(WORT)–Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel issued a formal opinion Tuesday about how the state Department of Natural Resources should regulate high-capacity wells.
Used by industrial farms, food processors, and frac-sand mines, the wells draw as much as 100,000 gallons of water a day. The number of applications to drill them has increased considerably over the last ten years, and their use has become increasingly politicized.
Republicans say the DNR has been holding up new applications and exercising regulatory authority the agency does not have. In February, an Assembly committee asked the Attorney General to weigh in.
Darien Lamen reports on whether the legal opinion is likely to shift the balance between industry and conservation.
