In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s
Sackett v. EPA decision,​1 the landscape of wetland protections in Wisconsin has changed. While Wisconsin boasts robust wetland protection statutes
compared to other states, a significant exemption to the permitting regime within those statutes hinges on the federal definition of wetlands. The “nonfederal exemption,” established by
2017 Wisconsin Act 183, is an exemption to the permit requirement when filling or discharging into certain wetlands that are not covered…
Continue Reading An Uncertain Future: 'Sackett's' Impact on the Nonfederal Wetland Exemption in Wisconsin

Nitrate and nitrite are about to reemerge as groundwater and drinking water chemicals of concern.

Our new research reveals that current nitrate and nitrite drinking and groundwater standards do not reflect a true weight of evidence analysis of the peer-reviewed literature and government documents. As a result, such noteworthy authorities as U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the World Health Organization, California EPA, Health Canada, Minnesota Department of Health, and Wisconsin Department of Health Services rely on a curated list…
Continue Reading History Judges Nitrate and Nitrite Standards a Scientific Failure

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Please note that views presented in blog articles are those of the author, not those of the Wisconsin Department of Justice, the section, nor the State Bar of Wisconsin. In 2022, the direct effects of climate change are now obvious and familiar. Heightened intensity and frequency of extreme weather events, rising sea levels, and wildfires are frequent flyers in today’s news cycle. Environmental law, in seeking to mitigate environmental degradation, is the legal medium that most directly responds…
Continue Reading Immigration Law Should Be Updated to Better Protect Climate Refugees

“I don’t have the trust with (Wisconsin) DHS.” – Wisconsin Natural Resources Board member Terry Hilgenberg, Feb. 23, 2022.1
On Feb. 23, 2022, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) regulatory policy-setting body, the Natural Resources Board (NRB), met to discuss three proposed final rules to regulate per- and polyfluorinated substances (PFAS) in drinking water, wastewater (through surface water criteria), and groundwater.

In that meeting, the NRB unilaterally increased the proposed final drinking water standard from the Wisconsin…
Continue Reading Parts Per Quadrillion: Public Health Messaging and PFAS

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The opinions in this article reflect the views of the author, not the author’s employer or the State Bar of Wisconsin Environmental Law Section. Wisconsin’s Public Trust Doctrine provides that the navigable waters of the state and the carrying places between them are “common highways and forever free” for the use and enjoyment of all citizens.1 State law has long required and protected the public’s right to get to the water, but many people are unaware that…
Continue Reading Public Access to Water and Access Abandonment Requests

I spend my weeks surrounded by engineers working in wastewater plants. And I work with regulators trying to find the right numbers or standards to ensure we have “clean” water. Both are tied by regulations and laws that demand strict compliance, and are used to “industrial” solutions – measuring end of pipe levels of nutrients and pollutants to confirm those numbers are below established thresholds. If a number is off, you turn a wheel or add some chemical based…
Continue Reading Help Clients with Environmental Issues by Using the Tools of Our Trade

Simply put, carbon capture is a collection of technologies that capture carbon – as to limit the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Carbon can be captured from a
point source of emissions, like a power plant or industrial facility. Or carbon can be captured
directly from the atmosphere. ​Once captured, carbon can be
permanently stored underground or transformed into
useful products (aka “carbontech”). For example, captured carbon could be used to create
cement, textiles, carbon …
Continue Reading How Wisconsin Can Profit from Carbon Capture

Please note that views presented in blog articles are those of the author, not those of the Wisconsin Department of Justice, the section, nor the State Bar of Wisconsin.It’s difficult to contemplate seemingly insurmountable environmental justice issues – think climate change, lead in drinking water and paint – without feeling like individual action could be futile. Although each individual needs to arrive at their own motivation for action, one path forward is to start with discrete, local steps.The State…
Continue Reading Your Voice, Your State Bar: Diversity & Inclusion in Our Environmental Law Section

Since graduating from law school and moving to Milwaukee in August, I’ve met several longtime residents who didn’t know Summerfest is not on a natural land formation – it’s built on lakebed fill – or that Lakeshore State Park is also built on lakebed fill, or that Bradford Beach and parts of Lincoln Memorial Drive are located on land that used to be covered by water.Lakebed Fill and the Public Trust DoctrineWhat do all these spaces have in common?
Continue Reading Public Rights on Milwaukee’s Fresh Coast: Issues with Lakebed Fill