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Rep. Chris Taylor, 608-266-5342
A healthy Wisconsin environment leads to healthy Wisconsin families
MADISON – Today, Secretary Preston Cole testified before the Joint Finance Committee on Governor Evers’ budget for the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and his declaration of 2019 as the Year of Clean Drinking Water. Sec. Cole highlighted the critical investments proposed by Governor Evers to improve the health of our communities by improving the health of our state’s beautiful natural environment, including $40 million to replace lead piping, increased funding for well compensation to replace contaminated wells, targeted funding for PFAS contamination clean up, and improved regulation of concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs).
In response, Rep. Chris Taylor (D-Madison) issued the following statement:
“After 8 years of Republican attacks on our state’s beautiful natural environment by gutting many environmental protections, cutting key programs and staff it is great to see a commitment by Governor Evers and Secretary Cole in this budget to tackle the clean water challenges we face as a state,” said Rep. Chris Taylor. “The health of our communities is undeniably tied to the health of our environment. This budget takes needed actions to protect our children from the life-long detrimental impacts of lead poisoning. In some parts of our state, children are suffering higher rates of lead poisoning than children during the Flint Water Crisis. In fact, our statewide contamination rate of 5% of children under 6 suffering lead poisoning exceeds the Flint, Michigan lead contamination crisis.
In Wisconsin, 1.7 million residents rely on private wells and 47% of those wells do not meet acceptable health standards. When we have a water crisis this widespread, Governor Evers’ declaration of 2019 as the Year of Clean Drinking Water should enjoy support from every member of this legislature. I am proud to support the Governor’s plan for a cleaner, healthier, safer Wisconsin, and Sec. Cole’s testimony today only reinforced that.”
