December-January, 2000
Vol. 4, No. 1
Table of Contents
PERRIER WATER MINING
Get Politics Out of DNR - RED SHIRT RALLY #2
Lobby Day for Impartial Justice
Sham Campaign Reform Passed
Capping Mercury
Dioxin & PCBs Hearing & Forum
Wisconsin's Water
or Perrier's Property?
In mid-December the DNR admitted to the public that the Perrier
company, which sells mineral drinking water at elite prices,
has been
proposing for many months to tap groundwater for a high-capacity well,
pumping 350-500 gals per minute (up to 720,000 gals/day) near the
headwaters of the Mecan River near Coloma in Waushara County,
about 30
miles south of Stevens Point.
Many residents have expressed anger that the company drilled
test
wells in the area, obtained an option to purchase nearby farmland for
the
construction of a major bottling plant and approached Cabinet-level
officials in Madison without informing the community.
Mecan River Threatened
Anglers consider the Mecan a world-class trout stream. Cold
ground
water bubbles up to provide flows for the stream, supporting a good
population of naturally reproducing brook, brown, and rainbow trout,
and
large healthy hatches of aquatic insects and mayflies to feed the trout.
It is also a favorite haunt for quiet water canoeists.
It has a very
finite water flow as is, and any depletion of that flow could prove
disastrous. (The river's name is pronounced "McCann" with emphasis
on the
second syllable.) Because the spring is so special the
DNR purchased land
to protect the headwaters. The 29-mile river starts west
of Wautoma in an
undeveloped corner of Waushara County and flows southeasterly through
the
town of Richford, the little village of Dakota, then on to Germania
and
finally connects with the Fox River several miles from Princeton.
Switching to Private Land
Perrier originally wanted a permit to place its well directly
on
this state land, but public outcry has forced the company to abandon
this.
Instead, Perrier has switched its focus to buying or leasing water
drilling
rights from private lands near Mecan Springs, and/or in Adams or Marquette
Counties. Water must come from boreholes drilled
into
a spring that would break the surface on its own, rather than a
conventional or artesian well, in order to meet U.S. FDA rules for
labeling
a product as spring water. The company wants to tap directly
into Mecan
Springs, even if from private property. The
water
would be marketed as Perrier's Ice Mountain Spring Water brand in the
Midwest. The company wants a site closer than the current source
in
Pennsylvania.
The company could avoid most environmental restrictions by
constructing wells on nearby private property, according to DNR Secretary
Meyer. The Post-Crescent quoted him saying, "When it's
off our property,
the only thing they need is a well drillers permit," and that the only
restrictions applying to a high volume well on private property are
a
requirement that the well be properly constructed and a prohibition
against
diminishing a municipal water supply. (The nearest municipal
water
facility is three miles away, in Coloma.)
DNR Says Environmental
Impacts are Irrelevant to Law
The DNR has not decided yet whether it will designate such a
private well as a "major action" which would require an environmental
impact statement and
public hearings.
"Even if the well had an adverse impact on the Mecan springs,
we
could not deny the permit," Meyer said. "I think this is a real gap
in the
law, and it's not just Perrier. The same concerns apply to high-capacity
agricultural wells."
Decision Expected Soon
A company decision is expected by March 1, with 10 months of
construction starting June1. Perrier proposes to lease
or buy
right-of-way to build a pipeline, or arrange tanker trucks, to bring
water
from 3 springs to a large $35 million 250,000 square-foot plant for
bottling as much as a mile from the water's source, possibly on the
outskirts of Coloma, on land which could be annexed to the city's
industrial park. The plant, running 24 hours a day, seven
days a week,
would use hot air under pressure to blow-mold plastic bottles, and
fill
them with water run through a series of filters and treated with ozone.
The plant would start with 45 employees, with plans to expand to 250
jobs
within five years.
Flow Will Be Impacted
The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel quoted Stephen Born, a professor
at
the UW-Madison and national official with the conservation group Trout
Unlimited, as saying that "any reduction in the springs' flow
would be a
threat to the river."
