State utility regulators have signed off on an energy developer’s proposal to build a pair of new natural gas power plants in southern Wisconsin tied to rapidly growing electricity demand from data centers.

The post State regulators approve 2 southern Wisconsin natural gas plants appeared first on WPR.

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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is proposing to shift authority to regulate coal ash landfills in Wisconsin from the federal government to state environmental regulators.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources sought approval in February of its program to oversee disposal of coal combustion residuals, or coal ash, from the state’s electric utilities. Wisconsin has six coal ash landfills that are owned by Dairyland Power Cooperative, Alliant Energy, Wisconsin Public Service and We Energies.

Coal ash is what’s left behind from burning coal at power plants to produce electricity. Metals or pollutants within that waste, including arsenic, lead and mercury, can contaminate groundwater without proper storage.

Anne Vogel, EPA’s regional administrator for its Chicago-based office, said the agency wants to eliminate duplicate regulation.

“It’s really about having to go to two different regulators and eliminating that barrier makes things more efficient, more cost effective for the management of these landfills in a protective way,” Vogel told WPR.

The state’s regulations must be at least as stringent as federal requirements, but they could be even more protective.

Wisconsin moved to streamline regulations under an update to rules for coal ash landfills in 2022, said Kate Strom Hiorns, director of DNR’s Waste Materials Management Program. Those changes incorporated 2015 regulations imposed by the Obama administration that addressed landfill design, groundwater monitoring and closure requirements.

“By submitting this and getting this program approval, it’s that recognition that our regulations are as protective as the federal regulations, and that the sites that are being regulated can be regulated for the most part solely under state regulators and inspections,” Strom Hiorns said.

Wisconsin utilities support a shift to one set of regulations for their coal ash landfills.

“Utilities in Wisconsin have been regulated by the state for many years; transferring this particular permitting authority from the federal to state government is a positive step for Wisconsin,” said Dairyland spokesperson Katie Thomson.

However, Cheryl Nenn with the environmental group Milwaukee Riverkeeper said she’s in favor of dual regulation.

“Given the changes in politics at the state level and the federal level, there’s some benefit to having that dual oversight,” Nenn said, highlighting the state’s adoption of federal regulations.

The Obama and Biden administrations strengthened coal ash regulations, including a 2024 rule that required oversight of inactive landfills. Under the Trump administration, the EPA has proposed rolling back and revising those requirements.

“They’d essentially remove or exempt a lot of these coal ash dump sites from regulation entirely, even though many of them are already showing evidence of groundwater contamination,” Nenn said.

Nenn said there has been groundwater contamination at the closed, unlined Cedar Sauk Ash Landfill in Ozaukee County that received coal ash from We Energies’ Port Washington power plant from 1969 to 1977.

The DNR has ordered the utility to address contamination and conduct sampling for boron and sulfate, which found levels of boron exceeded groundwater standards. We Energies has said the utility has seen “declining trends” for both in monitoring wells, and sampling indicates no effects to nearby private wells. 

Strom Hiorns said the state requires utilities to conduct groundwater sampling and has long monitored groundwater at closed coal ash landfills, which wouldn’t change under the federal proposal.

She said other landfills owned by We Energies and Alliant Energy have also exceeded preventive action limits or enforcement standards for groundwater. Those detections are tied to older parts of those sites or naturally occurring substances, such as boron or molybdenum.

Brendan Conway, a spokesperson for WPS and We Energies, said their landfills are actively monitored for groundwater impacts and managed in line with state and federal requirements. An Alliant spokesperson said it’s committed to full compliance.

Under the EPA’s proposal, Wisconsin would assume authority only for coal ash landfills. The EPA would continue to oversee coal ash ponds. The EPA is currently accepting public comments on its proposal to shift regulation to Wisconsin’s program. A virtual public hearing will be held Nov. 9.

This story was originally published by WPR.

EPA proposes shifting oversight of coal ash landfills in Wisconsin to state regulators is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

The Wisconsin Department of Justice has reached a $245,000 settlement with a large livestock farm in Juneau County over allegations of manure polluting groundwater.

The post Wisconsin DOJ reaches $245K settlement with CAFO over manure pollution appeared first on WPR.

“Flush it and forget it” is easier for Wisconsin residents who are connected to municipal wastewater treatment systems. But there are more than 750,000 septic systems operating in the state. These privately-owned systems require regular maintenance and pumping.

The post Why septic system owners can’t just ‘flush and forget’ appeared first on WPR.

