Petitioners Oppose Foxconn’s Great Lakes Raid
Hundreds of conservationists speak out against water diversion plan
MADISON – Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters delivered a petition with 1,817 signatures to the Department of Natural Resources on Wednesday, calling for the agency to reject a plan to divert seven million gallons of water per day from the Great Lakes to the private company Foxconn.
The plan to raid Great Lakes water solely for manufacturing giant Foxconn represents an unprecedented betrayal of the core intent of the hard-won, bipartisan Great Lakes Compact of 2008.
The diversion plan is being rushed along without the necessary information needed to make an informed decision. Foxconn has remained silent on how it will use the water in the manufacturing process and what contaminants might be in the water returned to the Great Lakes.
The applicant should be Mount Pleasant. However, straddling communities require stronger requirements for water use under the Great Lakes Compact. This attempt to subvert the compact’s intended process is reason enough to reject the plan.
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.
The petition encourages the DNR to reject the City of Racine’s diversion application, and asks that it not endanger the integrity of the Great Lakes Compact. Conservationists from across the state signed the petition.
“This diversion plan is a thinly veiled attempt to degrade the Great Lakes Compact, one of the finest conservation achievements in a generation,” said Executive Director Kerry Schumann. “The hundreds of conservation voters who signed the petition understand the importance of the integrity and health of our Great Lakes. The DNR should reject this plan and any other plan that threatens our most vital freshwater resource.”
For the petition and list of signers click here.
Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to electing conservation leaders, holding decision makers accountable, and encouraging lawmakers to champion conservation policies that effectively protect Wisconsin’s public health and natural resources.
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.
More about the Foxconn Facility
- Mount Pleasant, Racine in Legal Battle Over Water After Foxconn Failure - Evan Casey - Sep 18th, 2024
- Biden Hails ‘Transformative’ Microsoft Project in Mount Pleasant - Sophie Bolich - May 8th, 2024
- Microsoft’s Wisconsin Data Center Now A $3.3 Billion Project - Jeramey Jannene - May 8th, 2024
- We Energies Will Spend $335 Million on Microsoft Development - Evan Casey - Mar 6th, 2024
- Foxconn Will Get State Subsidy For 2022 - Joe Schulz - Dec 11th, 2023
- Mount Pleasant Approves Microsoft Deal on Foxconn Land - Evan Casey - Nov 28th, 2023
- Mount Pleasant Deal With Microsoft Has No Public Subsidies - Evan Casey - Nov 14th, 2023
- Microsoft, State Announce Massive Data Center Expansion, Land Purchase - Joe Schulz - Nov 11th, 2023
- Gov. Evers Announces Microsoft Makes Major Investment in Wisconsin - Gov. Tony Evers - Nov 10th, 2023
- State Can’t Regulate We Energies $100 Million Project for Microsoft - Joe Schulz - Sep 20th, 2023
Read more about Foxconn Facility here
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