Committee OKs bill speeding state permits
11:07 PM 10/16/03
Ron Seely Environment reporter
A controversial bill that would force agencies such as the Department of Natural Resources to issue permits more quickly was approved Thursday by the state Legislature's Joint Finance Committee. <

The bill sets deadlines for several agencies to meet when they receive permit applications. The DNR permits affected are numerous and include approvals for everything from sinking high capacity wells to building landfills. <

If the deadlines aren't met, the bill states, some of the permits are issued automatically and, in other cases, permit application fees are refunded. <

The bill was approved on a party-line vote with the committee's 12 Republicans voting in favor and the four Democrats voting against. <

Also on Thursday, the committee granted itself more power to review land purchases paid for with money from the state Stewardship Fund. <

Both bills were assailed by environmental groups Thursday as rollbacks of environmental protections. The changes in permitting procedures came in for particularly harsh criticism from groups such as the Sierra Club. <

"This action," said Caryl Terrell, director of the John Muir Chapter of the Sierra Club, "represents political interference in the operations of state agencies, particularly the Department of Natural Resources." <

But Republicans as well as officials with Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, or WMC, praised the permitting changes as an important effort to streamline a process that is driving business away from Wisconsin. <

Officials with the DNR testified against the permit proposal, arguing that the bill could result in the Environmental Protection Agency stepping in to handle permitting duties it now delegates to the state. The EPA could also pull as much as $2.1 million in federal hazardous waste funds if it decides the state no longer meets federal permitting requirements, according to the DNR. <

Jeffrey Schoepke, director of environmental policy for WMC, said the automatic permitting bill could reach the floor of the state Legislature as early as next week. It is a welcome piece of legislation, Schoepke said. <

"Permitting is one of the top concerns of our membership," Schoepke said. <

In a recent survey, Schoepke said, 43.8 percent of Wisconsin chief executive officers interviewed described the state's regulatory climate as "somewhat or very anti-business." <

A report released by WMC last May on the need for regulatory reform said "Wisconsin's regulatory climate is costing us good-paying jobs and is an anvil around our neck as we try to swim out of the current economic doldrums." <

The report included anecdotes from several anonymous companies about difficulties obtaining permits. Schoepke said the companies didn't want their names used and said he could not release the names of the companies to the newspaper. <

"We were asked by most folks not to use their names in the report," said Schoepke. "The fear of retribution by the DNR was just too great. Whether it is real or perceived, that fear is out there."