If elected governor, Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany said he would audit spending at the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources before considering any fee or tax increases to support fish and wildlife management.

The post Tom Tiffany says he will audit Wisconsin DNR before weighing any fee increases appeared first on WPR.

The state recently announced it had planted its 50 millionth tree as part of the effort.

The post DNR says Wisconsin has planted its 50 millionth tree as part of the trillion tree pledge  appeared first on WPR.

Wisconsin environmental regulators have notified Enbridge of seven alleged violations of state environmental laws on a $1 billion project to reroute its Line 5 oil and gas pipeline in northern Wisconsin.

The post Wisconsin DNR notifies Enbridge of alleged violations on Line 5 reroute appeared first on WPR.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources issued a notice of violation to the Enbridge Energy Company for incidents in Iron and Ashland counties, where the company is working on a controversial reroute of its Line 5 oil and gas pipeline. 

The notice includes violations of permit conditions of the reroute construction project, and violations of state environmental laws for the unpermitted construction of a bypass around the Saxon Line 5 spill site. It covers laws involving state water quality, wetlands, navigable waterways, air quality, storm water and endangered resources protection.

The violations are alleged to have occurred from March 30 through Sept. 21 of this year. In August, a section of the pipeline leaked natural gas liquid near the town of Saxon, with drone video of the leak showing plumes of smokey vapor pouring out of an area where trucks and equipment were parked. Enbridge said that the leak occurred when an unoccupied truck rolled over an open excavation site near a valve project. Environmental groups fear that the leak could have been the largest of its kind in Wisconsin history.

 

 

The violation notice sets an enforcement conference, which is a standard step where the DNR and Enbridge will discuss the alleged violations. After the conference, the DNR can take further enforcement action such as issuing citations, referring the case to the Wisconsin Department of Justice for prosecution to seek forfeitures, or other court-related actions. 

A DNR press release notes that the notice of violation is separate from Enbridge’s responsibility under the spills law to respond to hazardous substances which may have been released during the August leak.

“These allegations are numerous and serious,” said Clean Wisconsin Attorney Evan Feinauer in a statement. “The DNR must now use the full force of its enforcement authority to hold Enbridge accountable and secure relief that addresses the significant harm to our environment Enbridge has caused.”

This article was updated with comment from Clean Wisconsin.

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Enbridge said an early morning fire destroyed a drill rig and support equipment on a $1 billion project to reroute its Line 5 oil and gas pipeline in northern Wisconsin.

In a statement, Enbridge spokesperson Juli Kellner called the fire that damaged a horizontal directional drill rig and related equipment an act of vandalism. She said there was also graffiti found at the site. No details were provided on where the fire took place, but Kellner said no injuries were reported.

Iron County Sheriff Paul Samardich confirmed the blaze occurred in Ashland County. The Ashland County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to requests for additional details on the fire.

The incident follows two other fires targeting Enbridge that occurred last month, including a blaze in Ashland County that destroyed a drill rig on the Line 5 reroute.

“This is the second major vandalism involving construction equipment on the project,” Kellner said. “These incidents put the local community, landowners, first responders and our workers at risk and result in environmental impacts.”

The FBI and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, or ATF, are investigating the cause of the two previous fires that occurred in the town of Gingles and the city of Superior. Representatives of the FBI and ATF did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Kellner said Enbridge supports people’s rights to express their views “legally and peacefully.”

“Acts that damage property and put people or the environment at risk are neither legal nor peaceful,” Kellner said. “We take these incidents very seriously and will cooperate fully with authorities as they investigate and seek to hold those responsible accountable.”

Enbridge’s Line 5 pipeline carries up to 23 million gallons of oil and natural gas liquids daily from Superior to Sarnia, Ontario, serving 10 refineries and propane facilities in the Great Lakes region.

The fires come after an Aug. 25 gas leak on Line 5 in the town of Saxon released more than 1.3 million gallons of natural gas liquids into the atmosphere. Preliminary findings suggest a subcontractor’s truck was in neutral when it rolled into an open construction trench, striking the pipeline. No one was injured in the incident, and response to the spill is still ongoing.

Following the leak, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources asked Enbridge to halt work on a temporary bypass around the site of the leak, saying the company lacked necessary approvals.

On Sept. 28, Enbridge also reported a release of groundwater at a site where crews were directly installing pipe underneath the Marengo River. It was initially reported as an aquifer breach, and the DNR has since said it’s still investigating the source of the release and determining any negative effects to groundwater.

