Urgent memo from the Wisconsin Towns Association

THIS IS AN URGENT LEGISLATIVE ALERT REGARDING FRAC SAND & MINING.  WE NEED A LOT OF PHONE CALLS NOW.
For some time, we have been battling the frac sand industry and Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce that want to completely eliminate the ability of local government to regulate air, water, blasting, or anything related to quarries, frac sand, or any mining. 

In attempt to preserve your ability to protect town citizens’ health, safety, welfare, roads, and property values through reasonable regulation, WTA has been attempting to reach a compromise with the aggregate industry. The compromise would have preserved a vast majority of town authority, while allowing for a little regulatory easing in unique situations that would have in theory decreased aggregate prices.

This effort to achieve a regulatory balance is in deep jeopardy of being defeated by those who don’t want you to have the ability to protect your own neighborhood. Instead, these interests are winning the battle. Current efforts would significantly inhibit your ability to protect your community. Worse yet, without your help the existing proposals are likely to be incorporated into the budget despite the fact that the effort has nothing to do with state finances. We are still working with legislative leaders to produce a reasonable compromise, but we don’t feel we can be successful without your help. The budget will be finished this week and we need your immediate phone calls to motivate legislators to work with us to preserve local government authority to protect citizen health, safety, welfare, roads, and property values. Please call and tell them: 1) Any efforts to eliminate local government authority to regulate frac sand and aggregate mining should be included in a separate bill, not the state budget. 2) Local government must have the ability to protect health, safety, welfare, roads, and property values. Wisconsin Towns Association W7686 County Road MMM, Shawano, WI 54166-6086