GOP Rep. Joy Goeben says the state is under “rule by king” after the Legislative Reference Bureau told WisPolitics it will publish a rule related to surface water quality without changes sought by Republicans.
The proposed rule revision relates to the state’s antidegradation policy, which seeks to protect surface water by regulating new or increased pollutant discharges under federal requirements in the Clean Water Act. LRB will publish the rule Monday, and it will take effect July 1.
The DNR had initially agreed to make modifications to the rule, but the agency reversed course and advanced it without changes following a Supreme Court decision suspending the Legislature’s ability to indefinitely suspend administrative rules.
Legislative committees tried twice since the rule was filed with the Legislature in 2023 to request modifications that address stakeholder concerns. That includes a party-line vote by Goeben’s Environment Committee last month.
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“We have learned what has happened with SCOWIS in the recent ruling that stakeholders and the people of WI no longer have a voice,” Goeben, R-Hobart, said in a statement yesterday. “Representative government has been taken away and we now have rule by king. We don’t want a king and the current path forward is dangerous. It’s very apparent this is what (Dem Gov. Tony) Evers is doing, resubmitting rules that committees have already considered so that he gets his own way, without legislative oversight or accountability.”
Evers’ office did not immediately return a request for comment.
Environmental groups have said the rule update is long overdue and will help protect water quality. Opponents, including Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce and some ag groups, say it will add more administrative burden and cost more than state law allows.
A spokesperson for WMC said the group doesn’t have a comment at this time.
