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| Sites of High Capacity Wells in Central Wisconsin Map by D.J. Mechenich |
Last week Wisconsin agricultural groups were given $10,000s to pretend these heavy polluters are really conservationists concerned about the health of their respective regions' watersheds, (Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection). They are not so concerned, it's about public relations and probing how gullible the public is to Big Ag and Wisconsin Republicans.
Also last week Wisconsin Republican politicians met with Scott Walker to discuss the diminished groundwater protection by the Walker administration, (Ebert Yancey, USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin).
The meeting agenda is not public. But judging from the Walker administration's devastation of Wisconsin's generations-long commitment to protecting water, it's fair to assume Scott Walker and Republican pols are not joining the John Muir Chapter of the Sierra Club, though the famed environmental group notes "70 percent of Wisconsinites depend on groundwater for drinking water."
The meeting reportedly included State Rep. Joel Kitchens (R-Sturgeon Bay) and State Rep. Scott Krug (R-Nekoosa) both of whom will face strong Democratic Party challengers this November in their gerrymandered assembly districts, (Mal Contends).
Reports Karen Ebert Yancey:
Kitchens, R-Sturgeon Bay, met with Gov. Scott Walker Wednesday and said that they had agreed that different DNR rules governing agriculture were needed for 'unique geological areas of the state.'
'He understands that one size fits all doesn't work,' Kitchen(s) said, referring to DNR regulations that govern statewide agricultural practices, particularly for manure spreading. ... Rep. Scott Krug, who represents the Central Sands areas of the state, also participated in the meeting with the Governor because of that region's unique geology, Kitchens said. Krug recently spoke in Kewaunee County and said that issues due to runoff polluting rivers and lakes was one of the biggest concerns of residents in the state.
Let's assume for the sake of argument that Scott Walker understands and cares different DNR rules governing agriculture are needed for different geological areas of the state.
Consider the Central Sands of Wisconsin, (Central Sands Hydrology Working Group).
Adams and Wood county residents have been arguing the Central Sands region is uniquely unsuited for industrialized agriculture operations. The Central Sands already has over 3,000 high-capacity, industrial water pumps drawing over 100,000 gallons of water per day, (Prengaman, WisconsinWatch).
Residents point to research in support of their conclusion the geology and composition of the Central Sands make the region unsuitable for industrialized agriculture operations, (United States Department of Agriculture - Natural Resources Conservation Service) (Water Resources Committee, Town of Saratoga).
Will Walker and State Rep. Scott Krug (R-Nekoosa) now demand the Wysocki corporate interests withdraw its proposal for a massive factory farm in Saratoga in light of this unique geological area of the state?
No.
Wisconsin's industrialized agriculture and the politicians bought have to shape up their public image, an enterprise now underway nationally as well, (Eller, Des Moines Register).
Politicians Lie
Walker and the two politically endangered Big Ag frontmen, Kitchens and Krug, have been hostile to clean water advocates to the point of supporting the decimation of the Department of Natural Resources and facilitating the depletion of aquifers and surface waters by statute.
The meeting was about keeping Republicans in power and allowing polluters and poisoners to keep their operations going irrespective of citizen concerns over the depletion and pollution of aquifers and surface waters.
Last week Walker tried to shore up Joel Kitchens' non-existent environmental bona fides by appointing him to Wisconsin Coastal Management Council, (Kowols, Door County Daily News).
Walker, Krug and Kitchens will say or do anything to hang onto political power, and selling out their constituents' safe and clean drinking and recreational waters is high on the list.
Krug and Kitchens will disingenuously acclaim they are really champions of clean water, and Gannett Co. newspapers and other outlets will dutifully and uncritically pass on the news.
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