Environmental Policy Forum: Striking
the Balance for 2003 and Beyond
March 17, 2003
Monona Terrace Convention Center, Madison, WI
Striking the Balance for 2003 and Beyond brought together leaders from the legislature and the Doyle administration, as well as an audience of over 140 representatives of business, government, and citizen groups, to discuss the challenge of effectively addressing the state's environmental priorities while also growing the economy and managing the state budget.
Read the EVENT SUMMARY
Listen to the AUDIO RECORDING
Follow-up Opportunities
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SPONSORED BY:
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WISBUSINESS.COM
Wisconsin Realtors Association
Wisconsin Technology Council
Welcome & opening remarks by John Imes, WEI Executive Director
Introduction by Tom Still, Moderator
Scott Hassett, Secretary, Department of Natural Resources
Senator Neal Kedzie, Chair, Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee
Rod Nilsestuen, Secretary, Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection
Representative Mark Miller, Assembly Natural Resources Committee
Senator Robert Cowles, Chair, Senate Energy and Utilities Committee
Peter Bock, Administrator, Division of Energy
Q&A with panelists and audience
Closing remarks by Jennifer Wilfrid, Environmental Policy Forum Program Director
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EVENT SUMMARY
Environmental Policy Forum - Striking the Balance for 2003 and Beyond
March 17, 2003
Striking the Balance for 2003 and Beyond brought together leaders from
the legislature and the Doyle administration, as well as an audience of over 140
representatives of business, government, and citizen groups, to discuss the
challenge of effectively addressing the state's environmental priorities while
also growing the economy and managing the state budget.
The purpose of the event was to provide an opportunity for legislators and new
agency secretaries to share their ideas on how to focus limited resources over
the next four years to ensure that environmental goals continue to be met.
Opening remarks by John Imes, Executive Director of Wisconsin Environmental
Initiative, emphasized WEI’s belief that "the most effective, enduring
solutions to environmental issues occur through inclusive and collaborative
processes." Imes added, "We’re advocates for a collaborative process,...working
directly with business, with builders, with developers, and with citizens that
want to make the investment in technology, practice and mindset and ‘do well by
doing good.’"
PANEL PRESENTATION
Tom Still, President of the Wisconsin Technology Council and the former
associate editor of the Wisconsin State Journal, introduced and moderated a
panel presentation including:
Scott Hassett, Secretary, Department of Natural Resources
Rod Nilsestuen, Secretary, Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer
Protection
Senator Neal Kedzie, Chair, Senate Environment and Natural Resources
Committee
Senator Rob Cowles, Chair, Senate Energy and Utilities Committee
Representative Mark Miller, Assembly Natural Resources Committee
Peter Bock, Administrator, Division of Energy
Panel members were asked to: 1) identify their top environmental priorities over
the next four years and 2) share ideas for addressing those priorities given the
need to improve Wisconsin’s economy while tackling a $3.2 billion dollar
deficit.
Priorities mentioned included water policy issues, land use, stewardship,
recycling, managing toxins, wildlife health, and a number of reform issues such
as Green Tier.
Full remarks can be heard on the
audio recording.
Q & A
Following the presentation, panel members responded to several questions
from the audience.
1) Will Green Tier pass this session? What do you need to do to get companies to
step up?
2) There are proposals to substantially reduce the amount of dollars in the
Wisconsin Stewardship Fund. Do you believe those reductions will be made?
3) Is there really such a thing as clean energy? Realistically, how much can we
hope for in terms of renewable energy in the state’s portfolio over time?
4) How can we trust business to self-audit accurately and appropriately,
especially if DNR oversight staff are cut? Is the political will really there to
make the conceptual changes in how the DNR regulates? Can they make the leap to
a new way of doing business?
5) Are you concerned about a move to privatize water resources? Could this
happen in Wisconsin?
6) Do you think the Smart Growth Law is going to survive? Is it going to be
implemented over time? Are you concerned that there’s a backlash on Smart
Growth?
7) Can the state’s recycling plan continue, given market realities? The sense is
that it’s not paying for itself - it’s not meeting the market test.
8) What impact could campaign finance reform have on the environmental policy
making process?
AUDIENCE SURVEY RESPONSES
In closing Tom Still summarized the outcomes of the survey, in which
event participants provided their answers to the same questions that were asked
of panelists: 1) What are your organization’s top environmental priorities
over the next four years? and 2) What are your ideas for addressing those
priorities, given the need to improve Wisconsin’s economy while tackling a $3.2
billion dollar budget deficit?
Issues mentioned the most included groundwater, water quality and supply, air
quality, emissions reductions, the Smart Growth law, the Stewardship Fund, and
regulatory reform measures such as Green Tier and voluntary partnerships. Below
are some ideas that participants mentioned for addressing these key priorities:
Improve government efficiency/effectiveness through better coordination among
state agencies (DNR, DOC, Tourism, DATCP, PECFA program); agencies should
prioritize efforts, be timelier and more results oriented; privatize functions
if possible to save money and achieve environmental benefit. Some ideas:
- combine DNR and DOC PECFA administration to save time and money
- fund small beach/lakeshore clean-up projects in Milwaukee to reduce bacteria
counts, keep beaches open, and aid tourism/summer events
- realign staff and programs to manage environmental protection issues for
results
- direct funds towards natural resource benefit first, administration second
- reduce government red-tape that does not add environmental value
- DNR/DOT interagency coordination on comprehensive land use planning
- Remove overlaps in government regulation, i.e. local land use regulations and
state environmental regulations
- Remove barriers to reuse including building codes written for new construction
and shoreland zoning that prohibits reasonable reuse of property
- Restoration of DNR Board appointment of DNR Secretary
Provide flexibility and incentives, simplify permitting and compliance
requirements for model businesses and developments. Offer incentives to catalyze
improved business environmental performance. Some ideas:
- develop an effective and efficient permitting process that provides the
regulatory public with a greater level of certainty
- multi emission strategies
- fees on fertilizers and pesticides to pay for non-point pollution program
- fairer allocation of motor boat gas taxes to DNR water programs
- work with developers on best practices which protect environment and enhance
developments
- shift regulatory burden to private sector and professional engineers with
contract and insurance accountability
- use economic drivers to spur environmental benefits (e.g. Paul Hawken, Natural
Capitalism book)
- Position Wisconsin’s economic development efforts on creating new materials
and technologies to shift manufacturing to sustainable production methods.
