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Clean Water Action Council of Northeast Wisconsin and National Wildlife Federation v. Department of Natural Resources and Fort James Operating Company
In November 2005, MEA filed a petition for an administrative hearing on behalf of Clean Water Action Council of Northeastern Wisconsin and the National Wildlife Federation. CWAC and the NWF filed the petition to challenge the DNR’s permit terms that allow more phosphorus and mercury to be deposited into the waters. On March 16, 2006, the DNR partially denied the petition. Read more here. On behalf of CWAC and NWF, MEA filed a Petition for Judicial Review and Declaratory Judgment in Brown County Circuit Court on April 13, 2006, challenging the DNR's partial denial of the administrative hearing. After an exhaustive procedure of law, the Brown County Circuit Court dismissed the case on November 27, 2006, based upon an argument from Fort James Operating Company alleging that CWAC and NWF had not properly verified the petition. While this argument had no bearing upon the issue at hand – namely, the continuing pollution of the Fox River and Green Bay – the court refused to rule on the substance of CWAC’s and NWF’s request for review. Read more here. UPDATE! CWAC appealed the Circuit Court’s decision in January 2007. On January 15, 2008, the Court of Appeals ruled in CWAC’s favor, reversing the Circuit Court’s dismissal of CWAC’s challenge and remanding the case to the Circuit Court for further proceedings on the merits of the case. Read more here.
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Fort James Media |
DNR Move Rouses Conservationists Fox River Discharge Permit for Wastewater Challenged Community-based Groups Fight For Clean Water in Circuit Court Local Residents Take Action to Restore the Fox River and Green Bay Georgia-Pacific Mill Discharge Permit Faces Review |
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Background: In 2005, the Department of Natural Resources issued a water pollution discharge permit that allows Fort James Operating Company to increase the amount of phosphorus and mercury it sends into the lower Fox River and Green Bay. The lower Fox River and Green Bay are already impaired with phosphorus and mercury. Both waterbodies suffer from severe algae blooms that give the water a “pea green soup” appearance, caused in part by high phosphorus concentrations. High mercury levels have been recorded in fish caught in these waters. 