Groundwater Advisory Committee
 Wisconsin ’s 2003 groundwater law – although an important first step – falls short in several critical areas. For example, the existing state groundwater law fails to protect many of Wisconsin’s beautiful lakes and rivers in that it only affords Groundwater Protection Area protection to those water resources which are Exceptional Resource Waters, Outstanding Resource Waters or Trout streams. This leaves 99% of Wisconsin’s 15, 000 lakes unprotected. Likewise, springs, which are critically important to many of Wisconsin’s most valuable surface waters and are threatened by increased water pumping, receive limited protection under this current law.
In 2004, the Wisconsin Legislature enacted 2003 Wisconsin Act 310 to improve the state’s ability to manage groundwater quantity issues and to consider environmental impacts of high capacity wells. Act 310 further established the Groundwater Advisory Committee, which includes eleven appointees representing industrial, agricultural, environmental and municipal interests and is directed to complete two legislative charges due, respectively, on December 31, 2006 and December 31, 2007.
MEA’s Jodi Habush Sinykin was appointed to serve on the Groundwater Advisory Committee by Governor Doyle and has played an active role on the Committee since its inception. Jodi has used her position on the Committee to advocate for greater conservation, coordination and resource management within the state’s designated Groundwater Management Areas, which presently include Southeastern Wisconsin and Brown County, and has worked to promote proactive planning and mitigation strategies in other areas around the state currently experiencing, or likely to experience, groundwater quantity problems, such as Dane County and the Little Plover River.
Jodi worked to reach out to the scientific community and interested community members to shape the agenda for meetings and effectively evaluated any and all gaps in the law that fail to afford key environmental protections. Through Jodi’s leadership on the Groundwater Advisory Committee, MEA helped to ensure that the policy recommendations coming out of the Committee made sense—hydrologically and ecologically—and encouraged the development of an integrated water resource management system.
Groundwater Advisory Committee Reports
At the close of 2006, the Committee successfully completed its first statutory charge, a report setting forth recommendations for legislation and administrative rules relating to groundwater management areas (“GMAs”). Read it here.
In December 2007, the Committee completed its 2 nd and final report, which includes an array of information and recommendations demonstrating that improvements to Wisconsin’s groundwater law are both necessary and possible.
With the Committee’s full menu of policy recommendations at its disposal, the Wisconsin Legislature has the opportunity and responsibility to take the necessary steps to ensure the long term abundance of water for our state’s citizens, agriculture, industry and wildlife. Midwest Environmental Advocates will continue to work hard toward this result. Read the 2007 Report here.
Please contact our office if you are interested in collaborating with MEA on this campaign or call your legislative leaders and ask them to step up and ensure the protection of Wisconsin’s groundwater! |
