City of Racine Diversion Challenge

Midwest Environmental Advocates’ challenge of DNR approval of City of Racine’s Great Lakes Diversion on behalf of League of Women Voters - Lake Michigan Region, League of Women Voters of Wisconsin, Milwaukee Riverkeeper, Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, National Resources Defense Council, and River Alliance of Wisconsin.

DECISION

An administrative law judge affirmed DNR’s diversion approval in a June 7, 2019 ruling that is troubling to those who care about the future of the Great Lakes and the integrity of the Great Lakes Compact. Although this ruling will not be appealed, we remain steadfast in our view that DNR’s approval of the diversion was premised on a misinterpretation of the Compact and the Wisconsin law that implements it.

From the beginning, this case was about ensuring that diversions of Great Lakes water meet the letter and spirit of the Compact. The Racine diversion did not in that it was not providing water for a public water supply.  The unfortunate outcome of this case underscores both the importance of monitoring the implementation of the Great Lakes Compact as well as the need to prepare for future diversion requests. The success of these efforts will require continued commitment of resources, collaboration among non-governmental organizations, and engagement of local and state governments throughout the Great Lakes Basin.

We still have real concerns about the impacts of and water use from this project. 

Case Summary

The City of Racine has awarded several contracts to improve water mains relating to the proposed diversion of water from Lake Michigan. However, no actual construction has begun. The groups challenging the diversion want it to stay this way. In addition to filing an action in state court seeking a hold on the diversion while the challenge is being resolved we asked Racine to voluntarily suspend planning and construction activities relating to the proposed diversion, stating in a July 13th letter, “the City of Racine will place itself in a better position to avoid and mitigate unnecessary expenditures during the pendency of the legal challenge.”

More information is available on the DNR’s Racine Diversion page and via Midwest Environmental Advocates website.

On April 25, 2018 DNR approved the City of Racine’s proposal to transfer 7 million gallons per day (mgd) of water from Lake Michigan to an area outside the Great Lakes Basin. The greatest majority of the 7 mgd of water will be used to supply Lake Michigan water to one single private industrial customer, Foxconn, in the amount of 5.8 mgd, with the remaining 1.2 mgd used to supply water to industrial and commercial facilities surrounding the Foxconn facilities.

The City of Racine’s diversion is just the third diversion that’s been approved since the 2008 enactment of the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact (“Great Lakes Compact” or “Compact”). The Great Lakes Compact is a historic agreement entered into by the eight Great Lakes states and enacted into federal law. A centerpiece of the Compact is its Ban on Diversions, reflecting the region’s determination to prohibit the transfer of Great Lakes water outside the basin unless a diversion request can meet narrowly defined exceptions outlined in the provisions and definitions of the Compact.

Wisconsin DNR’s approval of the City of Racine’s diversion disregards and unreasonably interprets a core Compact requirement that all water transferred out of the Great Lakes Basin must be used for public water supply purposes, clearly defined as “serving a group of largely residential customers.” Of significance, Racine’s diversion application identified no amount of transferred water (0 gallons) that would be used to supply residential customers in the out-of-basin area subject to the diversion request.

The Compact is still in its formative stage and must be defended to protect our magnificent Great Lakes in the near and distant future. To that end, MEA filed a petition challenging the DNR’s approval on behalf of four organizations: League of Women Voters of Wisconsin, Milwaukee Riverkeeper, Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, and River Alliance of Wisconsin. The petition asks for an administrative law judge to review and ultimately withdraw DNR’s approval of the City of Racine’s diversion.