This story was originally published by WPR.

Enbridge says another fire destroys drill rig on Line 5 project in northern Wisconsin is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

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Dan Kuebler is out on a hot August morning on what used to be his farm.

Kuebler grew fruits and vegetables on 30 acres in Ashland, Missouri, and for decades he sold his produce at the Columbia Farmers Market. 

“Ashland was a little, bitty, sleepy town in ’77 when we bought it,” Kuebler said. 

Then, small towns in southern Boone County started becoming homes to those working in nearby Columbia or Jefferson City. Kuebler watched farmland on his 2-mile dead end road get sold and broken up into parcels. As he neared retirement, he needed to come up with a plan for the future of his farmland. 

“I don’t want it split up into five-acre plots … and become a development. That is just like — that’s sacrilege,” he said. 

Kuebler began farming at the age of 40. For the next 33 years, he grew dozens of varieties of vegetables and eventually branched out into making fermented foods such as sauerkraut, pickles and kimchi. He balanced managing the farm along with his other job as an in-home physical therapist. 

Kuebler is passionate about local farmers providing food for their community. He was an active seller at the farmers market and advocated for the permanent shelter that now houses the market on the west side of Columbia. 

As new development encroached on his neighborhood, Kuebler wanted to protect his farm from being broken up.

“I don’t want to sell it to the highest bidder. I want it to stay in farmland. So how should I do that?” he said.

The demand for more housing often comes at the expense of farmland. Flat, cleared fields are ideal for development. 

Now some agriculture advocates are encouraging farmers and landowners to use a legal tool to ensure their land remains farmable. 

They believe the need is critical. At least 50 million acres of farmland in the Midwest are set to change hands by the end of the decade due in part to the average age of farmers and landowners.

Kuebler worked with a local land trust to attach what’s known as a conservation or agriculture easement to his property deed. It dictates that the farmland must remain farmland no matter who owns it — forever.

“You cannot subdivide it, you cannot sell it off for residential development or commercial development. That is the guiding principle,” said Nick Shapiro, executive director of the Greenbelt Land Trust of Mid-Missouri, the organization Kuebler worked with. 

Land trusts do the work of ensuring current and future property owners follow the stipulations laid out in agriculture easements. 

“The initial landowner who donates the easement knows, not only is there this legal document out there that binds future owners, there is also an organization out there that is required to look after that easement in perpetuity and to defend it and to make sure that it is upheld and respected,” Shapiro said.

‘Best use’ of land

In recent years, about 2,000 acres of American farmland a day have been lost or compromised by development, according to American Farmland Trust, a national land preservation organization. The group estimates another 18.4 million acres — an area almost the size of South Carolina — will be converted by 2040.

Development pressures come from urban sprawl, when metropolitan areas continue to creep outward, paving over once-rural places. But what’s known as “low-density residential” development is also a threat. 

Housing built in the country on large plots of former farmland repurposed nearly 7 million acres of agricultural land between 2001 and 2016. 

American Farmland Trust’s analysis shows rural housing development is especially high in Missouri, elsewhere in the Midwest and in the South. 

Josh Wright is with American Farmland Trust, where he helps landowners through the often yearslong legal and financial process of securing an easement to protect land from development.

“People who have spent their entire lives working their land, whether it be in their family for many generations or not, you become so attached to it and all of your effort could be snatched up and paved over as soon as you sell the property,” he said. 

But placing development restrictions on a piece of land could reduce its value by up to 65%. Exactly how much depends on a number of factors, including location, nearby development pressures and how restrictive the easement is.

“Whenever you go to sell your property, it’s going to be appraised, and that’s going to be judged at best, highest dollar — and they call it best use in the industry,” Wright said. 

In other words, the most profitable use, which farming generally isn’t.

“Unfortunately, it’s probably considered the worst use,” he said.

 Twelve years ago, Congress expanded federal easement initiatives, setting aside about $450 million a year to compensate farm owners for a portion of reduced value of their land through a program known as ACEP-ALE, which stands for Agricultural Conservation Easement Program – Agricultural Land Easements.

That funding, which has since been increased to $650 million annually, filters through nonprofit organizations, such as land trusts, state and local agencies, or tribal governments, to essentially buy a property’s development rights from the farm owner.

Eric Gramlich works with Ozark Land Trust, a conservation organization focused on preserving land in Arkansas and Missouri. 

Although the government can provide a financial cushion to soften the blow of the drop in value a piece of property under easement will experience, Gramlich said it’s unlikely to be the landowner’s most lucrative option. 

