The Tainted Ten
The Marathon County Environmental Resources Committee (ERC) must like two things. One is a pea green Big Eau Pleine Reservoir in September. The second is angry, disgusted city and village residents.
Faced with solid evidence that its Fenwood Creek Subwatershed Project has failed to meet its strategic plan phosphorus reduction goal, the committee last week Tuesday agreed to pursue the same project with new staff and, perhaps, a few new tweaks for an additional two years.
The decision likely ensures a further polluted Big Eau Pleine Reservoir, heightening the risk of another big fish kill. The committee action is a slap in the face to city and village residents across the county who face double digit sewer rate increases to meet DNR phosphorus limits within the Wisconsin River Basin.
For the ERC, nothing succeeds like abject failure. The county over the past several years only has been able to sign up five out of 65 farmers in the Fenwood Subwatershed for conservation practices, but the committee saw no reason to pursue any alternative strategy. The county tasked itself with annual phosphorus reductions of 14,610 pounds of phosphorus in the Fenwood subwatershed by the end of the year, but has achieved only 5,160 pounds. This is miserable. It is estimated that 165,000 pounds of phosphorus enters the Big Eau Pleine each year. Each pound of phosphorus can grow 500 pounds of algae. The county’s efforts don’t begin to be environmentally meaningful.
Committee chairman Jacob Langenhahn sadly saw things otherwise. He commented to fellow committee members that while the 5,160 pound phosphorus reduction did not reach the county’s goal, it was, at least, something. Actually, we don’t know if it was something or nothing. While we know that a handful of Fenwood area farmers kept some phosphorus on the landscape, it could be that a different handful of farmers increased tillage to move more phosphorus to waterways. Historical phosphorus run-off data from Wisconsin Valley Improvement Corporation (WVIC) shows that there has been little change in the amount of phosphorus entering the Big Eau Pleine over the span of decades.
The committee vote was a classic kick-the-can-down-road routine. It happily agrees to use a DNR grant to continue the charade of a west county conservation program, giving the farm community political cover to continue its traditional, polluting ways without any county threat of further regulation. This cynical approach just pushes to the next generation the heavy lift of actually protecting our water resources.
The committee failed to think of this county’s village and city residents. The DNR this past week reported that municipal treatment plants and industry have reduced their phosphorus discharges to the Wisconsin River by 70 percent over the last two decades. This has been a significant and costly reduction. It is galling that the committee, once again, failed to demand the county’s ag producers reduce phosphorus like their city cousins.
What is the most disheartening is the lack of an environmental ethic on the committee. The county trusts these leaders to protect water resources. But, in failing to meet the county’s environmental strategic goal, the committee didn’t seem to even care. They supported their failure. Not one supervisor spoke in favor of environmental protection. Not one supervisor called on the county to be accountable for its environmental debacle. This group is the Tainted Ten. These supervisors will float baloney, underfunded programs with unrealistic objectives knowing that, day after day, the resource is degraded.
Why are we, the citizens, funding any of this nonsense? The Executive Committee should send the ERC’s strategic plan back to the committee for a brand new start. If that doesn’t happen, the county board needs to intervene. Passing strategic plans meant to fail is bad faith government. We, the public, deserve more.
