Environmental activist and blogger Jim Rowen is urging people to attend one of several public meetings on future uses of Lake Michigan water being held this week.
He writes:
People will be able to attend focus group meetings ...to help guide a very important, fast-moving study looking at a question whose relevance to our region and shared experience cannot be overstated: what are the effects on our hyper-segregated region of transferring Lake Michigan water to Waukesha and other communities outside of Milwaukee - - thus what are the economic opportunities that water can offer to residents and businesses across a region with Milwaukee at its core?
The focus group opportunity arose because local activists joined successfully with a relatively new entity, the Environmental Justice Task Force attached to the regional planning commission (SEWRPC) and forced the agency at the 11th hour to hold its narrowly-drawn water supply draft recommendations in abeyance (SEWRPC leaders had considered the study virtually completed, and had already sent it out for public meetings) until it researched whether there would be so-called "socio-economic" impacts in the region if Lake Michigan water were indeed piped to Waukesha and elsewhere.
The focus group meetings are scheduled as follows:
Monday 2/8 1:30pm Early Afternoon meeting (1:30pm)
Waukesha County Administration Building
515 W. Moreland Blvd Room AC 255
Waukesha WI
Wednesday 2/10 4:30 PM Early Evening Meeting (4:30 PM) NEW SITE/TIME
Washington Park Library on Sherman Blvd
2121 North Sherman Boulevard
Milwaukee, WI
Thursday 2/11 1:30 PM Early Afternoon meeting (1:30 pm) Parking passes provided by UWM
University of Wisconsin Milwaukee
Union - Room 181
2200 E. Kenwood Blvd
Milwaukee WI
Waukesha is applying to the eight Great Lakes states for a precedent-setting Lake Michigan diversion, and the Waukesha draft diversion application released about a week ago acknowledges that some of the water is ticketed to large-scale annexations and population growth projected to its south and west.
Overall, Waukesha County is projected to achieve far-fasater job expansion than Milwaukee County - - trends being made worse by the recession.
Had the Environmental Justice Task Force not forced SEWRPC to hire an independent socio-economic consultant - - even so late in its water supply study process (it could have added this component anytime since it began its study in 2005) - - the agency would have by now approved its draft, pro-diversion recommendations, and Waukesha would have been running with the SEWRPC pro-diversion report as Exhibit "A" to validate its draft diversion application: in fact, at the release of the draft application last week, during a Q&A session, I pointed out that the Waukesha draft application in fact erroneously in a bold-faced color box on p. 45 said SEWRPC had "recommended" the diversion plan.
The water supply study is currently in hiatus as it awaits the socio-economic report - - and those findings may force a rewrite or reinterpretation of the entire SEWRPC water supply study.
Waukesha officials agreed to amend its application documentation to accurately reflect that no final SEWRPC diversion recommendation has been made.
UWM's Center for Economic Development - - http://www4.uwm.edu/ced/ - - was chosen by SEWRPC to complete its socio-economic research in a mere 90 days, so there is a short time line to take advantage of a rare opportunity for direct public input into a SEWRPC study - - arguably the most important such study in a long time.
Having pushed hard for this SEWRPC procedural reform and new research initiative, it behooves us to attend, and bring friends, contacts and networks to these focus groups, and to urge that water transfers not be recommended lightly, and certainly be seen by all parties in their broadest possible context.
We need to emphasize that water is a both a resource held in trust for the entire public, and a key and growing form of wealth, and that adding it to already more relatively upscale suburban and exurban communities without related, regional and real improvements to transit, affordable housing, and job opportunities will exacerbate the economic and racial disparities that have made our region one of the most segregated and self-restrained in the country.
Participation in the focus group will include clarification of and a brief discussion on the recommendations set forth in the RWSP, and participation in a SWOT Analysis to identify any Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats that the recommendations may have on populations within Southeastern Wisconsin.
# Strengths: attributes of the plan or recommendations that are helpful to achieving the objective.
#Weaknesses: attributes of the plan that are harmful to achieving the objective.
#Opportunities: external conditions that are helpful to achieving the objective.
#Threats: external conditions which could do damage to the objective.
Please contact Randy Crump at Prism or Catherine Madison at CED if you would like to participate in one of the focus groups or if you have any questions.
* Randy’s contact information is rcrump@prismtechical.com or (414) 847-0990 ext. 104.
* Catherine’s contact information is cmadison@uwm.edu or (414) 229-6155.
More information regarding the Socio-Economic Impact Analysis for the Regional Water Supply Plan can be found on the CED Website at http://www4.uwm.edu/ced/sewrpc/index.cfm
More information regarding the recommendations set forth in the preliminary draft of the Regional Water Supply Plan can be found on the SEWRPC Website at http://www.sewrpc.org/watersupplystudy/pdfs/pr-052_chapter-09_preliminary_draft.pdf
Showing posts with label Lake Michigan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lake Michigan. Show all posts
Monday, February 8, 2010
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Crossroads' columns
I was among several local economists who authored a piece on the recession and state budget deficit featured in the Milwaukee Journal Crossroads section today. It is linked.
