A public interest law firm and a group of citizens on Thursday asked Cathy Stepp, regional administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, to step aside from any involvement in the federal agency’s ongoing review of Wisconsin’s water pollution program. Stepp, a Republican, oversaw all environmental regulations in Wisconsin, including water issues, as secretary of the Department of Natural Resources from 2011 until August of last year. She was appointed to the post by Gov. Scott Walker. The EPA has been monitoring the state’s water program for years. In July 2011, the federal agency cited 75 shortcomings, or deficiencies, and ordered the DNR to fix the problems within two years. Some matters date back to before the start of the Walker administration. The deficiencies largely involve technical issues designed to assure Wisconsin is properly enforcing water regulations. The issues range from allowable limits for pollutants and management of storm water to an examination of whether the DNR has adequate state authority to carry out its work. Frustrated by the pace of the state’s response, Midwest Environmental Advocates and a group of 16 citizens asked the EPA in October 2015 to conduct a formal review of the DNR’s water pollution program. The groups filed what is known as a petition for corrective action that could strip the DNR of its oversight of state water programs, if the EPA concluded that the state’s efforts were falling short. In October 2016, EPA personnel inspected DNR records at its headquarters in Madison as part…

PESHTIGO, Wis. (WBAY) — It was question after question at Tuesday night’s meeting in Peshtigo, as people demanded answers after some of their groundwater wells tested positive for contamination.
Tyco Fire Protection Products, a manufacturer of fire-fighting foam, says it is investigating the possibility that some of its compounds made it into nearby drinking water.
John Perkins, the executive director of Environmental Health and Safety for Tyco Fire Products, said the company was first made aware of some contamination on their own fire training center test site a few years ago.
“We we found it in groundwater at our facility a few year ago and we followed up with that to look off site over the last two years,” said Perkins.
In December, people received a letter from Tyco asking for permission to test his well.
At a public meeting Tuesday night, Tyco told the public what they found in the wells.
Perkins said they are working with those directly impacted and are looking at installing a water treatment center in their homes, free of charge.
The DNR won’t be the only ones keeping a close eye on Tyco, some people of Peshtigo say they will too because they still have more questions that need to be answered.
Perkins said this is just the beginning of the investigation.
He said more testing and retesting will be done in the coming weeks to, “ensure we have safe drinking water provided for the community we operate in.” If you are looking for more information about the water contamination, here are a few of the websites provided at the meeting with Tyco Tuesday night.

MARINETTE COUNTY, Wis. (WBAY) – Dozens of families in the town of Peshtigo are drinking bottled water as their wells have tested positive for contamination.
In December, Lamont received a letter from Tyco asking for permission to test his well.
Since then, Lamont has been instructed to drink bottled water.
"The State of Wisconsin has no standards for these contaminants, they don’t have any preventative action levels," Lamont tells Action 2 News.
Tyco provided this statement to Action 2 News prior to the meeting: "Tyco has been conducting testing of both groundwater and private drinking water wells, and has sampled over 20 groundwater boring locations and nearly 90 private wells.
Tyco will continue to work in close cooperation with and under the oversight of the DNR and DHS."
That starts with more well testing and then a possible fix.
Exposure to perfluorinated compounds comes with lifelong health risks, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
"We’re going to pursue this, we’re not just going to leave this lay," Lamont says.
Action 2 News is in Peshtigo for the meeting.

