Sunday, May 3, 2015

Waukesha water plan OK trigger official's cash bonuses

Waukesha's water utility manager says the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources agrees it has all the information it needs to say "yes" or "no" to the city's plan to divert Lake Michigan water and return it as treated wastewater through the City of Racine's Root River harbor outflow.

The City of Waukesha has been saying for more than five years that DNR approval of the plan was just around the corner, though years of delays also mean the city will miss a court-ordered 2018 water supply deadline and will have to negotiate an extension to avoid fines.

Despite the delays and blown deadlines - - if the DNR green-lights the plan and it wins the other Great Lakes states' mandatory and unanimous approvals to allow the diversion's projected $206 million construction - - revenue sources still not solidly in hand - - the Waukesha city water utility manager is in line for cash bonuses.

Details in the water utility commission minutes of its April, 2012 meeting, here.

The basic problem with the application - - diverted water to aid sprawl, here.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Walkersha will get its water. The rights of the Great Lakes basin will be disregarded. The court-ordered deadline will not be met and there will be no consequences for missing it.

Anonymous said...

It will be a shame if Waukesha is allowed to take water from the Great Lakes region, especially when there are other options. Human waste contains 75% water. This is recoverable and can be made into delicious drinkable water.

Bill Gates has been funding this research. In this short video (less than 2 minutes), Gates drinks a glass of water that was extracted and cleansed from human feces. He says its really really good.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPhrxjUOsv4

Certainly, it is good enough for Waukesha.

Anonymous said...

In addition to other states on the Great Lakes, the compact includes two Canadian provinces, correct? As those are not noted here, they have no vote on this?

Anonymous said...

True - but what if TPP passes?

Anonymous said...

VOTE?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

Don't count on anyone getting a chance to vote on this in a meaningful way.

James Rowen said...

Canadian provinces and First Nations there can advise on an application, but only governors of US Great Lakes states vote on this diversion application.

Anonymous said...

Well we all know what the likes of Scott Walker will do with "advice" from First Nations and Canada -- HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!

Walkersha will get its water and in return will continue to submit impossible vote counts, impossible turnout and margins of republican victory, to continue stealing elections. Walker cannot win his home state, Wisconsin, in a presidential year unless massive fraud allows Milwaukee County to be entirely neutralized with some extra votes to cancel out legitimate returns from other areas that will never support him.

And remember, election fraud is impossible without media complicity, The purpose of all the pro-Walker propaganda is not to sway voters, its to create the lie that a "highly energized base" turns out in impossible numbers to swing elections beyond credibility.

Bill McClenahan said...

You must have a pretty broad definition of "sprawl."

In Waukesha’s service area, only about 15% of the land is available for new development, about 70% of the land is developed and 15% is designated as environmentally protected.

Only 0.5% of the land outside city limits is undeveloped industrial land, and 0.2% is undeveloped commercial land.

Population in the planned water supply service area is expected to grow by 0.5% per year. The service area is projected to be fully developed around 2050.

Anonymous said...

Hey Bill,

How will Waukesha meet the Court Order and Stpulation Agreement to be radium complian by 2018?

Has Waukesha has filed a letter of force majeure with 4 days of such a claim with the DNR as required in the settlement? All I've read is a plan to request an extension if all the approvals are met.

Looks to me like a basis for a complaint of contempt to the DOJ.

I don't think everyone should be too concerned about this application. There are multiple errors and omissions that would be career ruining if this flawed application ever leaves the DNR.


Of course the utility manager will laugh all the way to the bank, the person whom negotiated his contract is living in Florida, and the idiots who believed this contrived fairy tale are going to be feeling really, really, really stupid.

Anonymous said...

anon 1:30

Unless Scott Walker, by hook-or-crook, becomes President. Remember what happened the last time we had a lame-duck Democratic administration (hint: 2000).

Not only did the SCOTUS appoint Bush president, even though he lost the election because Al Gore won Florida (http://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/jan/29/uselections2000.usa), but the SCOTUS actually ruled that in a democracy you cannot tell who wins an election by counting the votes!

2016, which will have Scott Walker on the ballot, will make 2000 seem like the very model of democracy.

neroden@gmail said...

There is no way in hell that Waukesha will be allowed to steal Great Lakes water.

Scott Walker will of course give Wisconsin's approval... but nobody in New York or Pennsylvania or Minnesota or Illinois owes Scott Walker or Michigan anything. They will mostly likely simply turn down the application flat. I would expect rejections from Ohio and Michigan as well. And Ontario and Quebec will recommend rejection.

If Wisconsin decides to break the Great Lakes Compact, then Wisconsin would be in big trouble. The other seven states could take Walker directly to the Supreme Court (no wasting time in lower courts) for violating an interstate compact.