“Even those payments would struggle to keep up with the demand and the price of land for commercial development or large scale subdivision development,” Gramlich said. “So I think the financial means, even for willing land owners, that’s a big challenge for them, and also a big challenge for us to rise up and … be on some sort of a playing field with the other competing interests for that land.”

More than 1 million acres of farmland have been preserved through easements since the federal program began in 2014. But more than half of that land is in just three states: Montana, Wyoming and Colorado. 

Currently, no farmland in Missouri has been restricted from development under the federal program. Illinois has 445 acres of farmland under permanent easements, and Iowa has 2,320 acres.

Gramlich said that’s because there still aren’t that many land trust organizations in Missouri, and the agricultural community is still learning about the option. 

“I’d like to think that we’ll be gaining more efficiencies in the program now that it’s been established, but it is generally a multiyear process to get the application in, the contracting paperwork, and then to actually do the boots-on-the-ground work of getting the easement in place,” he said. 

President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill increased the federal easement program funding to $650 million annually, to be used to preserve both farmland and wetlands. 

But preserving farmland through easements is time-consuming, while losing farmland to development can happen rapidly. 

A few years ago the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the agency that administers the easement program, made an effort to “streamline” multiple parts of the process including land appraisals, surveys and certifying organizations such as land trusts. 

In mid-Missouri, Shapiro hopes the land owners out there who value their farm’s legacy will consider preserving it with an easement.

“The older farmers who are looking to get out might be willing to take less than top dollar if they know that there is someone who really wants to take their land and run it and manage it in a way that is consistent with their shared values,” Shapiro said.

His organization, Green Belt Land Trust, was formed to preserve natural areas such as forests and wetlands. It expanded its work to farmland as development pressures increased.

“So much of mid-Missouri’s not just economy, but culture and heritage is based in farming,” Shapiro said. “There is an important role for us to play in helping to preserve that heritage as well.” 

Giving up the farm

On the north side of Kansas City, Kansas, Rick Mareske has been growing berries and forest farming on 40 acres of land for the past 20 years. His food gets to local customers through a community supported agriculture, or CSA, subscription program. 

Mareske and his wife are weighing options for the future of their business and farmland. They considered an easement for their property.

“The cons are, it’s expensive,” he said. “It’s like 20, 25 thousand dollars just to do it, and then you lose money.”

Mareske’s land is a financial asset he’s counting on for retirement income. He said he doesn’t want the years he spent caring for his land to be erased, but he can’t afford to sell for less.

“We’re trying to make it as beautiful as possible and as enticing as possible for someone to buy it and keep it going the way we have it,” he said.

With or without an easement, Mareske hopes the future of his land includes farming.

Meanwhile, in Boone County, after 33 years Dan Kuebler has stopped selling produce and preserves at the farmers market. He still goes each Saturday to buy his food for the week and catch up with his former customers as he shops. 

“I see them and we talk, and it’s like I really didn’t lose my community,” he said. 

Kuebler estimates that it cost him about $20,000 to place an easement on his land, most of that cost coming from the land survey and appraisal. He didn’t take advantage of the federal ACEP-ALE program and its compensation offer, even though his 30 acres of fields, forest and pastures dropped about $90,000 in value once development rights were stripped. 

He sold the land to another local farmer last year. The easement requires the land remain in agriculture and that the methods used to grow crops are sustainable or regenerative. 

There’s a small, old cabin on the property, and one of the more unique stipulations of the easement is that Kuebler gets to spend time there, and on the land, until he dies. 

“I really couldn’t give up the farm totally because I (am) so attached to it,” he said.

This story is a product of the Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk, an independent environmental reporting network covering America’s largest watershed. Sign up for the desk’s newsletter here. Read the story on the desk partner’s site.

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Aging farmers and the government want to save farms, but for many the cost is too high is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

Enbridge said an early morning fire destroyed a drill rig and support equipment on a $1 billion project to reroute its Line 5 oil and gas pipeline in northern Wisconsin.

The post Enbridge says another fire destroys drill rig on Line 5 project in northern Wisconsin appeared first on WPR.

Biden-era changes to the Clean Air Act would have tightened regulations for industrial sites, but the Trump administration has given exemptions to hundreds of facilities. People living near the sites are concerned about air quality and their well-being.

The post Communities worry for their health after Trump weakens pollution limits: ‘It’s a kick in the gut’ appeared first on WPR.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is proposing to shift authority to regulate coal ash landfills from the federal government to Wisconsin environmental regulators.

