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
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An Update on PFAS Regulation in Wisconsin
The regulation of Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in Wisconsin drinking and surface waters advanced during a Feb. 23 meeting of the Wisconsin Natural Resources Board (NRB), while groundwater regulation for these compounds stalled.1
PFOS and PFOA are part of the group of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) that were widely used from the 1940s through the early 2000s in numerous consumer products such as nonstick cookware, food packaging, stain resistant coatings, and water repellants. PFAS
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How Wisconsin Can Profit from Carbon Capture
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
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Your Voice, Your State Bar: Diversity & Inclusion in Our Environmental Law Section
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
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Public Rights on Milwaukee’s Fresh Coast: Issues with Lakebed Fill
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?
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Interdisciplinary Research in Stormwater Management
This article was originally posted Dec. 10, 2021, in the Marquette University Law School Faculty Blog. It is reprinted here with permission.
When it rains or snows, the resulting runoff can collect pollutants including salts, fertilizers, chemicals, oils, and sediment, among other things. These contaminants have the potential to impair surface water and groundwater that receive the runoff. Communities in the United States face growing challenges to effective stormwater management as a result of aging infrastructure, increasing urbanization,
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Taking a ‘Hard Look’ at Climate and Environmental Justice Effects under the National Environmental Policy Act
The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires federal agencies to take “a ‘hard look’ at the environmental consequences of proposed federal actions.”
Thus, effects analyses are at the heart of the statute. The scope of what effects must be considered under NEPA, however, has been at issue recently.
Changes under the Trump Administration
Pursuant to the deregulatory agenda of the Trump Administration, the Council of Environmental Quality (CEQ) made comprehensive changes to nearly every section of
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Climate Justice: Human Rights and Climate Change Litigation
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.
Climate change has significant implications for a vast array of human rights.
A recent report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reiterated the damage that climate change is wreaking and the urgent need for action to keep the earth from warming even more drastically – which would also
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The Wisconsin Supreme Court Slows Down the ‘Quiet Revolution’
This article was originally posted July 15, 2021, in the Marquette University Law School Faculty Blog. It is reprinted here with permission.About four years ago I wrote a blog post titled “The Quiet Revolution in Wisconsin Administrative Law.” My purpose then was to point out an “unprecedented makeover in longstanding principles of state-level administrative law” that “shift[ed] power away from agencies and toward courts, the legislature, and the governor.”Recently the Wisconsin Supreme Court finally took the field
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The Debate on COVID-19 and Force Majeure in Energy Contracts
Please note that views presented in blog articles are those of the author, not those of the Wisconsin Department of Justice, the section, or the State Bar of Wisconsin.
As the world was besieged by COVID-19 in the first half of 2020, large swathes of the economy shut down. International travel practically ceased, events were canceled, and factories temporarily shut down to stop the spread of disease. Many people began working from home, cutting out their daily commute.
One
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Sun and Shade are Vital Tools for Mitigating Health Impacts from Climate Change
Climate change is one of the most significant public health threats of our time. The health impacts of climate change are well known, and include heat-related illness, increased respiratory disease, vector-borne illness, zoonotic disease, and water-borne disease.
In addition, climate change will increase the frequency and intensity of natural disasters that pose multiple threats to public health, including physical harm from flooding and fire, respiratory illness from wildfire smoke and mold, food insecurity, lack of access to clean water,
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Wisconsin’s Wetlands & Waterways and the WOTUS Rule
Headwaters of Three Springs near Sister Bay. Photo by Joanne Kline.
Wetlands are critical ecosystems that help reduce flood severity, filter polluted runoff before it reaches open water, and provide waterfowl and wildlife with food and shelter.
In 2020, rollbacks in federal protection of waterways and wetlands under the Clean Water Act left millions of wetland acres in Wisconsin vulnerable to development. Although Wisconsin law protects many waterways and wetlands that are no longer covered by federal regulation, continued
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New Prospects for Carbon Farming Lead Stakeholders to Common Ground
Carbon farming markets are emerging as an appealing prospect to reverse the flow of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
They are also a breath of fresh air in the metaphorical sense because of the unusual alliances and rare bipartisan support they are attracting. Agricultural groups and environmental advocates have coalesced around the prospect that farming can be a meaningful part of the climate change solution. While a small private market for carbon farming practices already exists, the seeds
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Biden Administration: Ag Industry Can Help Combat Climate Change
The agricultural industry is no stranger to federal regulation.
Although the industry avoids regulation in several legal realms through federal safe harbors, there is both a cabinet position and an entire agency responsible for the industry’s financial well-being.1 The industry heavily relies on federal support through crop insurance, conservation payments, and commodity programs.2
Although some may fear that the Biden Administration may result in increased regulation for the ag industry, many expect President Biden to look to
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Resurgence of the Reasonable Use Rule
As discussed previously in this blog,1 flooding continues to present a significant challenge across Wisconsin. Directing and controlling the drainage of surface water is a challenge that developers, farmers, and other property owners must grapple with.
But these parties must be aware of the “reasonable use” rule and potential consequences for diverting surface water to neighboring properties. The increase in higher intensity storm events is sure to make the reasonable use doctrine a more prevalent legal concept in
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Developing Flood Resilience in Wisconsin
Over the past decade, Wisconsin residents from Coon Valley to Darlington, Green Bay to Madison, and Mazomanie to the Town of White River, have evacuated their homes, been left stranded on flooded streets, and even lost their lives during record rainfall. In 2017, floods in southwest and west central Wisconsin were declared a federal disaster.Western Wisconsin was hit by deadly 2018 storm events. And, tragic floods – technically classified as “500-year floods” – struck our northern counties in
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