Successfully Cleaning Up the Fox River
Friends,
Believe it or not, there are
other things going on in Wisconsin besides the Budget Repair Bill! Next
week, the Legislature will be back in session to pass the remaining portion
of the original bill that we were forced to delay, as well as other bills to
get our citizens back to work in Wisconsin. We seem to see stories every
week of businesses coming to and opening up shop in Wisconsin. The recent
news of Caterpillar contemplating leaving Illinois is another sign that
raising taxes like Illinois is doing is the exact opposite of what you
should be doing to foster a good business climate.
On a more local level, the Department of Natural Resources released a report
on Wednesday highlighting the successful clean up of PCBs in the Fox River.
PCB levels are down 73 percent in walleye in the Lake Butte des Morts.
That's a level that otherwise would have taken 15 to 20 years to achieve
naturally if nothing had been done.
If the same level is confirmed next year through sampling the PCB advisory
for walleyes would be relaxed for this stretch of the river. This would make
the fishery safe to eat, which has always been the goal.
More than 784,000 cubic yards of PCB contaminated sediment was removed,
covered with an engineered cap or sand cover. Work was completed in May
2009, and the main staging area has been restored to include native upland
plants, wetlands and a meandering stream, according to Gary Kincaid, a DNR
engineer involved in oversight of the project.
Also, the average PCB levels in the sediment has been reduced by 94 percent
in the project area, achieving the cleanup goal, and the PCB level in the
water is down significantly as compared to the expected levels had the
project not been done.
Veterans Capitol Rally
The Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs
is hosting a Capitol Rally and Legislative Day on April 13. The
Veterans Rally is an opportunity for all veterans’ advocates to network with
friends and colleagues, meet with members of the Wisconsin State
Legislature, and rally in support of veterans issues. Attendees can register
online at www.wisvets.com/rally.
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