On Tuesday, January 14, the Wisconsin Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a lawsuit that could limit the state’s ability to hold polluters accountable for cleaning up the pollution they cause.
The case, brought by Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC) against the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR), seeks to undermine the DNR’s authority to regulate PFAS and other hazardous substances under Wisconsin’s Spills Law.
For more than four years, Midwest Environmental Advocates has been fighting to make sure WMC doesn’t succeed in gutting this critical environmental health protection.
In November, MEA filed an amicus brief with the State Supreme Court warning that a victory for WMC could have devastating consequences for public health and natural resources in Wisconsin. We filed the brief on behalf of River Alliance of Wisconsin, Clean Water Action Council of Northeast Wisconsin, Wisconsin Environmental Health Network (WEHN), and former Marinette mayor Doug Oitzinger.
The Spills Law gives the state authority to hold polluters accountable in places like Marinette, where Tyco is responsible for causing one of the worst sites of PFAS contamination anywhere in the country.
As we outlined in our amicus brief, the Wisconsin Department of Justice is prosecuting Tyco for violating the Spills Law, and the outcome could turn on the decision of the Wisconsin Supreme Court in this case. But the impact of WMC’s attack on the Spills Law could be even broader than helping Tyco and other PFAS polluters avoid responsibility.
If the Court accepts the legal theory WMC is advancing, it could upend the longstanding implementation of the Spills Law by forcing the DNR to go through a lengthy administrative rulemaking process before it could take action to address any toxic spill.
TUNE INTO THE LIVESTREAM: MEA attorneys and our clients will be in the courtroom on Tuesday. Oral arguments will begin at 9:45 a.m. and will be livestreamed on WisconsinEye.
