DAILY WISCONSIN

Environment, Factory Farming, Health, Water

Add 26,000 hogs, stir, then marinate

I’ve made the point earlier, as have activists and local residents, repeatedly, but these brief paragraphs towards the end of a news story summarizing the damage and deaths from last week’s heavy rains in Northwest Wisconsin….underscore the madness of proposing to Scott Walker’s “chamber-of-commerce-mentality” Department of Natural Resources the approval for a 26,000-hog feeding and manure storage operation within smelling and polluting distance of Lake Superior, Chequamegon Bay and numerous wells providing drinking water and economic life to the entire Northwoods region…

Via The Political Environment: NW WI flood washes away argument for 26,000-hog CAFO.

Courts, Environment, Law, Water

Clean Water Gets a Win 

In a victory for this case, [Clean Water, Inc. and Lynda A. Cochart v. Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources et al (Wisconsin Case No. 2015CV002633)], we are pleased to share the July 14, 2016 Circuit Court [Judge John W. Markson’s] decision that affirms the petitioners’ and partner organization Clean Wisconsin’s argument before the court that the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources’ rejection of the Division of Hearings and Appeals’ Administrative Law Judge’s order to include animal unit limits and off-site groundwater monitoring of Kewaunee County CAFO was unlawful. This decision also describes how the Department of Justice’s narrow interpretation of Act 21 – that the DNR did not have explicit authority to impose these permit conditions – was incorrect and that state statutes do empower the DNR to require limits and monitoring of pollution in order for permitees to comply with state and federal clean water laws.

Read the full Circuit Court decision (PDF).

Via MAL Contends . . .: Wisc Court Hits State DoJ and Factory Farm Polluters in Win for Clean and Safe Water Advocates.

Donald Trump, Presidential race 2016

Only One Talks

Watch for all the times Trump jumps in and answers a question directed at Pence. And watch the body language. It reminds me of an old-fashioned husband-and-wife routine where the couple has agreed in advance that the husband should do the talking and the wife will perform silent theater with the message: This man is excellent. At one of the few points where Pence speaks, it seems as though he’s reciting the message he’s been on task conveying with his face: “I think this is a good man who’s been talking about the issues the American people care about.”

Via Althouse: Can Trump still criticize Hillary for voting for the Iraq war, now that he’s picked a VP who also voted for that war?.

DNR, Ecology, Environment, Water

DNR’s Latest Master Plan 

Meeting 300 miles from affected location —

“It just happened that the Lower Wisconsin Riverway Master Plan was ready for presentation to the board at the August meeting that was already scheduled for Ashland,” Dick said. “There have been similar reverse situations before where an NRB meeting was scheduled for Madison and items on the agenda were of concern for residents in other parts of the state.”

Via Concerns about the Lower Wisconsin River? Take them to Ashland @ madison.com.

Press, Taxes

Newspaper Complains About Others’ Low Tax Assessments, Then Demands Its Own Assessments Be Lowered

The Gazette followed up with an editorial on the story where they concluded that absent changes in state law, and as lower assessments and settlements continue, homeowners should expect to pick up bigger shares of the tax burden. They are absolutely correct in that summation.

But who knew that at the time of their story in March, the Gazette’s parent label, Bliss Communications, hired a tax lawyer to, as lawyers are described in their editorial about the retailers, to “prey on the city” by filing an objection to their own property tax?

According to a city memorandum (File Resolution No. 2016-1333) from this week’s council meeting, Bliss Communications lawyered a “settlement” with the state by having $576,000 of assessed value knocked off its property on Parker Drive. The difference in value from the previous assessment translates to a $30,000 lower annual tax bill for the media company.

Bliss also had the assessed value for their facility on Wuthering Hills lowered by $709,500. That tax bill will be lowered by $35,000 for a combined difference of about $65,000 less annually for local taxing jurisdictions.

That means Janesville schools, the county and city combined must now refund Bliss that amount for their last tax bill and use those new lowered assessed values as the current baseline moving forward.

Via The Gazette Demanded a Lower Tax Bill. Now Janesville Gets To Pay The Price @ Rock Netroots.

Ecology, Environment, Factory Farming, Water

How ‘Bout a Little Manure Runoff?

Last week’s major rains in Northwestern Wisconsin are sadly becoming more common, as there have been record floods in many areas of the state over the last 10 years (remember when I-94 was closed between Madison and Milwaukee for several days in 2008?). This makes it all the more critical to have drinking water kept clean and potential hazards such a manure runoff from CAFOs reduced.

Via Jake’s Economic TA Funhouse: Record rains shows problem with WisGOP’s condoning of pollution.

Donald Trump, Presidential race 2016

#NeverTrump Now 

…Donald Trump is no lover of liberty. Donald Trump is no respecter of the law. And Donald Trump is certainly no man of character.   We do not believe he is emotionally stable; we do not believe he is personally decent; he appears to be neither principled nor even particularly competent. And we believe the record shows, and his unreleased tax returns would further demonstrate, that he is not even a big business success – aside, that is, from having proven abilities at product branding, and at being a successful reality-TV showman. Apart from those two skills, Trump has a serial record – to use one of his favorite words – of being a loser….

Via Dad29: #NeverTrump NOT Dead.