Lakes this time of year, because even a short time overboard can be deadly. “It might be 80, 90 out, but those water bodies, their temperatures lag behind ,and hypothermia can set in even in July.”

Schaller says people also need to be very careful on rivers this time of year, because even seemingly calm rivers and streams are moving large amounts of water and it only takes one mistake to get pulled downstream.

Lawsuit over construction of new Kohler golf course reaches State Supreme Court

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The legal battles over the construction of a new Kohler golf course have reached the State Supreme Court.

The State Supreme Court has agreed to hear oral arguments in a lawsuit over the annexation of land between Sheboygan and the Town of Wilson.

Wilson leaders say that that property was annexed specifically for Kohler by the city after Wilson rejected the construction of the new course alongside Kohler Andrae State Park. Sheboygan says the annexation is a legitimate expansion of the city.

This is just one of multiple lawsuits against the new course. Environmental groups have also filed suit against the DNR for originally approving the plan, saying it would damage delicate wetlands in the park.  

Don’t transport firewood this camping season

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Spring camping season is here, and the state agriculture department is reminding people not to transport firewood.

Moving fresh firewood from place to place can spread pests and diseases. Spokeswoman Donna Gilson says it’s not just emerald ash borer or gypsy moths that they’re worried about.

“There could be insects or diseases that we aren’t even aware that are here. They might have crept up on your firewood and you don’t want to be the first one to introduce it to the state.”

You should be using firewood from directly near your campsite, or buying treated firewood. Spokeswoman Donna Gilson says you want to look for a stamp from either the state ag department or the USDA.

“Either one of those ensures it’s been treated, probably dried for a couple of years, to kill anything in it before it’s been sent out into the marketplace.”

Gilson says that can help stop the spread of diseases, bugs or pests that can damage Wisconsin’s forests and woods.

U.N. report: 1 million species at risk for extinction – 150 threatened & endangered in WI

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A new United Nations report paints a bleak picture for the future of the planet, and Wisconsin is not immune from the ravages of global species extinction. The U.N. report says one million species are at risk for extinction worldwide. The global assessment released Monday illustrates how human activity is decimating plants and animals, many of which are beneficial to humans. The report also shows how climate change is furthering those losses.

Nature is declining globally at rates unprecedented in human history — and the rate of species extinctions is accelerating, with grave impacts on people around the world now likely, warns a landmark new report from the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), the summary of which was approved at the 7th session of the IPBES Plenary, meeting last week (29 April – 4 May) in Paris.

“The overwhelming evidence of the IPBES Global Assessment, from a wide range of different fields of knowledge, presents an ominous picture,” said IPBES Chair, Sir Robert Watson. “The health of ecosystems on which we and all other species depend is deteriorating more rapidly than ever. We are eroding the very foundations of our economies, livelihoods, food security, health and quality of life worldwide.”

“The Report also tells us that it is not too late to make a difference, but only if we start now at every level from local to global,” he said. “Through ‘transformative change’, nature can still be conserved, restored and used sustainably – this is also key to meeting most other global goals. By transformative change, we mean a fundamental, system-wide reorganization across technological, economic and social factors, including paradigms, goals and values.”

The list of endangered or threatened plants, animals and fish in Wisconsin totals more than 150 species, according to the Department of Natural Resources. Wisconsin lakes, rivers and streams are threatened by invasive and non native species such as zebra mussels and Asian carp. Emerald ash borers are killing native ash trees, and the white nose fungus from Europe has virtually wiped out the state’s species of cave dwelling bats.

DNR seeks information in shooting of bald eagle

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PHOTO: Jackie Johnson

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is asking for help to find out who shot a bald eagle in Marathon County. According to the DNR Bureau of Law Enforcement, the eagle was found lying in a ditch on the roadside of the intersection between County Highway Y and Hansen Road in the Township of Harrison.

Conservation Warden for Marathon County Joshua Litvinoff said he was contacted by the Raptor Education Group in Antigo. “They brought it in and there were lead fragments, gunshot wounds to the eagle. That’s why we put it out there to hopefully get the word out.”

Investigators would like to know about any gunshots or suspicious vehicles in the area where the eagle was found, although Litvinoff said it’s unclear whether the bird was shot there or somewhere else and them thrown from a vehicle.

Anyone with information on the situation is encouraged to call the Wisconsin DNR Violation Hotline at 1-800-847-9367.

WSAU

Madison Water shuts well amid contamination concerns

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Madison’s water utility shuts down a North Side well contaminated with toxic chemicals. An announcement from the water utility said it expects the well to come back on line this summer, after state public health officials determine potential health hazards of water contaminated with per-and poly-fluoroalkyls, known by the acronym PFAS.

A spokeswoman said temporarily using other wells may give families in the Well 15 service area some peace of mind. Truax Air National Guard base about a mile north of well 15 is the likely source. A full investigation and cleanup has yet to be scheduled because of budget constraints. PFAS is an ingredient in firefighting foam.

Evers to join governors climate coalition

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Wisconsin’s Tony Evers is joining a group of governors focused on climate change. The U.S. Climate Alliance formed two years ago to implement the Paris climate accord at the state level.

It’s goals include reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The 19 member coalition includes three Republican governors.

Vos announces water quality task force

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Assembly Speaker Robin Vos has announced creation of a task force on water quality following requests from two southwestern Wisconsin lawmakers.

A study of well water in southwest Wisconsin finds high levels of bacterial and chemical contamination – with 42 percent of 301 randomly selected wells tested in Iowa, Grant, and Lafayette counties exceeding federal health standards for bacteria that can come from animal or human waste, or for a toxic fertilizer residue.

A second round of testing involving more wells is planned for the spring, followed by a close evaluation of pathogens in the water to determine if they are the type that probably originated in dairy or swine manure, or from faulty septic systems.

Representatives Todd Novak, R-Dodgeville, and Travis Tranel, R-Cuba City, made the request following the release of the report. Vos said an official announcement on committee membership will be made in the coming weeks.

State Ag department warns against mulching Christmas wreaths this year

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If you bought your Christmas wreath from a big box store this year, state ag officials want you to burn it or throw it away.

A batch of insect infested wreaths made it to a number of retailers this season. State ag spokeswoman Donna Gilson says the bugs are called EHS and they could spread to Wisconsin trees. 

“There’s landscaping trees in yards and parks, but there’s also our forests and our Christmas Tree industry is the big concern.”

Gilson says the bugs nest deep, and like to hide themselves. “If you have a wreath hanging on your wall, you wouldn’t see it. It’s on the underside of the needles where these insects feed.”

Make sure to burn the wreath entirely. If you can’t do that, bag it up and have it hauled away to a landfill. “Put them in a garbage bag, seal it up with a twistie-tie or a knot or whatever, put it in the trash can.

 

Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly identified trees as being infested along with wreaths.