He said recent studies show that even under existing conditions,
the Mecan's summer water temperatures have risen toward unhealthy levels
for trout due to an impoundment which allows the springs' naturally
cool
waters to warm before flowing into the river. Born, who
also is a
hydrogeologist, added that a well tapping the region's shallow aquifer
would "certainly" affect the springs' flow. Even boring down to the
deeper aquifer could have an impact on the springs. He said,
"It's very
unusual to find a completely segregated aquifer."
For example,a U.S. Geological Survey study done in
1965 showed that a
single, high-volume agricultural well had a measurable impact on the
Plover
River in Portage Co.
A Bad Actor in Other States
The Perrier company claims to have a good track record and to
be
environmentally responsible, but their history raises many doubts.
Perrier already has pumping rights to 122 other springs across
the
U.S. and peddles water under 14 different brandnames such as Great
Spring
Waters, Poland Spring, Deer Park, Oasis, Ozarka, and Zephyrhills
Perrier (Poland Springs) pumps water directly from an aquifer
under
Range Ponds State Park in Maine.
As of last summer, they had already depleted their own local aquifer
there
and were applying for permits to tap an adjoining aquifer directly
within
the State Park.
In Florida, Perrier (Zephyrhills) actually locked the public
out of
visiting the once popular Crystal Springs, where it now extracts 301,000
gallons/day from the source of the Hillsborough River, the same
water
supply for the city of Tampa 15 miles downstream. Local Florida
residents
were successful recently in turning back a request by Perrier to increase
pumping there to 2.6 million gallons/day. Since diversion of the water
began in 1989, residents report a steady decrease in the clarity, level
and
overall quality of the River.
Perrier admitted to Pennsylvania residents
in 1987 that the company
exceeded its withdrawal limit from a spring it operates in Lynn Township.
Residents had voiced doubts that the multibillion dollar company was
adhering to the 3 million gallons/month limit set by the Delaware River
Basin Commission.
The Dallas Observer (Texas) reported that,"Bart Sipriano's well
dried up four days after Ozarka started pumping massive amounts of
water
nearby. Under the state's archaic "rule of capture," the East Texan
has no
right to complain." Three Texas property owners
who experienced
problems with their wells immediately after Perrier began pumping water
from land nearby in 1996 took their case all the way to the Supreme
Court,
but lost because the "rule of capture" allows a landowner to pump as
much
groundwater as the landowner chooses without liability to neighbors
who
claim the pumping has depleted their wells.
Less than Truthful
When Perrier ended up in court after depleting the Carrizo Aquifer
near Eustace, TX, leaving nearby residents with dried-up wells, its
spokeswoman, Lauren Cargill, arrogantly countered "You can do with
groundwater what you want regard
less of your neighbors."
In contrast, a Perrier representative told a Wisconsin newspaper
that the company has been pumping from spring sites in this country
for
more than 50 years without ever drying an aquifer or neighboring wells.
In Texas, Perrier pays just $25,000 per year to extract 10,000
gallons per minute from under a Boy Scout Camp south of Waco.
The fee in
Wisconsin could be even lower.
Perrier & Nestle's
Global Food Empire
Former Perrier chairman, Gustave Levin, once remarked "It struck
me...that all you had to do is take the water out of the ground and
then
sell it for more than the price of wine, milk or for that matter, oil."
When the world's largest food conglomerate, Swiss-based Nestle
took
over Perrier in 1992, it was eager to stake its claim in the emerging
bottled water market. Today, a third of all people in the U.S.
drink
bottled water at least once a week - on average 12.7 gallons/person/year.
Ironically, bottled water costs up to 10,000 times more than public
tap water, yet remains exempt from many EPA and FDA water quality standards.
(One wonders just how much human health would improve if all the money
spent on bottled water in the hope of evading disease was devoted to pollution
prevention and watershed
protection efforts instead.)
