We all drink the water, so we all have an interest in the water. We all want our water be clean, plentiful and immediately available. Wisconsin prepared and passed a strong plan to make sure that such is the case. This plan involves a commitment to protect the water, thereby protecting the people who drink it.
Wisconsin Senate Republicans recently passed a bill that weakens this plan. There has been a mistaken belief that concern for clean water is for tree-hugging liberals. Well, that’s just silly. We all drink the water. We all want our water to be clean. Water quality is a bipartisan issue[1]. We have to work together on this.
Nobody wants contaminated water. No one would choose to offer contaminated water to a child if clean water was available. We can choose clean water if we are proactive. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has clear standards for drinking water quality. The DNR also has clearly articulated regulatory requirements for Wisconsin’s public water systems. These standards and regulations are met by a strong majority of public water systems. Where violations are in evidence, they are primarily failures in monitoring, reporting and notification. Almost always, the water is clean[2].
Knowing that Wisconsinites across the political spectrum care deeply about clean water its is startling that our own District 14 Senator Joan Ballweg (Rep.) and fellow Republicans passed Senate Bill 312[3]making changes to state statutes regarding perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) substances and their regulation. Senator Ballweg and colleagues introduced this bill that put polluters before Wisconsinites. Now, the same corporations who caused the contamination compete with Wisconsin landowners for remediation grants. They have also limited the DNR’s authority to test for PFAS, charge polluters and initiate clean up[4].
Contamination of drinking water is a local problem that needs the attention of local people. Let’s all stand together to address this problem. After all, we all drink the water.
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