Wisconsin Conservation Voters Budget Memo with Joint Finance update

For more information, please contact: Jennifer Giegerich, Government Affairs Director 608-208-1130, jennifer@conservationvoters.org

Analysis of Conservation Impacts in Governor Evers’ Proposed State Budget 2019-2021 The state budget should reflect the strong conservation values of Wisconsin citizens. A proconservation budget should: •

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Maintain or increase DNR staffing levels needed to carry out the agency’s mission of protecting and managing Wisconsin’s natural resources and implementing natural resource laws.

Protect public health and natural resources as opposed to making it easier for polluters to cut corners and expose our air, water, and land to more toxins.

Keep information transparent and the public informed every step of the way about their exposure to pollution and changes being made to natural resource programs.

Not raid funds that are collected for specific purposes to fund unrelated programs in the budget.

Promote practices and programs that prevent environmental pollution in the first place.

Drinking Water Making Clean Water a Priority Too many Wisconsinites can’t turn on the taps and drink their water. Our drinking water is under threat from numerous sources including nitrates from agriculture pollution and emerging contaminants like PFAS – chemicals found in toxic firefighting foam. The DNR needs to prioritize understanding how these pollutants contaminate our waters and how best to address that pollution.  SUPPORT Governor Evers’ proposal to create a Bureau of Natural Resources Science with five

fulltime staff positions, with at least two staff dedicated to understanding the threats from emerging contaminants like PFAS.  Joint Finance Committee Action: JFC removed the Bureau of Natural Resources Science from the budget and funded two of the five staff requested.

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Protecting Drinking Water from Private Wells Roughly 1.7 million people in Wisconsin depend on private wells to get their drinking water.

It’s estimated that that 47 percent of these wells are contaminated by one or more pollutants at levels above public health standards. This is the reality for many families across the state.

Entire communities are at risk for short-term and long-term consequences, ranging from diarrhea to learning disabilities to death. Dangerous pathogens, bacteria, and chemicals are found in manure and industrial wastewater, which can get into our groundwater and ultimately our drinking water.  SUPPORT Governor Evers’ request to make it easier for more households to replace the costs of their contaminated wells by increasing the amount of annual family income that qualifies under the state’s well compensation grant program to $100,000. In addition, Governor Evers intends to make $800,000 a year available for families that need to replace contaminated wells.  Joint Finance Committee Action: JFC approved $400,000 for well compensation.

The committee did not change any of the eligibility requirements for the program.

Polluted Runoff: Implementing Non-Point Pollution Programs County soil and water conservation departments provide essential testing and monitoring services across Wisconsin. These departments assist farmers with designing and constructing manure storage facilities, help establish conservation cropping practices, and aid in nutrient management planning. The county departments also help landowners find cost-share funds for conservation work. These services result in management practices that reduce non-point pollution runoff.

Nutrient management plans limit the amount of nitrogen and phosphorous pollution in agricultural runoff, reducing deterioration of our surface waters, fish kills, and groundwater contamination.  SUPPORT Governor Evers’ request for $10.4 million funding for county conservationists. We

would support efforts to increase this amount to $12. 4 million.  Joint Finance Committee Action: JFC provided $9,439,100 for county conservation staffing grants.  SUPPORT Governor Evers’ budget levels of $6.5 million in bonding authority for the Targeted

Runoff Management program, which includes assistance to local municipalities for infrastructure projects to reduce nonpoint source pollution.  Joint Finance Committee Action: JFC provided $6.5 million in bonding for the Targeted Runoff Management program.

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 SUPPORT Governor Evers’ budget levels of $10 million in bonding authority for Soil and Water

Resource Management (SWRM) program, which assists famers in implementing infrastructure projects such as manure storage facilities and streambank restoration to reduce water pollution.  Joint Finance Committee Action: JFC provided $4,275,000 in funding for the Soil and Water Resource Management program.  SUPPORT Governor Evers’ budget levels of $4 million in bonding authority for urban non-point

source, the storm water grant program, and the municipal flood control program, which ensures rainwater coming off parking lots and developments does not end up polluting surface waters or lead to flash floods.  Joint Finance Committee Action: JFC provided $4 million in bonding for urban water quality programs.

Lowering Lead Levels Lead poisoning, especially in young children, can lead to profound and permanent health problems, including damage to brain development. Young children in childcare centers – and even in their own homes – can be exposed to lead-contaminated water without their parents’ knowledge.  SUPPORT Governor Evers’ budget request to authorize $40 million in bonding for the replacement of up to 50 percent of the cost to replace lead services lines through the Safe Drinking Water Loan Program.  Joint Finance Committee Action: JFC removed this item from the budget.

