Foxconn Seeks to Raid the Great Lakes

Foxconn chairman Terry Gou and Governor Scott Walker signing a memorandum of understanding. Photo from the State of Wisconsin.

MADISON – In an unprecedented betrayal of the core intent of the hard-won, bipartisan Great Lakes Compact, Gov. Scott Walker and his allies want to give away seven million gallons a day of Great Lakes water to Foxconn via the City of Racine.

If approved, the plan would allow the City of Racine, which sits inside the Great Lakes basin, to divert seven million gallons of water per day – that’s equivalent to 875 tanker trucks – to Mount Pleasant, a township that’s only partially in the basin. There, Foxconn will consume 2.7 million gallons a day to manufacture flat screen TVs.

Under the compact, diversions are meant to provide water for uses such as municipal drinking water and groundwater replenishment for family wells. This is the first time a state in the compact has been so brazen as to suggest a diversion almost exclusively for a private company’s manufacturing needs.

As part of its continuing commitment to hold Walker, his administration, and lawmakers who supported the Foxconn giveaway accountable – and provide tools to take action on behalf of Wisconsin’s natural resources, Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters is launching its “FOXCONN” campaign.

The campaign will provide tools and information to the public through a website, social media, events, and citizen engagement. Its first opportunities include a sign-on statement that will be delivered to the Department of Natural Resources as it contemplates the diversion plan and a registration form to attend its hearing in March.

“It wasn’t enough for Gov. Walker to hand Foxconn a check for $4.5 billion of our tax money, it wasn’t enough to allow Foxconn to trample on our wetlands – now he’s giving away our Great Lakes water,” said Kerry Schumann, executive director. “Our Foxconn campaign will hold him accountable and make it easy for concerned citizens to oppose this unprecedented raid on our Great Lakes water.”

For more information visit conservationvoters.org/foxconn

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.

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