The post EPA proposes shifting oversight of coal ash landfills in Wisconsin to state regulators appeared first on WPR.

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Lake sturgeon have been around for more than 130 million years, long before the Great Lakes formed. Commercial fishing in the 19th century, followed by damming rivers, nearly wiped out the species in the Milwaukee River basin.

A breeding and release program led by Riveredge Nature Center, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and Wisconsin’s tribal communities aims to reverse the damage. This year marks the project’s 20th anniversary.

Staff collect sturgeon eggs, then hatch and raise them in a trailer at Riveredge Nature Center using water from the Milwaukee River. Over the past 20 years, the program has released more than 23,000 sturgeon.

Each fall, that work culminates in Sturgeon Fest, where people release young lake sturgeon into Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Milwaukee River. Wisconsin Watch attended the festival on Sept. 27 in Milwaukee’s Harbor District. Watch the video for the sights and sounds of the event — and to see us release a sturgeon of our own.

Males mature slightly faster than females and have been spotted in the Milwaukee River. The Wisconsin DNR hopes females will soon reach the age — about 20 years — when they typically begin spawning.

If they do, Milwaukee could see sturgeon spawn in the basin for the first time in more than a century.

Watch: How Wisconsin’s lake sturgeon are making a comeback in the Milwaukee River basin is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

A factory farm in Pierce County filed a lawsuit late last month appealing an administrative law judge’s decision that the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources didn’t include enough groundwater protections when approving a permit allowing the farm to expand from 1,700 to 6,500 cows. 

The Ridge Breeze Dairy in Maiden Rock has long been the subject of local activism against the expansion, which is expected to generate 78 million gallons of manure every year. The initial DNR permit process drew significant public participation. 

The dairy is owned by the Appleton-based Breeze Dairy Group, which operates a number of farms in the state — some with a history of manure spills. 

Communities across Wisconsin are facing the effects of massive factory farms on their local water, particularly rural areas where residents get their drinking water from private wells. The groundwater around the Ridge Breeze site already has elevated nitrate levels, which have been linked to blue-baby syndrome, thyroid disease and colon cancer.

The DNR approved the expansion permit in February 2025. During the application process, the agency had to send the permit back to the farm operators once because it named nearby properties as sites for planned manure spreading although those property owners were never contacted.

After the approval, a group of local residents and the advocacy group Grassroots Organizing Western Wisconsin filed a lawsuit alleging that the permit did not do enough to ensure that the area groundwater was protected. 

Two days of hearings were held in Eau Claire in March and in August Administrative Law Judge Angela Chaput Foy ruled in favor of the residents, sending the permit back to the DNR to include a process through which the agency can verify that the farm isn’t harming the groundwater. 

“By omitting a mechanism to verify actual compliance, the Department has issued a mandate while simultaneously denying itself the tools or data necessary to know whether that mandate is broken,” Chaput Foy wrote.

In the lawsuit, filed Sept. 23 in Outagamie County Circuit Court, the farm argues that it’s “aggrieved” by being forced to verify it is following the law, mostly because it would have to pay the cost of digging groundwater monitoring wells. 

In recent years, Wisconsin factory farms and their allied advocacy groups have also filed lawsuits that argue the DNR lacks the authority to regulate their pollutants at all. 

Ridge Breeze argues that state law doesn’t include a mechanism through which the DNR can verify compliance with groundwater standards in a factory farm’s permit. 

“The ALJ concludes that the lack of mechanisms in the Permit to verify that Ridge Breeze’s practices comply with the standards is inherently contradictory to the mandate to assure compliance with those standards,” the lawsuit states. “The Decision thus improperly conflates the statutory requirement to assure compliance with a (non-existent) obligation to prescribe conditions that verify compliance. Nothing in [state statute] requires the DNR to require groundwater monitoring or some other mechanism to ‘verify’ compliance or detect non-compliance.”

The dairy points to parts of Chaput Foy’s decision in which she finds that the provisions included in the initial permit should be strong enough to protect the groundwater. 

“By disregarding substantial record evidence that showed the terms prescribed in the Permit were reasonable and sufficient to assure compliance with groundwater standards — including the ALJ’s own conclusion that the permit ‘sets Ridge Breeze up for anticipated compliance’ — the Decision is outside the range of discretion conferred upon DNR and is unreasonable, arbitrary and capricious, and should be reversed and/or remanded to the agency,” the lawsuit states. 