Clean Water Funding Oversight of CAFOs Families are suffering in Wisconsin. As Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs), proliferate across the state – and grow ever larger – they create millions of gallons of concentrated liquid manure per day. That manure is spread over pastures and fields where it seeps into the groundwater and our drinking water. Recently, a nonpartisan legislative audit found that manure pollution violations were not being enforced 95 percent of the time. That report called for a common sense solution – adequate staffing and adequate funding at the DNR to allow it to function properly. Between 2000-2016, the number of CAFOs in Wisconsin went from 44 to 285—an increase of 548 percent.  SUPPORT Governor Evers’ proposal to increase permit fees for CAFOs to $660 each year and

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$3200 to review and reissue their wastewater permits. This increase in fees would help to fund five new positions at the DNR to oversee CAFO permits and regulation.  Joint Finance Committee Action: JFC did not increase the permit fees for CAFOs. The committee did approve funding for four of the five positions.

Cleaning Up Contaminated Sediments The Great Lakes is the largest system of fresh water lakes in the world, and represents 95 percent of all the freshwater in the United States. Unfortunately, due to heavy industrial activities in the last century, there are many areas along the Great Lakes, including in Wisconsin, that have excessive levels of toxins accumulated in the water and soil near old industrial sites.  SUPPORT Governor Evers’ budget request to authorize $25 million in bonding to clean up

contaminated sediment in five areas of concern in the Great Lakes Basin.  Joint Finance Committee Action: JFC provided $4 million in bonding to clean up contaminated sediment in the Great Lakes Basin.

Clean Energy & Climate Change Addressing Wisconsin’s Role in Climate Change Human-driven climate change is scientific fact and Wisconsin is already suffering because of it.

Reduced corn harvests, unprecedented flooding, later snowmelts that are disrupting wildlife migration, toxic algae blooms in our lakes, degradation of water quality in the Great Lakes, even increased mosquito hatches – climate change is already having serious detrimental effects in Wisconsin.  SUPPORT Governor Evers’ statutory goal to ensure that Wisconsin’s energy is 100 percent Carbon

neutral by 2050.  Joint Finance Committee Action: JFC removed this item from the budget.

Promoting Clean Energy Wisconsin does not have any coal, natural gas, or plutonium. We do have abundant wind, solar, geothermal, and biomass potential within our state. Wisconsin should be following the lead of our Midwestern neighbors by investing in the energy technologies that not only reduce pollution in our communities, but also create economic opportunities.  SUPPORT Governor Evers’ establishment of the Office of Sustainability and Clean Energy within

the Department of Administration. This office and its five staff positions would promote clean energy development and grow good Wisconsin jobs.  Joint Finance Committee Action: JFC removed this item from the budget.

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  SUPPORT Governor Evers’ creation of a $4 million renewable and clean energy research grant.  Joint Finance Committee Action: JFC removed this item from the budget.

Public Lands Reauthorizing The Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program The Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program is used to purchase and protect Wisconsin lands treasured by residents and visitors alike. The stewardship program also protects many of the natural resources on which Wisconsin’s $13 billion tourism industry, $22 billion forestry industry, and $4 billion hunting and fishing industry depend. Recent state budgets have reduced the annual stewardship bonding levels from $88 million annually to $33 million.

Governor Evers directed unallocated Stewardship Funding for two years for up to the existing funding level of $33 million. In addition, he announced his intention to call for a Blue Ribbon Commission that looks at the long-term funding and management of the program.  SUPPORT reauthorization of the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program for ten years.  Joint Finance Committee Action: JFC reauthorized the Knowles-Nelson

Stewardship Program for two years.

Maintaining the State Parks System Wisconsin’s park system includes 46 state parks, 14 state trails, four recreational areas, eight state forests, and two national scenic trails. Besides providing amazing opportunities for people to be able to enjoy our beautiful state, our state parks help to fund local communities whose economies depend on the estimated $230 each family spends when they visit a state park.  SUPPORT Governor Evers’ request to provide an additional $1.4 million a year to fund the state

parks, with $500,000 of that going specifically for maintenance of the parks.  Joint Finance Committee Action: JFC provided $1,095,800 to fund the state parks with $475,000 of that going specifically for the maintenance of the parks.

Wildlife Management Stopping the Spread of Chronic Wasting Disease in Wisconsin Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is a transmissible disease that causes the spongy degeneration of the brains of infected animals, including wild deer, elk, and moose. Currently, 43 of Wisconsin’s 72 counties have had cases of CWD. Deer hunting is an important Wisconsin tradition passed down from generation to generation. In recent years, CWD has continued to

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spread in Wisconsin and threaten the long-term health of our deer herd. Governor Evers’ budget did not have any new funding or programs to address CWD.  SUPPORT allocating approximately $350,000 to DNR to provide up to five carcass dumpster sites

in each county for 2019 deer season where CWD-positive wild deer have been detected.  Joint Finance Committee Action: JFC provided $100,000 to research CWD in farmed deer.

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