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Dear Conservation Partner,

On May 21st, the Joint Finance Committee slipped in an amendment to the state budget that would put our state's waters at risk. We are working hard to get it stripped out of the final budget. Please consider adding your organization's name to the letter below, which will be delivered to legislators before they take it up on the floor. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Thank you,

Jennifer

Jennifer Giegerich
Legislative Director
Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters

133 S. Butler St. Suite 320, Madison, WI 53703
Office: 608.661.0845 x7013 l Direct line: 608.208.1130
Fax: 608.260.9799
Email: jennifer@conservationvoters.org
www.conservationvoters.org



To: Wisconsin Legislators
Date: June 4, 2013
Re: Detrimental Groundwater Policy in the State Budget

Dear Legislator,

Groundwater provides drinking water for 70% of our citizens, supplies water for industries and businesses in 97% of Wisconsin’s communities, sources nearly all crop irrigation, and sustains springs, lakes, rivers, and wetlands. All water is connected. When groundwater is depleted, all water users – businesses, municipalities, hunters, fishermen, and more – pay the consequences.

With no public notice, Motion #375 was adopted by the Joint Finance Committee into the state budget on Tuesday, May 21st. The amendment prohibits a citizen from challenging an application for a new high capacity well, even if the state has not considered the cumulative environmental impacts of other high capacity wells.

This amendment will have far-reaching implications for our state, including our multi-billion dollar tourism and outdoor recreation industries. Depleted groundwater levels translate directly to low lake levels, barely-flowing rivers, and dry wetlands. Well-managed groundwater resources are absolutely vital to the fishing, hunting, boating and other recreational activities that are at the heart of Wisconsin’s $13 billion tourism industry.

As a legislator, it is critical that you consider the implications of this policy change on its own merits with all interested parties. A change this significant to a resource critical to all sectors of our state – our economy, our health, and our recreational opportunities – has no place in the state budget. We ask that you support removing the language contained in Motion #375 from the budget and ensure that Wisconsin’s groundwater is protected for future generations.

Thank you for your attention to this issue.

Sincerely,

YOUR ORGANIZATION'S NAME HERE

Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to electing conservation leaders, holding decision makers accountable and encouraging lawmakers to champion conservation policies that effectively protect Wisconsin's public health and natural resources.