MADISON — Clean Wisconsin government relations director Amber Meyer Smith released the following statement today, preceding the Assembly and Senate Natural Resources Committees’ joint hearing on the Polluters over People Bill scheduled for Wednesday.
“Clean Wisconsin opposes Special Session AB/SB 24 as written because it puts corporate gain over public health and the environment. This bill proposes sweeping changes to how permits are granted with statewide, long-term implications that limit public input and roll back environmental protections. It has detrimental impacts for our waterways by taking them out of the public trust and putting them into the hands of private interests, violates the Clean Air Act, and sidesteps existing mining regulations. It also severely limits DNR’s authority to grant permits that protect public health and our environment, instead forcing automatic, rubber-stamp approvals that reward bad actors.
“This bill impacts not only mining, but other important natural resource protections and unravels Wisconsin’s existing laws for widespread corporate and personal gain.”