[Please view the event page for display files and links to sites, resources, and groups mentioned during the program.]
About 70 people attended the groundwater pollution forum hosted by the Coulee Region Sierra Club on Tuesday evening, October 24 at the Holland Town Hall in Holmen. CRSC board president, Pat Wilson, provided a short introduction, noting that pollution of drinking water is among Americans' top concerns in Chapman University's 2017 Survey of American Fears.
The state Sierra Club (John Muir Chapter) has been very active in water quantity and quality issues, producing five water white papers this year. The CRSC would like to be a resource for those seeking ways to connect with others around the state advocating for better enforcement of existing water protections and better staffing and funding for the Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
Thank you to our panelists and to the Town of Holland for letting us use their wonderful facility (which produces more power via rooftop solar than it uses).
State Representative Steve Doyle, whose district includes the area where high levels of contamination from a Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) and other sources have been found in La Crosse county wells provided a background of CAFO development in the state; information about the DNR's spotty record of inspecting, regulating, and enforcing state laws; and recent legislation dealing with water quality.
La Crosse County Board member and chair of the county's Health and Human Services committee, Mike Giese, discussed the background of the county's long and difficult quest to get accurate information from the DNR about CAFO contamination. The county was forced to resort to Freedom of Information Act requests in order to learn how much contamination had been present (thaough the latest data was dated April 2016) and for how long. Mr. Giese noted that some important data is still not available.
La Crosse County Health Department director, Jen Rombalski, talked about well testing, trying to serve the public with partial information, and health effects of different kinds of contamination including nitrates and bacteria.
There were many audience questions and at 8:30 p.m. many stayed to continue the discussion. We hope to have an audio or video of most of the session up by October. 27.
In the meantime, view the event page for links to display information and websites mentioned during the program.
Thank you to all who participated. We will have more about this issue in our November newsletter.
About 70 people attended the groundwater pollution forum hosted by the Coulee Region Sierra Club on Tuesday evening, October 24 at the Holland Town Hall in Holmen. CRSC board president, Pat Wilson, provided a short introduction, noting that pollution of drinking water is among Americans' top concerns in Chapman University's 2017 Survey of American Fears.
The state Sierra Club (John Muir Chapter) has been very active in water quantity and quality issues, producing five water white papers this year. The CRSC would like to be a resource for those seeking ways to connect with others around the state advocating for better enforcement of existing water protections and better staffing and funding for the Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
Thank you to our panelists and to the Town of Holland for letting us use their wonderful facility (which produces more power via rooftop solar than it uses).
State Representative Steve Doyle, whose district includes the area where high levels of contamination from a Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) and other sources have been found in La Crosse county wells provided a background of CAFO development in the state; information about the DNR's spotty record of inspecting, regulating, and enforcing state laws; and recent legislation dealing with water quality.
La Crosse County Board member and chair of the county's Health and Human Services committee, Mike Giese, discussed the background of the county's long and difficult quest to get accurate information from the DNR about CAFO contamination. The county was forced to resort to Freedom of Information Act requests in order to learn how much contamination had been present (thaough the latest data was dated April 2016) and for how long. Mr. Giese noted that some important data is still not available.
La Crosse County Health Department director, Jen Rombalski, talked about well testing, trying to serve the public with partial information, and health effects of different kinds of contamination including nitrates and bacteria.
There were many audience questions and at 8:30 p.m. many stayed to continue the discussion. We hope to have an audio or video of most of the session up by October. 27.
In the meantime, view the event page for links to display information and websites mentioned during the program.
Thank you to all who participated. We will have more about this issue in our November newsletter.
No comments:
Post a Comment