GET ME REWRITE. Out of the mouth of boobs: Wisconsin Joint Committee on Finance co-chair John Nygren sums up GOP commitment to clean water

Reported in GOP lawmakers cut tens of millions of dollars from Gov. Tony Evers' clean water budget.  (Wisconsin State Journal, 5/29/2019)

Related reading:
Most Nitrate, Coliform In Kewaunee County Wells Tied To Animal Waste.  Study Shows Cow Manure Stored Or Spread On Farm Fields Poses Highest Risk For Certain Contaminants.  (Wisconsin Public Radio, 2/27/2019)

Reprinted in the USA Today-owned Green Bay Press Gazette on 3/4/2019.


5/28/2019 update, "GET ME REWRITE:  Big dairy operations urge GOP to remember where their money comes from", starts here.

Campaign contributions given by LDS (Leading Dairy Solution) employees Cynthia Jetzer, Cynthia Leitner, and Joseph Leitner.  Cynthia Leitner is also the president of the Wisconsin Dairy Alliance.  (See below.  Also wondering if Cynthia J. and Cynthia L. and one and the same.)

Source:  Wisconsin Demoracy Campaign

Big dairy operations urge GOP to block fees for Tony Evers' clean drinking water plan. (Madison.com, 5/28/2019)

"Dairies of all sizes have been (devastated) by low milk prices and tariffs in recent years," [Wisconsin Dairy A]lliance president Cindy Leitner said in a press release. 

"Now is not the time to nearly double the current $345 annual CAFO permit fee or implement a massive new five-year renewal fee on CAFOs." 

Unlike other polluters, concentrated animal feeding operations don't pay fees adequate to cover DNR costs of writing and enforcing pollution permits designed to keep millions of tons of manure from tainting drinking water, lakes and streams. That has meant the costs have been picked up by other taxpayers, and the DNR hasn't kept up with the growing number of CAFOs.

Related reading:
Wisconsin Dairy Alliance lobbying for state's largest farms.  (Wisconsin State Farmer, 3/10/2019)
New research indicates tainted Kewaunee County wells tied to manure pits

Representatives of the Wisconsin Dairy Alliance are meeting with GOP legislative leaders to push for a different approach to pollution regulation, which would take some pressure off the state’s largest farms. The recently formed nonprofit group is lobbying on behalf of concentrated animal feeding operations, or CAFOs, in Wisconsin.

CAFO operators can afford to pay big fees to lobbyists but somehow just can't scrape up an additional $345 (or so) for a pollution permit.

Dear Kewaunee County,

Face it.  You're screwed.

Best,

Retiring Guy