Action Alert from Wisconsin Lakes below:
SIGN ONTO LETTER TO GET DREDGING OUT OF AB600 BEFORE WEDNESDAY’S HEARING. PLUS, A NEW BILL WOULD ALLOW ANNUAL DREDGING WITHOUT A PERMIT
AB600/SB459 WATER BILL UPDATE – PUBLIC HEARING
- Senate Natural Resources & Energy Cmte
- Wednesday, February 3, 2016 – 10am
- Room 411 South, Wisconsin State Capitol
The Lasee/Jarchow “property rights” bill that encompasses massive changes to Wisconsin’s water laws – from giving away state-owned filled lake bed to changing development rules for wetlands and parts of lakes and rivers that deserve special protection is moving on through the legislative process. It is up for a committee vote in the Assembly on Tuesday and receives a public hearing in the Senate on Wednesday. Since it’s introduction the bill has been amended, in some cases for the better. But overall, it’s still a bad bill.
One area of particular concern is with dredging. Despite adding some additional conditions, the amended bill still would allow up to 30 cubic yards per year in inland lakes (100 on the Great Lakes) to be dredged per property owner under the lower scrutiny of a general permit. Wisconsin Lakes believes that the unique conditions from lake to lake, and sometimes within a single lake, require an individual permit to protect the interests of other property owners on the lake, as well as the health of the waterbody itself.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
Letter sign-on opportunity: Wisconsin Lakes is teaming up with Clean Wisconsin and other environmental groups to deliver a letter asking that the dredging section of AB600/SB459 be removed from the bill ahead of Tuesday’s vote and Wednesday’s hearing. If your lake organization or countywide lakes and rivers group would like to sign onto this letter, email mengleson@wisconsinlakes.org ASAP and we’ll get you a copy of the draft to review. Deadline for sign on is 10am Monday, Feb. 1.
Attend the public hearing: It’s striking when property owners themselves speak out against a bill that supposedly is written for their benefit. Telling your story at a pubic hearing is a great way to do that.
Keep the letters and call coming: If you haven’t already, letting your legislators know your feeling on this bill is important. Keep it up!
We’ll have updated pages on this and other bills up soon at wisconsinlakes.org, and look for a Lake Policy Report with more information on Monday!
WISCONSIN LAKES REMAINS OPPOSED TO THIS BILL