MADISON, Wis. (WTAQ) - After studying the problem for months, 2 Madison Democrats have introduced a major bill to protect Wisconsin’s groundwater supplies. It would create new protection zones beside the current Waukesha and Brown counties, where water conservation must be considered before major wells are drilled. The DNR would conduct environmental reviews of higher capacity wells within 1,200 feet of lakes and streams. They would also review well projects that affect smaller springs. And the public can challenge new applications.
The bill is a follow-up to Wisconsin’s landmark groundwater protection law adopted 6 years ago. Senate Democrat Mark Miller says it’s needed because groundwater supplies are drying up in parts of the state. Assembly Democrat Spencer Black says the bill taps the opinions of scientists who testified at a hearing he held last summer. Black and Miller had a bipartisan panel look at the issues and come up with ideas.
But Representative Scott Gunderson of Waterford said Black and Miller ignored many of the Republicans’ suggestions. Gunderson says the bill would result in job losses, as the Sierra Club challenges every new request for industrial water. And he says it would have a severe impact on agriculture. DNR water regulator Todd Ambs says his agency likes many of the bill’s provisions. But the agency has not taken an official stand on it yet.
