On Jan. 16, 2025, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reclassified ​several counties in southeastern Wisconsin from moderate to serious nonattainment for the 2015 ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS).1 Ozone pollution is an ongoing challenge for the Greater Milwaukee area that affects the environment, the region’s economy, and the public health of approximately one-third of Wisconsin’s population that calls the area home.

Michael Moran, Michigan State 2020, is a staff attorney with the Wisconsin Department of…
Continue Reading Clearing the Air about Serious Ozone Nonattainment in Southeastern Wisconsin

On Oct. 8 2024, the Biden administration issued its long-awaited final rule, the “Lead and Copper Rule Improvements” (LCRI), requiring drinking water systems across the country identify and replace all lead water pipes within a 10-year period. The LCRI includes requirements for more rigorous testing of drinking water for lead levels, lower thresholds requiring communities to take action to protect residents from lead exposure, and more consistent communication with communities regarding the schedules for pipe replacement and…
Continue Reading EPA Improved Lead Rule to Facilitate Lead Pipes Replacement in the U.S.

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