WisBiz Green Blog - The Gray of Green

Going green is not always as black and white as it might seem. Often there is gray among the green.

WisBiz Green Blog – 1/27/25

By Gregg Hoffmann

Going green is not always as black and white as it might seem. Often there is gray among the green.

For example, two state GOP lawmakers recently circulated a bill that would require developers to get signoff from each city, village and town in which a solar or wind project would be built before they could seek approval from the PSC.

Sen. Howard Marklein, R-Spring Green, and Rep. Travis Tranel, R-Cuba City last week sent a co-sponsorship memo to other lawmakers on the bill.

They argue the legislation “reaffirms local control by empowering local municipalities and their elected officials by providing them a seat at the table when it comes to the approval of large-scale solar and wind projects,” according to a WPR story.

Marklein and Tranel say residents of rural areas and their local elected officials “have felt ignored” when raising concerns about large utility projects being built in their area. They note large-scale utility projects “have an enormous impact” on rural communities, ranging from environmental and groundwater effects to infrastructure and roads.

This writer was raised in a time when Kenosha County was still largely rural. I covered municipal and town government in my early years in journalism. I saw many incidents where local folks deserved a say in what happened in their neighborhoods.

I now live in the Driftless Area of southwest Wisconsin. I find myself understanding why folks want some feedback in developments of many kinds.

But Renew Wisconsin says local governments already have a major role in the approval process, claiming many small cities, towns and villages don’t have enough resources to handle decision-making requests for large clean energy projects.

The group argues the GOP bill would “cause a significant slowdown” for growing businesses, affecting developers, landowners and jobs statewide, according to a release.

The message notes current state law is considered the standard and is being copied by other states enacting legislation on this topic. The group says the bill would “move us in the opposition direction” by creating new hurdles for projects.

The issue behind the legislation became evident in 2023. Republicans on the Legislature’s budget committee voted to kill funding for the largest land conservation project in Wisconsin history, a move that came following concerns about the $15 million purchase of 56,000 acres of forest land that would have been open to both logging and recreational use.

Republican lawmakers objected to using $4 million from the state’s Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program to help finance the purchase of the property in northern Wisconsin known as the Pelican River Forest. The rest of the funding for the conservation easement would come from a federal grant.

The GOP argued that town boards and other local governments did not have adequate time to consider and act on the issue.

Some Democrats argued the GOP wanted to stifle the project because of pressure from mining and logging industries, even though some logging would have been allowed under the proposal.

The Conservation Fund, a Virginia-based national land conservation group, bought the land that included 16 parcels located mostly east of Rhinelander in Oneida County, but also in Forest and Langlade counties. The land straddles the Great Lakes and Mississippi River watersheds and is a link between the Oneida County Forest and Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest.

The Conservation Fund said at the time it bought the land in 2021 that it will protect wildlife habitat while continuing sustainable timber harvesting as well as recreational uses such as hunting and fishing.

This writer certainly believed at the time the proposal had great merit from an environmental standpoint. The GOP also seemed to politicize the Knowles-Nelson program. A recent story noted that the respected Stewardship could be threatened.

Here is another example of the gray in green issues. Concentrated animal feeding operations or CAFOs have caused pollution problems for several towns, counties and regions.

A Town of Eureka Board passed an ordinance that sought to regulate the operation of CAFOs. It would apply to new farms with more than 700 animal units or roughly 500 dairy cows. It asks applicants to set aside money for any cleanup or closure related to operations. The ordinance also allows the town to impose conditions on operators like controlling air pollution, monitoring water, preventing diseases, managing waste and submitting plans for dead animals.

The legal arm of Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, the state’s largest business group, sued the Town of Eureka on behalf of residents Ben and Jenny Binversie. They claimed the ordinance is unlawful and its provisions preempt the state’s livestock facility siting law and other state regulations.

In an oral ruling on Jan. 9, Washburn County Judge Angeline Winton said the Binversies lacked standing to bring the challenge because they weren’t directly affected.

The ruling was a win for local governments but is seen by some as a way of standing in the way of modernizing agriculture and emphasizing sustainability. More such issues could come up in the future but again, a shade of gray.

You also could see some gray in debates over cleanup of PFAs, addressing pipeline leaks such as Enbridge in Jefferson County, whether the DNR and EPA should retain the control over regulating environmental laws, etc.

Those of us who believe Nature is issuing a Last Call for us to act and move the globe away from climate change and fossil fuels domination likely will have to make choices. After President Trump issued several executive orders that are definitely anti-environment last Monday, some of those choices will be rather easy to make. A few also have gray areas in them. Still many of us will be on the side of Nature and sustainability and science.

But there are times that choices are not as black and white as opposing most of Trump’s orders. Sometimes going green does include shades of gray.