{"id":1122,"date":"2009-11-24T12:31:36","date_gmt":"2009-11-24T18:31:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/urbanthoreau.com\/blog\/?p=1122"},"modified":"2009-11-24T14:07:33","modified_gmt":"2009-11-24T20:07:33","slug":"victory-for-black-earth-creek","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.urbanthoreau.com\/blog\/victory-for-black-earth-creek\/","title":{"rendered":"Victory for Black Earth Creek!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Black Earth Creek, an example of a restored trout stream par excellence<\/em>, has been spared a massive assault. Western Dane County will stay a little more rural for a bit longer. Bicyclists, nature lovers, fisherman — indeed anyone who breathes — should be thankful to a hard working group of people who made this happen.<\/p>\n

Stefi Harris and the Western Dane County Coalition for Smart Growth and Environment are to be commended for a fight well fought…and won!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Capital Area Regional Planning Commission members: Thank you. Thank you for your good judgment, and backbone.<\/em><\/p>\n

Way to go gang!<\/p>\n

Here’s the word from the Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources (apologies for losing the letter’s original formatting):<\/p>\n

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\n

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101 S. Webster St.<\/p>\n

Box 7921<\/p>\n

Madison, Wisconsin 53707-7921<\/p>\n

Telephone 608-266-2621<\/p>\n

FAX 608-267-3579<\/p>\n

TTY Access via relay – 711<\/p>\n

\n

Jim Doyle, Governor<\/p>\n

Matthew J. Frank, Secretary<\/p>\n

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November 23, 2009<\/p>\n

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\n

Carl A. Sinderbrand<\/p>\n

Axley Brynelson, LLP<\/p>\n

P.O. Box 1767<\/p>\n

Madison, WI 53703<\/p>\n

\n

Subject: Village of Mazomanie Request Regarding Amendment to Dane County Water Quality Plan<\/p>\n

\n

Dear Mr. Sinderbrand:<\/p>\n

\n

Your letter to Thomas Gilbert, Bureau of Watershed Management, dated August 21, 2009, has been referred to me. That letter, submitted on behalf of the Village of Mazomanie (Village), requests the Department of Natural Resources (Department) to review the June 11, 2009, decision of the Capital Area Regional Planning Commission (CARPC) to not approve an amendment to the Dane County areawide water quality management plan (plan). The Department declines to reconsider that decision.<\/p>\n

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There is no statutory or administrative rule procedure that directs the Department to review regional planning agency decisions to deny amendments to areawide water quality management plans. Section NR 121.07, Wis. Admin. Code, establishes the procedures for approval of plans and plan amendments for designated areas of the state (such as Dane County). Section NR 121.07(1) (a), Wis. Admin. Code, provides that the Department shall review and approve or disapprove each plan for designated areas. Section NR 121.07(3), Wis. Admin. Code, provides that the Department may approve a planning agency\u2019s amendments to a plan for a designated area. There is no provision in s. NR 121.07, however, that directs the Department to review and approve or disapprove a planning agency\u2019s decision to deny a proposed amendment to a plan for a designated area.<\/p>\n

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In addition to this lack of procedural direction, there is a significant practical reason for the Department not to reconsider denials of amendments in designated areas. Dane County is a designated area for areawide water quality management planning, under s. NR 121.06, Wis. Admin. Code. The Department contracts with CARPC to conduct water quality management planning work in Dane County. In my March 18, 2009 letter to Jeffrey Miller, chair of CARPC, I made it clear that,<\/p>\n

\n

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\u201cWe strongly believe that CARPC plays a necessary and critical role in shaping the future of Dane County. We are relying on CARPC to provide land use and water quality resource information and analysis, and a strong direction for local planning efforts.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Further, I went on to state that,<\/p>\n

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\u201cIn reconsidering the Mazomanie amendment request, the Commission should focus on water quality impacts as the primary basis for a decision, and should consider the guidance and direction in this letter.\u201d<\/p>\n

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CARPC has taken the focus suggested in our letter and the Department defers to their judgement in this case. As stated, the Department has procedures to review plans and approved amendments to plans and does review those decisions by planning agencies for designated areas. By approving or disapproving plans and plan amendments previously approved by regional planning agencies, and by re-evaluating the approval status of plans at least every 5 years, the Department fulfills its responsibility to protect, maintain and improve the quality and management of the waters of the state in designated areas. Since denials of amendments to plans in designated areas do nothing to change plans previously approved by the Department, they would result in no change to water quality, such that the Department has little or no reason to reconsider them. In fact, to do so would take resources away from other priority work of the Department at a time when those resources are in very short supply.<\/p>\n

