Dear Concerned Citizens,  

In the weeks ahead we will wrap up the debate over the high capacity well bill centered on the repair, replacement, reconstruction and transfer of well ownership. Through the last four+ years and three legislative sessions we have held up this concept while searching for a balanced answer. My personal opinion is that this issue is so emotionally charged on both sides that there may never be a bill everyone agrees to. My job goes above and beyond personal opinion and having spent four years on the issue I’ve had the chance to talk to just about everyone who has a concern on one side or another.

There are things that I know to be the truth. First, we do have decades of study and scientific research. They all sit on my basement bar, 8 feet long, 4 feet wide full of studies and information. I also know that there is not one of those studies that can tell me which wells cause drawdowns to a body of water. There is no need to stop all high capacity well permitting, absolutely none. There is a need to mitigate the damaging effects of some wells near certain bodies of water. That is where the public trust doctrine states we MUST act. We will in this bill preserve the public trust, the public’s right to use water is not undermined in this bill.

The updated study area creates modeling of the area similar to what we authorized in 2013 for the Little Plover River. The link to the completed study is also available. Please head to http://wgnhs.uwex.edu/little-plover-river-groundwater-model/ for more information. This information is crucial to give legislators scientific real time data on the bodies of water in the area designated. It is also imperative to arm citizen groups with expensive scientific study that they otherwise could not afford as a tool in holding judicial, bureaucratic, and legislative feet to the fire.

We chose the study area based on information received from UWSP and the Wisconsin Geological Survey. The map here shows the areas of drawdown within the Central Sands. The less impacted areas of the sands are in blue, the more impacted in yellow, orange and black. While my goal is a study of the entire Central Sands, I understand that would take much longer and delay getting the information I need to create regional regulation for the most affected areas.  It is best to deal with the biggest problems in the shortest amount of time.

As you can see a large area of the Central Sands experiences little to no drawdown effects. The area impacted most,south of Plover through Almond to Plainfield, contains a massive number of high capacity wells and has the lakes we all see in pictures as being dried up. Long Lake, Plainfield Lake, the Two Lakes area in Almond, Fish and Pine Lakes in the Hancock area, etc. The modeling and evaluation in the bill are the key to unlocking site specific regulation and in creating authority for DNR to mitigate issues through Sensitive Resource Areas or other management we will create post modeling.

It isn’t just kicking the can down the road. Based on the work with the Little Plover we are seeing legislative steps to deal with problems there.  Through the last four years we also see industry becoming much more proactive and being a partner in solving problems. This amended bill will likely further that effort.

The repair, replacement, reconstruction portion has been well vetted and agreed upon by every group I have spoken with for years. The request they have is to include a periodic review. My position on that is that DNR already in current law has that authority and that ability in 281.34(7). It states DNR has the authority to modify or rescind the approval because the high capacity well or the use of the high capacity well is not in conformance with standards or conditions applicable to the approval of the high capacity well. I can’t give more authority than what is already given. State Statute has page upon page of current law regarding high capacity well approval.

I offered to write another amendment dealing with limiting the transfer of ownership in some way but no one from either side of the discussion showed any interest in that provision. Current law requires notification upon transfer and this bill requires the same. 

In the end this amended version reaches the goals I set out to accomplish by creating a balanced bill with wins for both sides through collaboration and compromise. I am sure we will have more discussions in the future on high capacity wells, but for now I will vote to move this bill forward and can continue working on solutions.

Sincerely,

Representative Scott Krug