DOUBLE SHOT / CHASER: Republicans Call Clean Water a “Pet Project”
MADISON, Wis. — In a new website created by the Republican Assembly Campaign Committee, Republicans are now attacking efforts to ensure clean drinking water for Wisconsinites as a “pet project.”
SHOT: Residents of western Wisconsin call on legislators to take PFAS contamination seriously…
Town Of Campbell Resident Joe Weitekamp: “How Much [PFAS] Would You Like Dripped Into Your System At Home, For You And Your Family?” “Joe Weitekamp, a Campbell resident who lives blocks away from the airport and has 26 parts per trillion of PFAS in his well, said he wished he could put those legislators in his position. Currently, the EPA recommends that no PFAS be present in drinking water, and has a formal standard of 4 parts per trillion — an amount even smaller than a single drop of water in an Olympic-sized pool. ‘I would ask legislators…how much (PFAS) would you like dripped into your system at home, for you and your family? That’s not a threat,’ he said. ‘It’s just, get your mind around this. You know, you’re fortunate you don’t have this problem. But what if you did?’” [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 7/31/24]
DOUBLE SHOT: And they’re worried Republican gridlock will force them to foot the bill for a problem they didn’t create…
Town Of Campbell Residents Questioned Why They Were Being Left To Pay To Clean Up PFAS Contamination. “For Weitekamp, there’s a constant worry that taxpayers like him are going to be left holding the check to deal with this issue. ‘How do I deserve to have to pay for all of this out of my retirement income?’ he said. ‘When it wasn’t me that put the PFAS in the aquifer?’” [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 7/31/24]
CHASER: Republican Assembly Campaign Committee Calls Private Well Replacement a “Pet Project”…
Democratic Party of Wisconsin Communications Director Joe Oslund issued the following statement:
“Clean drinking water is not a ‘pet project.’ Republican politicians are clearly more interested in playing politics than doing the work to ensure Wisconsinites can trust the water coming out of their tap. While Wisconsin families have been left to drink bottled water, Republican politicians in Madison have created gridlock and dysfunction in an effort to make it easier for corporate polluters to escape responsibility for PFAS contamination. Now, they’re turning efforts to actually do something about PFAS contamination into political attacks—it’s shameful, but not surprising.”
