For better or for worse, two recent decisions made by state entities could impact the water that you drink.

Earlier this week, a Waukesha County judge ruled that the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources cannot require businesses to clean up contamination from forever chemicals like PFAS until the state Legislature weighs in on their future or an administrative rule is put in place. The DNR argued that they have to do what is necessary to protect against pollution. At the same time, the Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce believes such regulations need to go through a defined process before they are enacted. The decision comes almost a month after the state filed a lawsuit against Tyco Fire Products in Marinette for years of not reporting PFAS spills and failing to clean them up after they occurred.

Clean Water Action Council of  Northeast Wisconsin President and Executive Director Dean Hoegger says he is concerned about the decision in the short term.

Hoegger was happier about another decision involving the DNR, this time limiting the herd of a dairy farm in Casco. While he notes that farmers like Kinnard Farms are planting cover crops and participating in other acts of conservation, Hoegger says something needed to be done to address what is happening now.

The Clean Water Action Council of Northeast Wisconsin will host their annual meeting and fundraising event featuring author John Bates on May 5th in Green Bay.