Barbara Miner, a frequent Crossroads' contributor and award winning MATC photography grad, also has a very thoughtful piece on the importance of preserving Lake Michigan and Waukesha's drive to to use the water.
Barbara Miner, a frequent Crossroads' contributor and award winning MATC photography grad, also has a very thoughtful piece on the importance of preserving Lake Michigan and Waukesha's drive to to use the water.
World unemployment greatest threat to U.S. security
The New York times reports that unemployment is soaring worldwide.
- Worldwide job losses could hit 50 million by the end of 2009
- Even highly skilled, white collar workers are being laid off
- The International Monetary Fund expects global economic growth to reach its lowest point since the Great Depression
- High unemployment rates have already led to protests in Latvia, Chile, Greece, Bulgaria and Finland and strikes in Britain and France.
- The United States Director of Intelligence, Dennis C. Blair, informed Congress that the instability caused by the global recession has become the nation's biggest security threat, outpacing terrorism.
It's hard to take the Republicans' new found fiscal conservatism seriously since the 2001 tax cuts they enacted cost $1.3 trillion and the preemptive war they unanimously supported is projected to cost $3 trillion, significantly more the stimulus package.
In 2003 anyone who opposed the invasion of Iraq was accused of being unpatriotic.What does this say about those who voted against the stimulus package now that the greatest threat to U.S. security is rising unemployment?
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Regional Cooperation, Lake Michigan and the Great Lakes Basin
The enthusiastic embrace of regional cooperation by Southeastern Wisconsin's business and political elites has been as surprising as it was abrupt. Various explanations have been offered to explain this radical departure from generations of suburban/urban competition.
Now we know it was in the water!
To be precise it is the radium in Waukesha's water. Radium is carcinogenic so New Berlin and much of Waukesha want to get their hands on Lake Michigan's clean water.
If anyone doubted this, New Berlin Mayor Jack Chiovater's response to a recent Department of Natural Resource (DNR) ruling that New Berlin can begin negotiating with Milwaukee over access to Lake Michigan Water should erase all doubts. In reaction to the DNR's letter the Mayor said: "We applaud the DNR's decision today and look forward to working in the spirit of regional cooperation with Milwaukee."
The DNR letter came only a week after the Journal Sentinel editorial board had urged the department to support the New Berlin’s request to divert Lake Michigan water outside the Great Lakes Basin to meet its water needs.
Jim Rowen who has posted a wonderful series of articles on his blog about the Great Lakes, which constitute one sixth of the world’s fresh water supply, points out that this is not the DNR’s decision to make. Milwaukee cannot send water west of the subcontinental divide under current federal policy.
Before any Lake Michigan water is diverted the Wisconsin legislature needs to approve legislation supporting the Great Lakes Compact, an agreement between the eight Great Lakes states and two Canadian provinces, which clarifies the criteria for diverting water outside the basin. Among the proposed criteria is that communities requesting diversion must demonstrate that they are maximizing water conservation efforts and that they will return the water to the lake watershed.
The DNR letter doesn't change this reality.
The Compact's conservation standards present a problem for New Berlin since the city's Board of Appeals voted 4 to 1 to uphold a Plan Commission's approval of a new $55 million, 7 story, 405 room hotel and water park!
That’s right. I am not kidding you- a community that lacks an adequate supply of clean water recently approved a commercial development anchored by a water park.
Milwaukee’s west side alderman, Michael Murphy, recognized the absurdity of New Berlin's action saying: ”This project is exactly what we don’t need - Lake Michigan water diverted for-commercial entertainment usage that will add to sprawl that has gone unchecked in Waukesha County for years.”
Similar questions should be raised about the Pabst Farms 184 acre upscale regional shopping mall which includes 2 hotels and other housing and commercial developments in western Waukesha and Kenosha County.
Before we back the trucks up to Lake Michigan and begin hauling water out of the Great Lakes Basin we also need to ask who will pay for the infrastructure to send water to New Berlin and other water hungry communities, treat it and return it to the Lake. Currently, Milwaukee's water pipes are undersized and it lacks sufficient pumps to handle the additional demand.
The Journal treats this as a minor annoyance when it writes: "New Berlin is willing to help pay the capital costs....”
help pay???
If New Berlin is only helping, who are they helping cover the costs estimated at between $4 and $8 million?
Does the Journal expect the residents of Milwaukee to subsidize New Berlin's diversion of Lake Michigan water?
For decades the same leaders who have now drunk the regional cooperation Kool Aid rejected Milwaukee's requests to work together to address problems like high poverty rates, racial segregation, inadequate school funding, deindustrialization, the shortage of low and moderate income housing and the need for a modern, comprehensive mass transit system.
As development moved west, critics of sprawl were told that developers were simply responding to the housing preferences of homeowners who preferred a suburban lifestyle. People were voting with their dollars and the market was responding. When Milwaukee asked for help, suburban leaders response was "tough luck." Milwaukee's problems were the city's alone.
