MADISON, WI (WTAQ) – Wisconsin Senate Republicans have offered their second high-capacity well bill, a sweeping proposal seeking to cool the conflict between big water users like large farms and the environment.
The issue is one of the most contentious before lawmakers right now, drawing passion from vegetable growers, trout anglers and the owners of lakefront homes.
Republican Senator Rob Cowles from Allouez, the bill’s lead sponsor in his house and chairman of the Senate Natural Resources Committee, made clear this week that he knew the path ahead was difficult and that neither side would necessarily jump to back his proposal.
The measure represents just the latest statehouse conflict over these powerful wells, which farm and business groups say are needed to drive the economy. Environmentalists argue they pose a threat to the health of streams, lakes and wetlands, especially those in Wisconsin’s central sands region.
(Story courtesy of Wheeler News Service)
