836                           WISCONSN BLuI BOOK 1997 - 1998



or licensed, and existing ones should not have their licenses extended. The
power generated by nuclear plants in Wis-
consin should be replaced with reduced demand (conservation) and renewable
energy. Workers at closing nuclear
plants should be re-trained and given top priority for jobs at Wisconsin's
new wind farms.
   Nuclear waste must be kept out of the waste stream and regional high level
nuclear waste dumps must not be lo-
cated in Wisconsin.
   Transportation: New vehicles must have higher average miles per gallon
requirements and stricter emission con-
trol requirements. Wisconsin should impose "gas guzzler" taxes
and renewable fuel and "gas sipper" rebates. Fuel
needs should be met with renewables least damaging to the environment.
   Further major new highway construction should be delayed until adequate
need has been demonstrated and full
consideration given to alternatives such as mass transit, light rail, high
speed rail, commuter rail, bicycling and walk-
ing. Cost benefit analyses must account for the full social and environmental
costs of all transportation alternatives
and should encourage compact urban and suburban land use patterns to facilitate
public transportation.
   An elected, citizen oversight board should set highway policy, in place
of the current Governor-appointed Trans-
portation Projects Commission. Financial interest in projects should disqualify
people from serving on the board.
   Utilities: State laws and regulations should support local ownership of
utilities. This will increase public account-
ability in energy decisions, reduce costs, and give citizens a personal stake
in conservation. Electric power should be
decentralized as much as possible, and an emphasis placed on meeting future
demand through conservation and local
renewable power generation.
D. Mining
   Moratorium: There must be moratorium on metallic mining in Wisconsin until
the full impacts are more fully
documented. Mining in wetlands and on all state lands must be banned. Sulfide
ore mining should be prohibited until
technologies are developed for effectively dealing with acid mine drainage.
   Mining law reform: Current mining laws must be strengthened by preventing
DNR rules from granting variances
to many important environmental criteria. Mining of ore deposits must be
carried out with complete protection of the
air, surface and ground waters and wildlife, and with respect for sacred
sites and medicines of Native Americans.
   Mining companies must have no violations of federal, state or local environmental
and workplace safety laws in
this or other jurisdictions before being granted permits to mine in Wisconsin.
   All future mining projects must be preceded by local and regional impact
statements. Mining companies must
prove that their activities will have no adverse impacts on the environment
or a local economy before being granted
a permit. Local units of government may ban mining activities within their
jurisdictions by local ordinance, notwith-
standing state laws permitting mining activities. Mining companies should
be taxed on the net value of their holdings,
not on net profits from extracted ore.
   Mineral recycling: To the greatest extent possible, Wisconsin's needs
for minerals should be met through recycl-
ing.
E. The Natural Environment
   Although we forget it sometimes, our natural environment is where we live.
We have no other choice, so we'd better
take care of it. No one has a right to hurt all of us by destroying our home
for their profit.
   Water & Air: Commercial practices which pollute or degrade air and
water resources must be ended through sub-
stitution of nonpolluting alternatives. The use of pollution credits to curb
industrial air and water pollution is inade-
quate, since it implies that industry has an inherent right to degrade the
environment.
   State initiatives to accelerate conservation and reduce the release of
hydrocarbons and other gases that contribute
to global warming; to completely eliminate industrial gases that deplete
the ozone layer; and to control industrial emis-
sions that contribute to acid rain must be instituted immediately.
   The current DNR water quality rules must be amended to require absolute
nondegradation of existing water bodies,
rather than allowing for zones of dilution, mixing zones, and for increasing
pollution of water bodies up to maximum
contaminant levels (MCL's). DNR rule 182.075, which allows pollution of groundwater
to MCL levels by mining
projects must be repealed.
   Further restriction by DNR for designation of Outstanding Resource Waters
(ORW) must be reversed. State agen-
cies must inventory the water quality in Wisconsin lakes and rivers and take
all measures needed to reduce nonpoint-
and point sources of pollution.
   More stringent enforcement and monitoring of surface water pollution by
the DNR, and changing surface water
pollution levels to conform to those for groundwater, must be required.
   Mandatory rather than voluntary controls over nonpoint pollution sources
such as construction sites, street runoff,
agricultural soil erosion and fertilizer, and pesticides must be implemented.
There must be state wide standards for
landfill siting and construction. The state must provide educational and
material assistance to those who will have
difficulty meeting new standards.
   Conservation and restoration: We must learn to appreciate and respect
native prairies, forest and wetland flora
 and fauna, and support the reintroduction of indigenous plant and animal
life where it has dwindled or been lost. We
 support the preservation and restoration of remnant native plant communities
to maximize ecological diversity, and
 to foster an understanding and appreciation of our state's unique ecosystems.
   State and federal wildlife agencies must preserve and reestablish habitat
for native Wisconsin wildlife and plants.
Drainage of wetlands and development of lake and river shorelines should
be severely restricted.