March 2023 District 17 Digest
First, a personal note. Many of you know our beloved old dog, Templeton. He passed away peacefully on March 15. He was such a good dog, and my family and I miss him terribly.
I apologize if I’ve been behind on communications over the past couple of weeks. That’s what’s going on.
This is some of the first writing I’ve done without him at my feet. It’s an adjustment, for sure.
Diving in:
PFAS Updates
I’d promised more on this topic, so here are some updates.
First, some background. As you may know, we have serious PFAS contamination issues at the MSN Airport/Truax property, originating largely from long-term use of firefighting foam containing PFAS chemicals. As a result, PFAS has made its way into our waterways.
The Airport isn't in District 17, but several impacted waterways—including Starkweather Creek and Lake Monona—are.
PFAS chemicals are known as “forever chemicals,” because that’s what they are. They’re also very dangerous carcinogens. I’m convinced that PFAS is going to be viewed in history as our present-day asbestos issue; it’s that serious, and we need a matched commitment to getting rid of it.
Unfortunately, we don’t have a proven, thorough way to do so today.
Ongoing pilot project with microbial “sponge”
In light of this, in 2020 the County launched a pilot project that uses microbes to break down some of the most dangerous PFAS chemicals. This was done in partnership with ORIN Technologies (based in Verona) along with Fixed Earth Innovations, a Canadian company.
This PBS Wisconsin article discusses the project in detail.
This past October, they released an initial set of promising results—namely, a 90%+ reduction in PFOA and PFOA, two of the most dangerous chemicals in the PFAS classification.
All parties are now looking to expand the scope of the pilot.
Outstanding questions
Now—I believe strongly that we need these types of projects, because the reality is that we need to work the problem, and we don’t have many options here. I cannot stress enough the importance of getting rid of this stuff.
Clearly, though, any such process is going to raise its own set of concerns and questions. In March, Supv. Yogesh Chawla called a joint meeting of the Airport Commission and the County’s Environment, Agriculture, and Natural Resources Committee. Representatives from ORIN Technologies and Fixed Earth Innovations presented and took questions from the Supervisors present (myself, along with Sups. Chawla, Smith, Palm, Hatcher, Downing, and McCarville) as well as the public.
You can view the meeting here.
Unfortunately, as of today, we do not have answers to the questions and concerns raised. There was not agreement to answering questions within the meeting—instead, we are owed written responses that will be posted publicly. I will update as soon as I get those.
Here are my largest concerns:
I—as well as my constituents—need readable, digestible, intuitive maps of where the contamination is known to be, where treatments have taken place, and where further treatments are planned.
For my part, as a member of the County’s Public Works and Transportation Committee, I regularly consider construction projects at and around the airport. I need to know how these intersect.
We need more information on the (anticipated and actual) byproducts of this process. Clearly, these potentially bring their own set of concerns from a lifespan & pollution perspective.
There was significant concern raised at the meeting that the oxidizing agents used in this process make these byproducts more “mobile”—as in, quicker to reach waterways and faster to spread through soil.
I need more clarity on the occupational hazards of all of this. I’m speaking of both the remediation project itself as well as the contact risks of area construction more generally.
As noted above, these and other concerns are to be responded to in writing, and I'll update when they are.
Additional updates
The County Board passed a Workers’ Bill of Rights (2022 OA-059, which I sponsored) to codify our commitment to fair labor practices as an employer. This strengthens the meet and confer process, adds protections for gender identity, and provides for the democratic participation of workers in their workplace. These are protections that were directly attacked at the State level through Act 10, and codifying them is an expression of our commitment to support workers here in Dane County.
Ground breaks on the new South Central Wisconsin Library Service headquarters, right here in Madison, on April 25. I’m excited about this because it moves this critical service from rented office space to an owned, purpose-made facility. I sponsored the resolution approving this along with Sups. McCarville and Engelberger.
I announced 2023 RES-393, which if passed would end the practice of renting Dane County Jail space for Federal detainees. Here’s why: Most of these detainees are not from Dane County, and I don’t think we should be renting this space out while at the same time sending County detainees—nearly all of whom are Dane County residents—to jail facilities in other counties. We also aren’t paid at-cost for the Federal detainees, which isn’t fair to taxpayers. As of this writing, 2023 RES-393 was recommended for approval by the County’s Public Protection and Judiciary Committee. It will likely come before the Board in April.
We passed 2022 RES-338, a contract award for modernizing the Dane County Sheriff’s training facilities. I supported this and am particularly excited about it. This project will expand accommodations for women and non-binary trainees, thereby allowing us to further diversify the Sheriff’s Office. That’s worthwhile in itself, and modernization is also key to solving ongoing staffing shortfalls.
We’ve received final designs for the new Dane County Jail build-out. We have a funding shortfall (roughly $12-13 million). The Board takes this up sometime in April, starting with a joint meeting of the Public Protection & Judiciary and Personnel & Finance Committees on April 10.
Thank you for reading. As always, reach out if you have any questions or concerns!