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It seems as though the state Legislature just can't learn from its mistakes. Last year, the Legislature blindsided the public by pushing through the poorly named Jobs Creation Act, Act 118, which rolled back 30 years of environmental protections designed to maintain Wisconsin's heritage of clean air and water.
Then, less than 24 hours after its announcement, the Assembly held a public hearing on Jobs Creation Act II, AB 277. The bill passed the Assembly and is scheduled to be heard today by the Senate Natural Resources Committee.
But let's call this bill what it really is: the Dirty Air bill. That's because it would allow more air pollution under the guise of creating jobs. For the 500,000 Wisconsinites who have asthma or other respiratory problems, the bill means that taking a breath of fresh air could get a little harder.
Act 118 paved the way for major sources of air pollution to get general operating permits. The Dirty Air bill takes it a step further and exempts the same major sources of air pollution from obtaining currently required construction permits. This is a step in the wrong direction in a Republican-led and Gov. Jim Doyle-sanctioned race to the bottom.
Not only does the bill allow polluters to operate without permits, it targets the Department of Natural Resources for more contentious litigation by industry over air pollution controls.
For example, under the Dirty Air bill, a polluter can sue the DNR over an air pollution limit and avoid having to comply with it until ordered to do so by a judge. The polluter can tie up the pollution limit in court while it gets a free ride - and a competitive advantage over other businesses not as willing to sue.
Worse still, because these lawsuits will be against the DNR, the taxpayers would be stuck with the legal bill.
The legislators backing the Dirty Air bill claim that these regulatory rollbacks are necessary to stimulate job growth, but once again our "leaders" are using the environment as a scapegoat and failing to identify the real threat to Wisconsin's manufacturing sector: globalization and the export of our manufacturing jobs to other countries.
According to a report by the AFL-CIO, 61% of the layoffs by Wisconsin manufacturers between 2001 and 2004 were trade-related.
The Dirty Air bill doesn't mean more jobs; it means more asthma attacks, increased health care costs and a continued failure to address the real threats to our manufacturing base. It is time for our state legislators to remember what their job is: protecting, rather than polluting, the public.
Melissa K. Scanlan is executive director of Midwest Environmental Advocates, a non-profit environmental law center.