Perrier has the largest share of the $4.3 billion U.S. bottled
water market, and Nestle's global beverage sales accounted for a whopping
28% of its $45 billion gross earnings in 1998. For every buck
and half
spent on Perrier, Nestle makes a fifty cent profit. Stories
are popping
up all across the U.S. of speculators buying up water rights to sell
at
enormous profits.
Just a few years ago, even the Milwaukee water utility was
considering bottling and selling it's regular city water as a business
venture.
From 1977-84, Nestle was the target of the largest non-union
boycott in world history. The company aggressively marketed baby
formula
in Third World countries where water (for preparation) is unclean,
leading
to thousands of "baby bottle deaths." Formula is also much
less healthy
for malnourished infants than breast milk. Nestle gave in to
the boycott after years of resistance, but company execs were also
exposed for giving kickbacks to government officials, and for marketing
fake apple juice to infants.
Health Standards are Poor
Most people assume that bottled water is more pure and clean than
tap water, but according to the Natural Resources Defense Council,
the
government's Food & Drug Administration (FDA) rules for bottled
water are
generally less strict than tap water rules.
In addition, water bottled and sold within a single state - the
majority of bottled water sold in the U.S.- is not covered by FDA rules.
In fact, the FDA's definition of "bottled water" exempts many types
of
bottled water. Even water defined as "bottled water" is
not specifically
required to meet treatment, contamination, or testing standards as
strict
as those applicable to city tap water. For example, water bottlers
profit
from weaker bacteria rules, no treatment requirements to remove or
kill
bacteria and parasites, no Cryptosporidium or Giardia testing, and
weaker
standards for some chemical
contaminants.
In 1990, the Perrier company lost millions of dollars in a costly
worldwide product recall after the public discovery that bottled Perrier
water contained traces of Benzene, a hydrocarbon that causes cancer.
WTO Globalizes Water
Most people still take for granted the notion of clean water as
a
public good that should be readily accessible to all. Such democratic
control over water management, though, may well be challenged as an
"unfair
trade barrier" before such entities as the World Trade Organization
(WTO).
Last year Canada-based NOVA company received an export
permit to
ship tankerfuls of Lake Superior water to Asia, but backed down in
the face
of scathing public criticism. Under the existing North
American Free
Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the Sunbelt Corp. of CA has filed a $10.5
billion
suit against British Columbia for failing to grant it a water export
permit.
The International Joint Commission (IJC), established under a
1909
treaty between Canada and the U.S. to manage the Great Lakes, is now
in the
process of formulating a bulk water export policy. Unfortunately,
this
won't guarantee state authority to protect smaller water resources
like
Wisconsin's Mecan Springs from being expropriated by multinational
corporations like Nestle's Perrier. To date,
every
single environmental law challenged before the WTO tribunal has been
ruled
"illegal" and either promptly overturned or bitterly sustained under
difficult economic sanctions.
The bottom line is anytime people start selling our water, it
becomes identified as "a commodity" suitable for "free" trade to the WTO
which, in turn, has almost omnipotent power to override local, state, national
or regional decision-making which is seen as a restraint of that trade.
The technology exists to allow mass transport of water from the
Great Lakes region to more arid regions of the world either through
pipelines or bulk transport in supertanker ships. We must be
vigilant.
Presently water diversion plans have been thwarted by a compact
among the Governors of the Great Lakes bordering States and Canadian
Provinces. This is a very fragile assurance, however, and any
precedent-setting scheme can greatly weaken its enforcement.
And because
the U.S. population centers have shifted to the south and west, the
Great
Lakes congressional delegation is losing clout against the thirsty
western
and southern states.
Economic Harm
Though the Perrier water bottling plant is being promoted as an
economic gain, other existing businesses could be seriously harmed,
especially in the area's tourist industry. One example is the
Mecan River
Lodge and Outfitters, which offers canoe trips on the Mecan, as well
as
hunting, cross-country skiing, lodging and dining in a rustic setting.
