Category: Water Pollution

Air National Guard City of Madison Dane County Environmental Justice PCBs PFCs or PFAS Starkweather Creek stormwater runoff Toxic Chemicals Truax Water Pollution Water quality

PFAS found in groundwater under former sewage treatment plant

May 13, 2019 Maria C. Powell, PhD

Large ditch drains from former sewage plant through Bridges Golf Course and then directly into Starkweather Creek (see above photo) MEJO’s Earth Day Starkweather Creek report highlights gaps in tracking…

Air National Guard City of Madison Dane County Environmental Justice PCBs Public Health Madison Dane County Public Participation Racism Risk Assessment Soil contamination Starkweather Creek Starkweather EJ Project stormwater runoff Toxic Chemicals Truax Water Pollution Water quality Wisconsin DNR

Report: Watchdogs not looking hard enough for public health hazards in lakes, fish

April 30, 2019 Maria C. Powell, PhD

Touyeng Xiong, MEJO Vice President, at Starkweather Creek tributary in April 2019 (Photo by John Hart, WSJ) By Steve Verburg, Wisconsin State Journal Madison and Dane County are neglecting to…

Air National Guard Department of Defense Environmental Justice EPA F-35 Fighter jets PCBs Pentagon PFCs or PFAS Public Participation Racism Risk Assessment Starkweather Creek Starkweather EJ Project stormwater runoff Toxic Chemicals Truax Water Pollution

Truax ANG to weaponize base ahead of F-35 deployment

April 24, 2019 Maria C. Powell, PhD

Public engagement tokenized, environmental justice ignored According to an April 2019 Draft Environmental Assessment (EA), Truax Air National Guard is planning major demolition, construction, and renovation projects from 2020-2027 at…

City of Madison Dane County Department of Defense Environmental Justice EPA Fish Fish Advisory Madison Water Utility PFCs or PFAS Public Health Madison Dane County Starkweather Creek stormwater runoff Toxic Chemicals Toxins Truax Water Pollution Water quality Wetlands Wisconsin DNR

MEJO Report: Starkweather Creek & Toxic Stormwater Runoff in Madison, Wis.

April 21, 2019 Jim Powell

On Earth Day, April 22, the Midwest Environmental Justice Organization released a report on its USEPA-funded Starkweather Creek Environmental Justice project. STARKWEATHER CREEK & TOXIC STORMWATER RUNOFF REPORT Pollution, governance…

Air National Guard City of Madison Community engagement EPA Madison Water Utility PFCs or PFAS Public Health Madison Dane County Public Participation Risk Assessment Toxic Chemicals Truax Water Pollution Wisconsin DNR

Madison officials lead PR public meeting about PFAS in drinking water: Nothing to worry about!

March 17, 2019 Maria C. Powell, PhD

On Saturday, March 16, at the East Madison Community Center, Madison Water Utility (WU) and Public Health Madison Dane County (PHMDC) staff gave presentations about the per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances…

City of Madison Dane County Fish Madison Water Utility PFCs or PFAS Risk Assessment Starkweather Creek stormwater runoff Toxic Chemicals Truax Water Pollution Water quality Wisconsin DNR

Madison and Dane County wait for military to test burn pits

February 24, 2019 Maria C. Powell, PhD

Photo: former Dane County burn pit at 1750 Pearson Street By Steve Verburg, Wisconsin State Journal Despite the lack of funding for a military cleanup, Madison and Dane County have…

Air National Guard City of Madison Community engagement Environmental Justice EPA Madison Water Utility NRDC PFCs or PFAS Public Health Madison Dane County Public Participation Racism Starkweather Creek Toxic Chemicals Truax Water Pollution Water quality Wisconsin DNR

Madison water utility hears demands on PFAS-tainted well

January 29, 2019 Maria C. Powell, PhD

Photo: Madison Well 15 at Reindahl Park By Steve Verburg, Wisconsin State Journal As citizen groups prepared to ask the Madison Water Utility Board on Tuesday for a more aggressive…

Air National Guard City of Madison Community engagement Environmental Justice F-35 Fighter jets Madison Water Utility PFCs or PFAS Public Participation Racism Starkweather Creek stormwater runoff Toxic Chemicals Truax Water Pollution

Are we spiritually dead? What would Martin Luther King Jr. say?

January 21, 2019 Maria C. Powell, PhD

“Giant triplets of racism, materialism, and militarism” dominate even in liberal Madison “I am convinced that if we are to get on the right side of the world revolution, we…

Air National Guard Environmental Justice EPA PFCs or PFAS Toxic Chemicals Truax Water Pollution Wisconsin DNR

Truax Field PFC (PFAS) Contamination 569 Times Over EPA Health Advisory Level; Madison Drinking Water Contaminated?

May 16, 2018 Maria C. Powell, PhD

Last week the Wisconsin DNR released documents pertaining to perfluorinated compounds (PFCs)—also commonly called poly- or per-fluoroalkyl substances or PFAS—at Truax Field’s Wisconsin Air National Guard (WANG) base. One of…

Madison-Kipp Corp. PCBs Public Health Madison Dane County stormwater runoff Toxic Chemicals Vapor intrusion Water Pollution

Madison polluter doesn’t like what he reads

November 11, 2017 Jim Powell

Graphic from the Nov 2, 2017 Isthmus weekly newspaper The Wisconsin State Journal published an October 28, 2017 article, “Best estimate is plume from Madison-Kipp plant could reach drinking water…

Environmental Justice Madison-Kipp Corp. Soil contamination stormwater runoff Toxic Chemicals Toxins Water Pollution

City of Madison not requiring Kipp to measure PCBs in raingarden?

October 1, 2016 Jim Powell

This pictogram was used in this post; the splash pad has since been completed Since August we have tried to get the following information from the City of Madison on…

Soil contamination stormwater runoff Toxins Water Pollution Wisconsin DNR

Wisconsin DNR not following its own rules

June 4, 2016 Jim Powell

This really isn’t a surprise but it’s still very disturbing. WISCONSIN STATE JOURNAL JUNE 3, 2016 WATER ENFORCEMENT | DNR DISREGARDING OWN RULES State audit finds DNR ignoring own rules…

Madison Water Utility Madison-Kipp Corp. Public Participation Toxins Water Pollution Wisconsin DNR

Madison-Kipp’s pollution cleanup is nowhere near complete: Part I–Groundwater

January 6, 2016 Maria C. Powell, PhD

Photo: Toxic permanganate discharge from Kipp groundwater extraction and treatment system (GETS) on Aug. 9, 2015 ***** On December 20 2015 the Wisconsin State Journal published a front page article…

City of Madison Environmental health Environmental Justice Fish Fish Advisory PCBs PFCs or PFAS Public Participation Racial disparities Racism Toxic Chemicals Toxins Water Pollution Water quality

From the Archives: “The Mean Machine” on Lake Monona, Madison, Wis., 2006

June 13, 2015 Jim Powell

In September 2006, MEJO held a fish advisory sign making party and fish fry at Brittingham Park on Monona Bay in Madison. Wis., to raise awareness of shoreline anglers about…

Goodman Community Center Madison-Kipp Corp. Soil contamination stormwater runoff Toxins Water Pollution

City to Lease Rain Garden to Polluter

November 22, 2014 Jim Powell

(High resolution version of above graphic here) SUMMARY: The City of Madison wishes to extend a lease with Madison-Kipp Corp. through 2023 that will allow Kipp to control the rain…