To read the complaint, click here.
To listen to a Wisconsin Public Radio story on the complaint, click here

Educating the Public about Fish Kills

Midwest Environmental Advocates is also working to raise public awareness about adequate implementation of the non-point source pollution rules.  The DNR enacted these rules in the fall of 2002 after five years of negotiations between conservationists, local governments, and agricultural lobby groups.  The water pollution rules ensure uniform standards for all livestock operations in the state below 1,000 animal units , and were designed to prevent massive fish kills like the two that were reported in southwestern Wisconsin last week.

More than 90% of the brown trout were killed in Willow Creek in Richland County after manure was spread on a field before a heavy rain.  More than 27 different species of fish were killed in the Pecatonica River and Otter Creek in Lafayette County, after a pump was left unattended and tens of thousands of gallons of liquid manure spilled across a field and into Otter Creek.

Livestock operations are not required to comply with the new regulations, including the development of farm-specific manure management plans, unless the Legislature sets aside funds to help cover the cost.  Yet little money has been made available to implement the nonpoint rules, and Wisconsin's counties are often too strapped to make up the difference.  Until the Legislature fulfills its commitment to protect the public trust by funding the non-point source water pollution regulations, Wisconsin's waters will continue to be vulnerable to more fish kills.

To read a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article about the recent fish kills, click here.

To read a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel editorial about the fish kills, clich here.

Advocating for Stronger Environmental Standards

When the State Legislature voted to approve the so-called Jobs Creation Act, what they actually created was the most environmentally damaging piece of legislation in years.  Midwest Environmental Advocates is now working to limit the damage caused by the bill by calling for stronger emergency and permanent rules.

To read a Wisconsin State Journal opinion editorial on the rules by Midwest Environmental Advocates' Executive Director Melissa Scanlan, click here.

Bringing Back the Public Intervenor Office

The fight for stronger environmental standards highlights the state's need to restore the Public Intervenor Office.  Abolished by Governor Thompson in 1995, the office provided high quality scientific, technical and legal information to defend Wisconsin's waters and other natural resources.  Since its demise, private citizens are now shouldering a far greater burden to defend the public's right to clean air and water and an accountable government.

To listen to the latest Wisconsin Public Radio interview with Melissa Scanlan on the issue, click here.

Ensuring Clean Drinking Water

Midwest Environmental Advocates moved forward to ensure that public health is protected in Kewaunee County.  On June 29, 2004, we filed a complaint on behalf of the Treml family against Stahl Farms, a 900 cow livestock factory.  The complaint alleges that the Treml's well and a nearby stream were contaminated by liquid manure from Stahl Farms in early March of this year.  Every member of the Treml family, including their then seven-month old infant, became seriously ill from exposure to the contaminated water.

To read the complaint, click here.

To read a Green Bay Press-Gazette article on the complaint, click here.

702 E. Johnson Street, Madison, WI 53703
Telephone: 608.251.5047  Fax: 608.268.0205
Email: advocate@midwestadvocates.org   Web: www.midwestadvocates.org