In
addition, millions of state tax dollars have been spent purchasing
and
maintaining land to protect the headwaters. That money will have
been
wasted if the water is pulled out from underneath.
Wisconsin's Water
For Sale?
When it comes to preserving democratic rule from expanding
corporate power, Gov. Thompson's track record is not encouraging.
The
ongoing sell-off of Wisconsin's North Woods to the mining industry
being a
case in point.
No doubt Nestle's huge economic clout translates into powerful
political influence.
The state itself even stands to profit from Perrier's proposal
since, as of 1998, the Wisconsin State Investment Board owned 69,000
shares
of Nestle.
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
Please write to the Governor and DNR to let them know how you feel,
and to
request a full Environmental Impact Statement on the Perrier proposal.
Sec. George Meyer, Wis. DNR
P.O. Box 7921
Madison, WI 53707
#608-266-2121
meyerg@dnr.state.wi.us
Gov. Tommy Thompson
P.O. Box 7863
Madison, WI 53707
#608-266-1212
wisgov@gov.state.wi.us
Write to your elected representatives and tell them what you think about
the weakness in Wisconsin's groundwater supply regulations:
State Senator
P.O. Box 7882
Madison, WI 53707
State Rep. (Last Name, A thru L)
P.O. Box 8952
Madison, WI 53708
State Rep. (Last Name, Mc thru Z)
P.O. Box 8953
Madison, WI 53708
(If you don't know who your elected state representatives are, call the Legislative Hotline 1-800-362-9472 on weekdays.)
Also contact Nestle-USA and its Perrier subsidiary to tell them you
oppose
their plan, do not want Wisconsin's water privatized, and will boycott
their products if they go ahead with this project:
Joe Weller, CEO
tel. #818-549-6000
Nestle-USA
800 N. Brand Blvd.,
Glendale, CA 91023
Kim Jeffrey, CEO
tel. #203-531-4100
Perrier
Group-USA
777 W. Putnam Ave.
Greenwich, CT 06830
Opponents of the plan have formed an organization, Friends
of the Mecan,
and have hired an environmental attorney to assist them.
If you'd like to
help, contact Friends of the Mecan, P.O. Box 952, Wautoma, WI
54982, or
John Welter, Trout Unlimited, at (715)833-7028.
Ask for bumper stickers saying "NoWay Perrier" and display proudly...
FOR MORE INFORMATION on PERRIER
For a photo of Mecan Springs, see http://members.aol.com/Rbayro/mecan.jpg
Save Our Springs, Inc., in Florida, this citizen group has fought
Perrier
for years at Crystal Springs. Their website has detailed background
on
Perrier subsidiary track records in Florida, Pennsylvania, California,
Texas, etc. www.saveourspringsinc.org
Eder, Tim et al. "A Conservation Ethic for Water and Trade: A
Case Study
of the Great Lakes and Trade Policy." National Wildlife
Federation
(NWF). Nov. 1999
Eskenazi, Stuart. "The Biggest Pump Wins." Dallas Observer.
Nov. 19-25,
1998 http://www.dallasobserver.com/1998/111998/feature2-1.html
And
another : "When Perrier came to Texas, the water left."
http://www.saveourspringsinc.org/sptimes/PerrierTexas.htm
Hayes, Constance. "Now Liquid Gold Comes in Bottles." New
York Times.
Jan. 20, 1998
Johnson, Robert. "In Spring Water Rift, Issues Aren't as Clear
as They
Might Seem." Wall Street Journal. May 7, 1997
Lampert Smith, Susan. "My Objection to Perrier's Plans for Mecan
is
Crystal Clear." Wisconsin State Journal. Jan. 16, 2000
Olson, Erik et al. "Bottled Water: Pure Drink or Pure Hype?" Natural
Resources Defense Council (NRDC). March 1999 (website:
www.nrdc.org)
Seely, Ron. "Questions Abound on Perrier Proposal." Wisconsin
State
Journal. Jan. 2, 2000
Vanden Brook, Tom. "Perrier Wants to Draw Water on State Land."
