Notes from the West Wing
By
State Representative Garey Bies
Phosphorous
Yesterday, the Wisconsin State Assembly voted 96-0 to approve my legislation to restrict the sale of fertilizer containing phosphorous. Those of you who have been subscribing to this e-mail update for some time know that I have been working on this legislation for a couple of sessions now and that it has been a priority for me since the Door County Soil and Water Conservation Department first contacted me about authoring legislation in Madison in support of a resolution passed by the Door County Board. Well, I am here today to report that we are one step closer to getting this legislation signed into law.
There is no doubt this legislation faced a setback at the end of last session when it became the victim of partisan politics. But I made a commitment then that I would bring this legislation forward again. This session we had overwhelming bi-partisan support and I was able to convince the few remaining skeptics of this legislation of its importance. The result of this work was the unanimous vote in the State Assembly.
With passage by the State Assembly, we now await action on the legislation by the State Senate. Last session, the State Senate overwhelmingly approved the bill so I am very confident that the Senate will again approve the proposal. Pending the Senate’s vote, the legislation will then go to the Governor for his signature into law, which I fully expect.
This legislation will add an important protection for our state’s waterways. Excess nutrient runoff from phosphorous is a significant pollutant of our lakes, rivers and streams. Here in the First Assembly District one of the most noticeable effects of excess nutrients and phosphorous is smelly beaches. Other effects of excess phosphorous include the algae blooms that occur in our inland lakes turning them into pea soup. There is simply too much phosphorous out there and we don’t need to add more. That is why this legislation is the right thing to do for our waters and the overall health of our environment.
As always, I can be reached by e-mail at Rep.Bies@legis.wisconsin.gov or by telephone, toll-free at 1-888-482-0001. You can also visit my website at http://www.legis.state.wi.us/assembly/asm01/news/.