RACINE COUNTY — With 88,000 miles of rivers and streams and 1.2 million lake acres in Wisconsin, Department of Natural Resources impaired waters coordinator Ashley Beranek is busy.
Every year, the DNR releases a list of waterways — lakes, rivers and creeks — that contain pollutant levels harmful to wildlife and, in some cases, humans.
The proposed list for 2018 includes 29 entries for Racine County, though some of the larger waterways, like Lake Michigan, the Root River, Root River Canal and the north branch of the Pike River, are broken up into separate entries.
The list includes four bodies of water that may be added and one that could be removed from the list.
Two beaches on Lake Michigan are listed for containing multiple pollutants and testing positive for E. coli contamination: Shoop Park Beach near Wind Point and Michigan Boulevard Beach from Melvin Avenue to Wolff Street in Racine.
Bacterial pollution stems from sewage and sewer overflows as well as general runoff.
Both beaches are marked for restricted recreational use.
Another possible addition for next year is Hood Creek in northwest Mount Pleasant because of its degraded biological community and reduction in fish and invertebrate populations caused by alterations to the creek bed, which is negative for the overall health of the stream but does not directly affect humans.
It was designated as one category of lake and is being changed to another which allows a higher phosphorus level without being designated impaired.
The issue is “legacy phosphorus” or phosphorus that has accumulated on the floor of the inlets that feed into the lake — Eagle Creek, which runs along Church Road and enters the lake from the northwest and Oakcrest Inlet, which runs from the marsh southeast of the lake and passes between Oakcrest Drive and Golf Road.

Moran’s findings clearly are at odds with statements made by Ladysmith City Administrator Al Christianson in his commentary in the News Tribune on Sept. 18, headlined, "Real Flambeau Mine story free of problems." In an effort to advocate for the repeal of Wisconsin’s prove-it-first law for new mines, also known as the mining-moratorium law, Christianson characterized the Flambeau Mine as "environmentally sound," and he wrote that "mining-related problems … didn’t happen."
About that I agreed.
After reviewing the Flambeau Mining Company’s own water quality data, on file with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Moran concluded that, "Flambeau ground and surface water quality is being and has been degraded — despite years of industry public relations statements touting the success of the … operation. Rio Tinto said in a 2013 public relations release regarding the Flambeau Mine: ‘Testing shows conclusively that groundwater quality surrounding the site is as good as it was before mining.’ Unfortunately, the (Flambeau Mining Company) data show otherwise."
The company issued a report in December 2015 acknowledging 45 exceedances of groundwater quality standards in 17 different wells at the Flambeau site.
The water there is highly contaminated.
Moran’s findings were consistent with those of the Wisconsin DNR and EPA in 2012 when they listed a Flambeau River tributary that crosses a section of the mine site as "impaired" due to high copper and zinc concentrations linked to the Flambeau Mine.

Your Views: Factory farms threaten state’s drinking water.
Factory farms have turned dairy cows into machines and are producing more excrement than Wisconsin’s landscape can handle.
In Kewaunee County, up to 60 percent of the drinking water wells are contaminated.
This is not Wisconsin farming.
The manure is typically flushed out with water so its volume is multiplied several times over and then channeled into holding tanks or open pit lagoons.
Operators don’t just apply the waste once but over and over as these are animal factories producing excrement in huge volumes.
By repeatedly dumping liquid and solid manure on these fields, an underground sewage system exists that contaminates waterways and ultimately drinking water wells.
Scott Walker to declare “No more CAFOs.
No more using Wisconsin’s land, water and air as a manure pit.”
Elkhorn

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Secretary Cathy Stepp is leaving the agency to become deputy administrator in a regional office of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
During Stepp’s six-year tenure at DNR, fines for environmental violations dwindled, and the EPA twice stepped in to spur department action after residents complained of problems like manure-contaminated drinking water.
“Of the seven DNR secretaries I have known, she clearly had the worst record in terms of standing up for protection of natural resources, whether it was water, air, or fish and wildlife,” said George Meyer, a former DNR secretary who now directs the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation.
In an email to staff and a press release, Stepp cited a department reorganization and “the customer service ethic we watched flourish in our staff” as accomplishments.
Under Stepp, enforcement of environmental violations has declined, vacant staff positions increased and both the EPA and the state audit bureau have pressed the DNR to remedy deficiencies in water quality programs.
When Barack Obama was president, the EPA twice intervened at Stepp’s DNR in response to petitions from Wisconsin citizens and conservation groups over water pollution problems.
“What really worries me is that if the EPA is hiring people like Cathy Stepp, will it do that in our region, too?” Meyer said.
Full-time DNR staffing has declined since the 1990s, including cuts by Democratic Gov.
Stepp, 54, is a Wisconsin native who was highly critical of the DNR when she represented a Racine district in the state Senate from 2003 to 2007, and when she worked as a homebuilder.
Thiede, who holds a UW-Stevens Point degree in wildlife biology, served as a DNR land administrator, customer service supervisor and wildlife manager before Walker appointed him deputy secretary in 2015.