The real costs of Southeastern Wisconsin's suburban development were obscured during its early stages. Taxes were initially much much lower because new suburban developments require less infrastructure and social service investment than a mature, urban area like Milwaukee. Property values are also much higher. Sometimes, as in the case of the $20 million interchange needed for the Pabst Farms regional mall, developers ignored or hid the costs until after their project was approved.
But once a critical mass of population, housing and commercial development occurs, infrastructure costs including new roads, new schools and access to clean drinking water, as well as the need for expanded services such as police and fire protection, emerge.
Now that the real costs of sprawl are coming home to roost in the form of radium in Waukesha's water, is the plan, in the words of former Governor Thompson, "to stick it to Milwaukee" one more time?
Milwaukee borders one of the world's most valuable water resources. Our elected officials and citizenry must be responsible stewards of this resource. The first step is getting the legislature to sign the Great Lakes Compact. New Berlin's water park can wait!
Now we know it was in the water!
To be precise it is the radium in Waukesha's water. Radium is carcinogenic so New Berlin and much of Waukesha want to get their hands on Lake Michigan's clean water.
If anyone doubted this, New Berlin Mayor Jack Chiovater's response to a recent Department of Natural Resource (DNR) ruling that New Berlin can begin negotiating with Milwaukee over access to Lake Michigan Water should erase all doubts. In reaction to the DNR's letter the Mayor said: "We applaud the DNR's decision today and look forward to working in the spirit of regional cooperation with Milwaukee."
The DNR letter came only a week after the Journal Sentinel editorial board had urged the department to support the New Berlin’s request to divert Lake Michigan water outside the Great Lakes Basin to meet its water needs.
Jim Rowen who has posted a wonderful series of articles on his blog about the Great Lakes, which constitute one sixth of the world’s fresh water supply, points out that this is not the DNR’s decision to make. Milwaukee cannot send water west of the subcontinental divide under current federal policy.
Before any Lake Michigan water is diverted the Wisconsin legislature needs to approve legislation supporting the Great Lakes Compact, an agreement between the eight Great Lakes states and two Canadian provinces, which clarifies the criteria for diverting water outside the basin. Among the proposed criteria is that communities requesting diversion must demonstrate that they are maximizing water conservation efforts and that they will return the water to the lake watershed.
The DNR letter doesn't change this reality.
The Compact's conservation standards present a problem for New Berlin since the city's Board of Appeals voted 4 to 1 to uphold a Plan Commission's approval of a new $55 million, 7 story, 405 room hotel and water park!
That’s right. I am not kidding you- a community that lacks an adequate supply of clean water recently approved a commercial development anchored by a water park.
Milwaukee’s west side alderman, Michael Murphy, recognized the absurdity of New Berlin's action saying: ”This project is exactly what we don’t need - Lake Michigan water diverted for-commercial entertainment usage that will add to sprawl that has gone unchecked in Waukesha County for years.”
Similar questions should be raised about the Pabst Farms 184 acre upscale regional shopping mall which includes 2 hotels and other housing and commercial developments in western Waukesha and Kenosha County.
Before we back the trucks up to Lake Michigan and begin hauling water out of the Great Lakes Basin we also need to ask who will pay for the infrastructure to send water to New Berlin and other water hungry communities, treat it and return it to the Lake. Currently, Milwaukee's water pipes are undersized and it lacks sufficient pumps to handle the additional demand.
The Journal treats this as a minor annoyance when it writes: "New Berlin is willing to help pay the capital costs....”
help pay???
If New Berlin is only helping, who are they helping cover the costs estimated at between $4 and $8 million?
Does the Journal expect the residents of Milwaukee to subsidize New Berlin's diversion of Lake Michigan water?
For decades the same leaders who have now drunk the regional cooperation Kool Aid rejected Milwaukee's requests to work together to address problems like high poverty rates, racial segregation, inadequate school funding, deindustrialization, the shortage of low and moderate income housing and the need for a modern, comprehensive mass transit system.
As development moved west, critics of sprawl were told that developers were simply responding to the housing preferences of homeowners who preferred a suburban lifestyle. People were voting with their dollars and the market was responding. When Milwaukee asked for help, suburban leaders response was "tough luck." Milwaukee's problems were the city's alone.
The real costs of Southeastern Wisconsin's suburban development were obscured during its early stages. Taxes were initially much much lower because new suburban developments require less infrastructure and social service investment than a mature, urban area like Milwaukee. Property values are also much higher. Sometimes, as in the case of the $20 million interchange needed for the Pabst Farms regional mall, developers ignored or hid the costs until after their project was approved.
But once a critical mass of population, housing and commercial development occurs, infrastructure costs including new roads, new schools and access to clean drinking water, as well as the need for expanded services such as police and fire protection, emerge.
Now that the real costs of sprawl are coming home to roost in the form of radium in Waukesha's water, is the plan, in the words of former Governor Thompson, "to stick it to Milwaukee" one more time?
Milwaukee borders one of the world's most valuable water resources. Our elected officials and citizenry must be responsible stewards of this resource. The first step is getting the legislature to sign the Great Lakes Compact. New Berlin's water park can wait!
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