Milwaukee
Journal Sentinel. Dec. 19, 2000
http://www.jsonline.com/news/state/dec99/river19121899.asp
Wolff, Patricia. "Mecan River Water Battle Brewing." Oshkosh
Northwestern
1/16/00
The Perrier website: www.perrier.com
Horst, David & Ed Culhane, Post-Crescent, "Perrier may drill through
law's
gap," 1/22/00
The International Forum on Globilization, "Blue Gold," documenting
several
lawsuits being filed under NAFTA regarding the commodification of fresh
water. website: www.ifg.org
Reagan, Brad, Wall Street Journal, Texas Journal, "Oil Men Amass
New
Asset, Water Rights" 1/19/00
Lezin, Sophia, Morning Call Newspaper Co, "Perrier says it took
too much
water, bottling company officials admit it exceed withdrawal limits
on a
spring in Lynn Township." 5/2/97
Article on the Ozarka wells:
www.dallasobserver.com/1998/111998/feature2-1.html
Culhane, Ed, Post Crescent, "Richford residents put fizzle on Perrier's
plans Company wants to open local bottling plant" 1/7/00
For Nestle's corporate track record visit
http://www.action4corpacct.org/history.htm
--- and---
http://www.action4corpacct.org/chronology.htm)
For bottled water information: www.bottledwaterweb.com
With special thanks for material researched by the UW Greens
Infoshop, (31 University Square, Madison, WI 53715
tel. #608-262-9036)
Alice McCombs (Clean Water Action Council, Earthwins, Mining Impacts
Network), Tom Wilson (Residential Energy Services, Wisconsin
Stewardship
Network, Northern Thunder), Zoltan Grossman (Midwest Treaty Network),
Trout
Unlimitd and the River Alliance.
RED SHIRT RALLY #2
Wednesday, Feb. 23 --- 12:00 noon
Please join a broad coalition of Wisconsin organizations for a
rally on the Capitol steps in Madison -- to show public support for
the
restoration of the Wisconsin Public Intervenor Office, and support
for the
de-politicizing of the appointment of the DNR Secretary and top DNR
administrators. (Meet at the West Wing, State St. entrance
to Capitol.)
Be sure to wear a red shirt, red plaid shirt, and/or blaze orange
to signify your support.
Everyone is also encouraged to participate in individual
legislative visits on these issues on Wed., Feb. 23 and Thurs. Feb.
24.
For carpooling information from your area, please call Rebecca
Katers, at 920-437-7304.
Background
Two legislative bills are proposed -- SB 27 would restore the
DNR
Secretary control to the NR Board, and SB 72 would restore the Public
Intervenor Office.
This rally will recreate the 1960's red shirt rally by
conservationists, when they stormed the capitol to protest the merger
of
the old Conservation Dept. with the Dept. of Resource Development -
to
create the Dept. of Natural Resources. It was felt that development
interests would overpower conservation interests.
This public concern in the 1960s convinced legislators (and
Republican Gov. Warren Knowles) to promise to provide political balance,
through the 7-member Natural Resource Board of independent citizens
and the
creation in 1967 of the Wisconsin Public Intervenor Office which could
advise citizens and intervene on behalf of public rights in the environment.
In 1995, our current Governor
and legislature broke this promise by eliminating the Public Intervenors
and taking away the Natural Resource Board's power to appoint the DNR
Secretary and giving this power directly to the Governor.
The result of these changes is shown in a recent DNR employee
survey publicized by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility.
The survey shows that the DNR has been severely weakened by a major
reorganization, staff cuts, funding cuts and greatly increased direct
political influence over DNR decisions.
We need to take back our DNR, and require the Governor and
legislature to uphold their promise to maintain political balance in
the
state's natural resource decisions.
