Environmental Groups Sue DNR Over Air Quality Standards

Two environmental groups are suing the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources for not complying with federal efforts to reduce emissions of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and soot.

The lawsuit has been filed in Dane County Circuit Court by Clean Wisconsin and the Midwest Environmental Defense Center, Inc.

Clean Wisconsin attorney Elizabeth Wheeler said the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency strengthened the national standards for soot two years ago and for the chemicals four years ago, but the state has not adopted the limits. Wheeler said it’s an important case.

“It’s all health-based, and the EPA doesn’t take its charge with that lightly,” she said. “It has to make sure that they’re really acting in the (interest of) public health, and it’s the DNR’s responsibility to make sure that that’s implemented at the state level.”

DNR spokesman Bill Cosh wrote an emailed statement in response to the groups’ allegations, saying: “We have good air quality in Wisconsin and are meeting the standards. We are currently in the rule making process to get these requirements on the books here in Wisconsin.”

Editor’s Note: This story has been updated since it was first published with an emailed statement from a DNR spokesperson.