- tackle the problem of waste in Wisconsin through extended producer
responsibility - shift the responsibility from taxpayers and government to those
who create the waste in the first place
- Make permitting of environmentally beneficial projects less costly, more
efficient
- New latitude/flexibility for top performing companies
- Provide resources to support, expedite permitting of facilities
- Encourage responsible use of our resources in forestry management, promote
biotechnology, ethanol, bio crops, etc.
Develop effective partnerships between the state, federal government,
businesses and non-profit groups to leverage funds and matching grants for
natural resource acquisition (e.g. Stewardship Fund) and environmental
initiatives.
- environmentalists and businesses need to work together to find new and
innovative ways to decrease air emissions
- maintain current funding for the Stewardship fund
- exempt capital gains for sale of land for conservation purposes
- exempt use-value property taxation
- carefully consider proposals in the Conservation Briefing Booklet published by
the Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters
- recognize Stewardship and its acquisitions as a key foundation and investment
in the economy (tourism, pulp and paper, printing, agriculture, etc.)
Keep agriculture profitable and environmentally sound.
- exempt use-value property taxation
- ensure Wisconsin farmers have financial aids to install environmental
practices
- "grow" agriculture with the support of urban constituents and
environmentalists
- continue the effort represented in the Wisconsin Agricultural Stewardship
Initiative to understand the environmental and economic impacts of agricultural
systems and ways to address negative impacts
Emphasize Smart Growth to reduce costs, impacts of sprawling developments.
- keep funding planning grants for communities to do comprehensive planning
- "fix it first" transportation policy
- interagency discussion on comprehensive land use planning
- use DNR regional staff and DOT district staff to support comprehensive
planning efforts
- assess effectiveness of comprehensive land use planning law; consider
including performance standards in each element
- make decisions on transportation that reflect sustainability of existing
infrastructure - take a hard look at whether new proposals are feasible and
whether needs analysis is reflecting realities of economic times
- incorporate density into the shared revenue formula to reward communities that
grow in a more compact manner
- promote "skinny street" ordinances and other low-impact development ideas
- maximize re-use of existing building stock
- work with governments (both state and local) to implement more land-efficient
land use regulations, including concepts of "low-impact development"
Secure Wisconsin’s energy future in a way that is good for the Wisconsin
business community and good for the environment. Focus on emissions reductions.
Emphasize greater investment in energy efficiency by state government,
businesses and citizens. Examples:
- slash $90 million dollar annual energy by $30 million with demand-side
management initiatives
- tax incentives for energy efficiency and conservation
- spur economic development through development of energy efficiency and
renewable energy businesses and deployment
- create energy efficiency portfolio standard
- full funding of "public benefits" (Focus on Energy program)
- increase energy efficiency in new commercial building construciton
- create a carbon sequestration movement in Wisconsin
- increase DNR Air Management permit fees
- retire old coal-fired plants
- in lieu of providing financial incentives to reduce pollution, rely more on
prohibitions and comparable mandates
- renovate our center/ campus in Madison to include renewable energy
- reconcile the "perceived" energy-environment conflict
- implement newest ozone standards
- allow markets to push/ pull additional renewable resource generation on line.
- support sustainable, ongoing energy policy - not short-term programs that have
splash but no lasting effect
- use balanced data and a regional view in setting numeric goals for emissions
and energy efficiency
- air pollution must be seen as a detriment to business, quality of life, and a
deterrent to attracting and retaining new workers
- environmentalists and businesses need to work together to find new and
innovative ways to decrease air emissions
Focus on state water policies to address issues related to groundwater
withdrawal, water quality and supply, implementation of nonpoint best management
practices, and managing in-state water usage.
- give DNR explicit authority to deny/ approve high-capacity well permits
- prevent erosion of wetland laws
- assure funding for nonpoint pollution regulations
- managing in-state water usage
- unregulated groundwater withdrawals threaten surface water flows and drinking
water quality. Surface water protection is critical for maintaining and
improving our tourist economy.
- work with USGS researchers on long-term strategy for water resources
- focus on water quality improvement
- maintain capacity for regionally-directed water quality planning in areas
designated for water quality by DNR
- increase in the motorboat fuel excise tax amount to go to water and soil
resources
Follow-up
In order to continue the dialogue, WEI has launched an
online discussion board
as a follow-up to this event. More information on the results of the survey and
other questions from the audience that we didn’t have time to address will be
posted on the discussion board. In addition, the interactive format will allow
you to post responses and suggest new topics of discussion related to addressing
environmental priorities in the current budget situation. Set up your user
account at
www.wi-ei.org/discussion.htm.