Protect Our Environment!
This rally is sponsored by the Wisconsin Stewardship Network,
a statewide
network of conservation and environmental groups.
For more information contact Ann Finan, WSN Coordinator, at 608-251-7020,
finana@itis.com, Webpage: www.wsn.org
Please Write a Letter!
Please write your state legislators and tell them how you feel
about this issue
State Senator
P.O. Box 7882
Madison, WI 53707
State Rep. (Last Name, A thru L)
P.O. Box 8952
Madison, WI 53708
State Rep. (Last Name, Mc thru Z)
P.O. Box 8953
Madison, WI 53708
(If you don't know who your elected state representatives are, call the Legislative Hotline 1-800-362-9472 on weekdays.)
Lobby Day for Impartial Justice
Feb. 29 leap toward campaign reform
A grass-roots force of citizen lobbyists will be taking to the
State Capitol on Feb. 29 when Wisconsin Citizen Action holds its "Lobby
Day
for Impartial Justice."
The Impartial Justice Bill (SB 181/SB377) will be the focus of
reformers coming from around the state, said Jack Lohman, co-chair
of
Citizen Action's Clean Elections Task Force.
"Instead of the Capitol's halls being filled with special-interest
lobbyists reminding legislators of the campaign contributions they've
received, we'll be bringing ordinary citizens to tell legislators
that it is time to break the grip of
big money, starting with Supreme Court elections."
The Impartial Justice Bill calls for full public funding of Supreme
Court candidates who meet qualifying standards. The official cost
estimate of the bill is $1 million per year, or a mere 25 cents per
eligible voter, noted Lohman. "We believe that the only way to assure
truly impartial justice is to have a system of impartial public funding,
so
that candidates for the Supreme Court are completely independent of
any
taint of any obligations to a tiny circle of big contributors," he
stated.
While other campaign-finance reform proposals have been foundering,
the Impartial Justice Bill has been gaining steam as the Legislature
resumes its work. The Impartial Justice Bill has achieved some
notable
signs of support:
* Sponsorship by a solidly bi-partisan group of legislators, including
three Republican senators
* The endorsements of such notables as former Supreme Court justices
Nathan Heffernan and Janine Geske, Prof. Donald Kettl,
former chair of an
official commission on campaign reform, five former candidates for
the
Supreme Court, seven mayors, and County Executives Dan Finley
of Waukesha
and Nancy Nusbaum of Brown County.
* Editorial support from 19 daily newspapers and one TV station.
* A remarkable 71% level of support in a state-wide poll conducted
in
Ocotober by Chamberlain Research, with 69.5% of Republican voters backing
the plan.
* Unanimous support from a Senate committee on campaign finance
reform,
with the two Republicans voting in favor.
The next step in the legislative process is the Joint Finance
Committee, where co-chairs Sen. Brian Burke and Rep. John Gard (R-Peshtigo)
have agreed to hold a vote on the Impartial Justice Bill.
Then the bill will be considered by the Senate and Assembly.
"We
think it's vital for ordinary citizens to tell legislators that they
really
care about breaking the link between those who write the big checks
and
those who write and interpret our laws," said Lohman. "That's
the only way
that we can possibly hope to win any reforms, by showing legislators
it is
in their best interests to support rather than obstruct real reform.
"With enough grass-roots pressure, we can make Wisconsin the
first
state to allow its Supreme Court candidates to run without being indebted
to big contributors in any way," Lohman declared. "And we think
that this
model of full independence from special interest money is something
that
many people will want to apply to the other branches of Wisconsin
government, as four other states have done."
Impartial Justice
Lobby Day SCHEDULE
Tuesday, Feb. 29
10:00 --- Gather at St. John's Lutheran Church for briefings and speeches
(located 5 minutes from Capitol at 322 E. Washington)
11:00 --- Meet with legislators
12:30 --- Lunch provided in GAR Room (4th floor north of Capitol) with
speeches by legislators and other notable supporters
1:30 --- Meetings with legislators and other leading supporters
of
Impartial Justice
3:30 --- Re-assemble in Assembly Parlor for summary of meetings and send-off
Free transportation and lunch will be provided to participants.