Smith, The Water Council announce BREW Corporate technology challenge winner.
Municipal water sensors.
Nanolytix is a pioneer in artificial intelligence and sensor technologies for water quality detection applications.
"We’re excited about the prospective opportunities to partner with the Nanolytix team alongside A. O. Smith engineers at the Corporate Technology Center and the Global Water Center," notes Dr. Robert Heideman, chief technology officer at A. O. Smith Corporation.
The Business, Research, Entrepreneurship in Wisconsin (BREW) Corporate challenge focused on four areas of interest to A. O. Smith: water purification, water heating, sensors, and innovative technologies.
"We felt Nanolytix and their unique sensor technology would be a good investment for both A. O. Smith and The Water Council," Heideman continued.
In addition to the investment, the winning entrepreneurs receive: A suite in the Global Water Center for up to 12 months; Business model and operations training through The Water Council and the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Institute for Water Business; access to the Global Water Center’s Flow Lab and A. O. Smith product engineering labs; mentorship from A. O. Smith corporate development and senior engineering staff, as well as direct access to BREW Preferred Partners; attendance to conferences and pitch sessions with The Water Council; and a one-year membership to The Water Council providing access to an extensive water technology network.
About BREW Accelerator Launched in 2013 by The Water Council, the BREW (Business – Research – Entrepreneurship – In Wisconsin) Accelerator unleashes water innovation by funding water technology startups from around the world with commercialization potential.
About Nanolytix Nanolytix is a global leader in rapid testing technology in the areas of water and air.
About A. O. Smith A. O. Smith Corporation, with headquarters in Milwaukee, Wis., is a global leader applying innovative technology and energy-efficient solutions to products manufactured and marketed worldwide.

Wisconsin Farmers Celebrate Move Toward Ending WOTUS Rule.
Several Wisconsin agriculture organizations say they’re relieved the United States Environmental Protection Agency has moved one step closer to removing the controversial Waters of the United States rule.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order in February directing the EPA to begin the process of withdrawing the WOTUS rule.
On Tuesday, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt put forth a proposal to take back the Obama-era rule.
This is the first step of many to repeal and replace the regulation, according to the The New York Times.
Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation President Jim Holte said WOTUS regulations would have been a burden on producers in the state.
Holte said there are more logical ways to protect water resources that are not as "invasive" for farmers.
"Our members are clear in the fact that we want to remain stewards of the land and the water, and ensure that clean water is available today and for future generations.
Levendofsky said some WFU members are concerned removing WOTUS will lead to further cuts to water protections in the EPA.
He was one of more than 20 state attorneys general who called on the EPA to remove the WOTUS rule earlier this month.

Wisconsin Farmers Asked To Help Drought Stricken North Dakota.
Wisconsin farmers are being asked to help drought stricken North Dakota.
Because of the drought, ranchers in North Dakota don’t have enough hay or usable pasture land for their cattle, said Donna Gilson, Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection Secretary spokeswoman.
Wisconsin farmers can help by bringing hay to North Dakota ranchers, or by bringing their cattle to Wisconsin to pasture.
"They haven’t had a lot of precipitation, and they’ve had very high temperatures, high winds, and all those have combined to dry things out pretty well, so that there’s not a lot of hay or forage available right now, and what’s available is not in great condition for their cattle," Gilson said.
The conditions in North Dakota may come as a surprise to some who live in Wisconsin, because of heavy rains here this spring.
"There is a fair amount of the Midwest that is in pretty dry conditions right now.
In a news release, DATCP secretary Ben Brancel said, "Wisconsin farmers have always had big hearts, and this is one more way they can help out their neighbors, even neighbors who are two states away."
Gilson said the rain has been a mixed blessing in Wisconsin.
Storms delayed planting and damaged some crops last week, but others got a jump-start from the wet weather.