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The Department has not historically been involved in reviewing denials of amendments to plans, unless the planning agency has failed to provide a water quality basis for the denial. If CARPC or another regional planning agency denies an amendment without stating a clear water quality basis for its denial, the Department has requested that the regional planning agency reconsider its decision. The Department did so in this case, by letter to CARPC, dated March 18, 2009. Specifically, I noted,<\/p>\n

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\u201cPursuant to state statutes and administrative codes (chapter NR 121), decisions regarding amendments must be based on water quality impacts and the cost-effectiveness of sewerage systems.\u201d<\/p>\n

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However, once the regional planning agency states a water quality basis for not approving an amendment to a plan (as CARPC has done in this case), as long as the decision is consistent with the approved plan and was done in accordance with approved planning procedures, including a sufficient public participation process, the Department will not reconsider that decision, for the reasons stated in this letter.<\/p>\n

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The Department encourages the Village to work with CARPC to address the water quality concerns raised by CARPC when it decided not to accept the proposed amendment to the plan.<\/p>\n

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Sincerely,<\/p>\n

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Todd Ambs, Administrator<\/p>\n

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Division of Water<\/p>\n

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cc:<\/p>\n

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Jeffrey Miller, Chair, CARPC<\/p>\n

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Kamran Mesbah, Deputy Director, CARPC<\/p>\n

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Scott Stokes, President; Village of Mazomanie<\/p>\n

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Sue Dietzen, Clerk; Village of Mazomanie<\/p>\n

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Ron Adler, Chair; Town of Mazomanie<\/p>\n

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Maria Van Cleve, Clerk; Town of Mazomanie<\/p>\n

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John St. Peter, Edgarton, St. Peter, Petak & Rosenfeldt<\/p>\n

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Timothy Fenner, Axley Brynelson<\/p>\n

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Andy Morton \u2013 WDNR – SCR<\/p>\n

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Tom Gilbert \u2013 WDNR – WT\/3<\/p>\n

\n

Robin Nyffeler- LS\/8<\/p>\n

\n

Judy Ohm-LS\/8<\/p>\n

\n<\/blockquote>\n

Update: <\/strong>Robbie Webber informs me that there is another group which needs to be thanked for their hard work:<\/p>\n

\n

\n

Just an FYI that there is another group working very hard on the CARPC
\nissues, and they worked extra hard on the Mazo decision, in
\ncooperation with Arnold and Steffi Harris.<\/p>\n

Capital Region Advocacy Network for Environmental Sustainability
\n(CRANES) has been meeting twice a month for over a year – more or less
\nsince the new RPC was formed – to build a network\/alliance of
\nenvironmental groups and individuals that are willing to speak up to
\npreserve the environment in Dane County (and beyond, but we are
\nworking on Dane County first.) Many of the names will be familiar to
\nyou.<\/p>\n

Here’s a blog from Brenda back in March about our efforts to fight the
\nMazo plan. It includes a letter that was sent out by the group urging
\npeople to show up at the original CARPC hearing.
\nhttp:\/\/brendakonkel.blogspot.com\/2009\/05\/will-regional-planning-be-emasculated.html<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n

Indeed! Many thanks for all that great work!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Black Earth Creek was just spared another subdivision assault on its water quality. YAAAAYYYY!!!!!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[42,5,11,344,452],"tags":[44,289,616,147,43,1320,45,612,1323,157,286,609,610,46,34],"class_list":["post-1122","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-dane-county-politics","category-environment","category-places-that-dont-suck","category-thanks","category-urban-designplanninggeography","tag-black-earth-creek","tag-capital-area-regional-planning-commission","tag-capital-region-advocacy-network-for-environmental-sustainability","tag-carpc","tag-dane-county","tag-environment","tag-mazomanie","tag-nr-121","tag-places-that-dont-suck","tag-sprawl","tag-stefi-harris","tag-todd-ambs","tag-water-quality","tag-western-dane-coalition-for-smart-growth-and-environment","tag-zoning"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.urbanthoreau.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1122","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.urbanthoreau.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.urbanthoreau.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.urbanthoreau.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.urbanthoreau.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1122"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.urbanthoreau.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1122\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1141,"href":"https:\/\/www.urbanthoreau.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1122\/revisions\/1141"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.urbanthoreau.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1122"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.urbanthoreau.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1122"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.urbanthoreau.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1122"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}