For information on transportation, contact Jennifer Olenchek at
414/272-2562 or jolenchek@wi-citizenaction.org. For other
info: Roger
Bybee 414/272-2562.
Keep your eyes open for misleading media coverage concerning
legislation which promised to reform campaign spending laws:
On Feb. 9, the Wisconsin Assembly voted 52-45 in support
of a campaign finance reform bill that sets new spending limits and
establishes new grant levels for
candidates who agree to limit their spending.
But the bill (AB701) does not provide a funding source for the
public financing, meaning candidates would not receive the grants the
legislation promises. Without funded grants, candidates would
have no
incentive to abide by limits on their campaign spending.
The bill also doubles the amount of money candidates could get
from
special interest political action committees (PACs) and does nothing
to
address the growing problem of independent spending campaigns run by
outside groups.
For more information, contact Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, 16
N.
Carroll, Ste. 420, Madison, WI 53703, 608/255-4260
www.wisdc.org (Clean Water
is a member of the Campaign)
Fishing and fish-fries are a tradition in Wisconsin.
Unfortunately, this is threatened by the growing problem of mercury
in
Wisconsin's lakes and fish. Well over 300 lakes are on
the DNR Health
Advisory.
The bipartisan-backed Mercury Cap and Reduction Bill, SB 177,
(introduced by Sen. Burke-D-Milwaukee and Rep. Kaufert-R-Neenah) has
been
passed by the Senate Environment Committee 4-0 and is now in the Joint
Finance Committee. It will cap mercury emissions
from the largest
sources, and gradually reduce emissions over 15 years.
Mercury comes from
coal-burning power plants, then enters lakes with rain.
From there it
moves up the food chain and gets into the fish we eat. Mercury
affects the
brain and nervous system, making it especially harmful to children.
Please Write a Letter!
Please write your state legislators and tell them how you feel
about this issue
State Senator
P.O. Box 7882
Madison, WI 53707
State Rep. (Last Name, A thru L)
P.O. Box 8952
Madison, WI 53708
State Rep. (Last Name, Mc thru Z)
P.O. Box 8953
Madison, WI 53708
(If you don't know who your elected state representatives are, call the Legislative Hotline 1-800-362-9472 on weekdays.)
A Public Hearing is planned to take citizen testimony on the
impacts of dioxin and PCBs on humans and the environment in the Great
Lakes
region.
In addition, an educational Forum on Persistent
Organic Pollutants will
precede the public hearing.
The morning agenda will begin with a video "Drumbeat for
Mother
Earth". Then, Dr. Sam Dorevitch, American Public Health Association,
will
conduct a presentation on the health effects of dioxin. The Oneida
Environmental Department will give an overview of the Fox River Valley
contamination. Tom Goldtooth of the
Indigenous Environmental Network will present on the International
Persistent Organic Pollutants Treaty. The Great Lakes Fish and
Wildlife
Commission and the EAGLE Project of Canada have been asked to present
their
research of the effects on the Circle of Life in the Great Lakes.
Dioxin is a highly toxic chemical linked to learning disabilities,
cancer, and birth defects. It is released into the air, water,
and land by
incinerators, paper bleaching plants, and the manufacture and
disposal of
PVC plastic. Everyone is exposed to dioxin because it gets into
our food
and even the breast milk of women.
Polychlorinted Biphenyls (PCBs) are a related family of man-made
chemicals with varying levels of toxicity. There is severe PCB
contamination in the fish of the Fox River.
For more than ten years, the US Environmental Protection Agency
has
failed to enact policies to end public health threats posed by dioxin
and
PCBs. The public can no longer wait silently. For
more info. contact
Laura Manthe, at 920-490-6874.
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