Rep. Madison Introduces Revitalize Wisconsin Program to Clean Up Environmental Pollution Across Wisconsin

MADISON, Wis. – Today, Rep. Darrin Madison (D-10), along with Representatives Clinton Anderson, Alex Joers, and Senators Jeff Smith, Mark Spreitzer, and Dora Drake, introduced legislation that would create the Revitalize Wisconsin program to clean up environmental spills and pollution all across Wisconsin.

LRB 4601 sunsets the Dry Cleaner Environmental Response program (which has not accepted new applications since 2008) and creates the expanded Revitalize Wisconsin Program. The Revitalize Wisconsin Program provides grants and direct services to local governments, dry cleaners, and private parties (including innocent landowners), to address the discharge of a hazardous substance or the existence of environmental pollution. Aid may be rewarded for investigating discharge or pollution, restoring or replacing a private potable water supply, asbestos abatement, removing abandoned containers, and removing hazardous substances from contaminated media such as surface waters, groundwater, or soil.

Representative Madison (D-10) issued the following statement:

“The Revitalize Wisconsin program is critical to ensuring that Wisconsin is taking environmental pollution seriously and that we have the tools available to address hazardous spills and substances when they occur.

In 2023, some of my constituents in Glendale had to be evacuated from an apartment building when it was discovered that there was 10 times the acceptable amount of the carcinogen trichloroethylene (TCE) in the air. That was the second event in Milwaukee County that year after over 150 residents were evacuated from another apartment for levels of TCE that were 60 times higher than the acceptable amount. TCE is a man-made chemical commonly used in factories and other manufacturing processes that can enter the body through air, water, or soil, and can lead to headaches or dizziness, and is linked to cases of improper fetal development and adverse birth outcomes.

These environmental contaminations are often the result of redevelopments that are built upon old industrial zones, landfills, or other areas with a high risk of contaminants. Due to the affordable housing crisis in Wisconsin and the need to build more housing on redeveloped land, we must ramp up Wisconsin’s ability to address incidents of contamination that will continue to pop up in residential and commercial settings across Wisconsin. The Revitalize Wisconsin program will ensure that we can continue to build safe and clean communities all across Wisconsin.”

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.