County-wide environmental plan advances
The Record-Review The Marathon County Environmental Resources Committee last week Tuesday voted to send an updated strategic plan to the Executive Committee. The plan mostly delays by two years implementation of key parts of the current plan.
The committee has jurisdiction over two objectives in the county’s strategic plan. The first is to “preserve natural resources in decisions with economic development and growth.” A second objective is to “protect and enhance the quantity and quality of potable groundwater and potable surface water supplies.”
To meet these objectives, the current strategic plan calls on the county to reduce phosphorus run-off in the Fenwood Creek Subwatershed by 20 percent or 14,016 pounds and to reduce the number of failing private failing septic systems by 750. Both objectives are scheduled to be met by December 2022.
The county will not meet either goal. Committee members tasked themselves with meeting the two goals by Dec. 31, 2024.
According to Conservation, Planning and Zoning (CPZ) staff, the county has used a state Targeted Resource Management grant to reduce 3,437 pounds of phosphorus run-off per year and Multi-Discharger variance payments from municipalities to reduce another 1,723 pounds of phosphorus in the Fenwood Subwatershed. The county has since 2018 remedied only 350 failing septic systems.
County conservation program director Kirstie Heidenreich told committee members her plan is to use a large-scale DNR Targeted Runoff Management grant in 2023 to develop an “outreach plan” that will drive greater farmer participation in the Fenwood subwatershed.
CPZ staff said the law requires all failing septic systems to be replaced but that more time is needed to meet the 750 goal.
Committee members were willing to back away from two other strategic goals that have not been met. One is to have four additional towns adopt county zoning. Another is to close all idle manure pits.
CPZ director Laurie Miskimmins recommended the committee drop the goal of adding townships to the current 18 with county zoning. She said her department would prioritize education for all towns on the need to make sound land use decisions. Miskimmins said, too, that she did not feel the county should necessarily try and close all manure pits. She said it was advantageous to have some empty pits available should local dairy farmers need to haul excess manure should they have an emergency situation.
Committee chairman Jacob Langenhahn, town of Marathon, said he was ambivalent about the county’s goal regarding having more townships have county zoning. He said that, as a supervisor representing townships with both town and county zoning, towns have historical reasons why they approach zoning in the way they do.
Heidenreich recommended that the county include in its Capital Improvements Plan money to deal with threats to drinking water in wellhead protection areas. These threats could include mining or farming practices. The money would be used, she said, to educate local municipal officials about how to counter threats to well water.
In debate, supervisor Tony Sherfinski, Schofield, said he worried about a county goal looking for the county to add an average of 320 acres of land annually to its parks and forest system. He said the county should be “more targeted” in acquiring property. After county forester Tom Lovelin explained that the county fails to meet this goal and is strategic in acquiring only affordable properties for park and forest use, Sherfinski withdrew his objection.