Danny Akenson, an organizer with GROWW, said in a statement that Ridge Breeze appealing the decision shows the farm cares more about its bottom line than being a good neighbor. 

“We fought for three years to make sure the state has a way to determine whether Ridge Breeze is contaminating our groundwater, and the judge agreed with us,” Akenson said. “Factory farm special interests care more about protecting corporate profits than protecting the groundwater Wisconsin families rely on. Ridge Breeze may have deep pockets for legal fees, but we’re organized, and we’re not going to let them off the hook.”

The Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission is condemning what it calls a lack of communication between state agencies and tribal communities after nine wolves were trapped and euthanized in Price County. In a press release, the commission described the wolves as a pack consisting of four pups, three yearlings, and two adults. 

“This action damages existing relationships and fractures trust,” said GLIFWC Executive Administrator Jason Schlender in a statement. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources said late last week that the wolves posed a threat to humans following incidents reported in July 2025 and August 2026. Non-lethal measures were unsuccessful in deterring the wolves, a DNR spokesperson said, according to Wisconsin Public Radio.

“We remind the WDNR and USDA Wildlife Services to involve GLIFWC and its member tribes in the decision-making process,” Schlender said in his statement. Wolves represent powerful symbols, spirits and teachers for many tribal communities. “Simply handing us the remains of our relatives after killing them does not constitute meaningful consultation.”

In 2021, when the DNR held a controversial wolf hunt, tribal communities opted not to hunt wolves on their lands. A quota of 200 wolves had been set by the DNR, a certain portion of which was allocated to tribal communities. Hunters in the rest of the state exceeded the quota in less than three days. 

The killing of the nine wolves represents the first time wolves were killed by officials in Wisconsin since a 2022 court ruling returning the animals to the Endangered Species List.

Earlier this month, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to remove the gray wolf from the federal endangered species list. 

Wolves have come into conflict with rural and farming communities in Wisconsin, killing livestock and pets and triggering a campaign to restart Wisconsin’s wolf hunt. Wolf attacks on humans are rare, and only two fatal wolf attacks on humans have been documented in the last 20 years. 

Randy Johnson, the DNR’s large carnivore specialist, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that efforts to chase off the wolves using sound, lights and hazing were unsuccessful, and that “reports demonstrated a pattern of behavioral escalation, with the wolves showing less response to hazing and more acclimation to human presence.”

Investigative reports obtained by the Wisconsin Examiner describe three separate complaints made in August. The complaints describe wolves, sometimes collared, coming within close proximity of properties, such as in yards, driveways, or grassy areas. One of the reports mentioned chicken depredations. Another report stated that a wolf had come within 20 yards of a man mowing brush on his tractor in an effort to deter the wolves. The third report mentioned a person who saw a wolf near  five-gallon bait bucket for bears. The reports described the wolves as unafraid of people, and said efforts to deter them had been ineffective.

The Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission states that it was left out of the decision to euthanize the wolves, and that the Wisconsin DNR and federal government had met multiple times since 2025. “At no time during that period did WDNR or federal representatives contact GLIFWC staff to inform them of reported threats, share data, or provide decision-making criteria, bypassing consultation with GLIFWC and its member tribes,” the commission stated. 

It added that courts have ruled that the state of Wisconsin is required to co-manage resources within ceded Indigenous territories, such as those where the nine wolves were killed. This cooperation was reaffirmed in an executive order from Gov. Tony Evers in 2019, directing state agencies to consult with tribal governments on “matters that may directly or indirectly impact tribal nations.”

The commission says in its statement that the gray wolf is  known to the the Lake Superior Ojibwe as Ma’iingan, is considered a clan relative, and is a key cultural figure that has been mistreated and misunderstood. 

“People are often afraid of wolves, and wolves are too often mischaracterized,” said Conrad St. John, St. Croix tribal chairman and Voigt Intertribal Task Force chair. “Our elders relay that our communities have co-existed with Ma’iingan since the very beginning and we still don’t have any documented cases of attacks on humans in Wisconsin.”

Alex Bohman, GLIFWC biological services director, said that wolves strengthen deer populations by removing sick, weak, or old animals. “Tribes have coexisted with wolves for hundreds of years and can bring traditional ecological knowledge, as well as western science and data to these discussions.” Bohman said that state and federal agencies should engage with the commission and its member tribes on wolf management. “Ideally, this will lead to agreement on the most appropriate course of action,” she said.

An aquifer breach has occurred in northern Wisconsin, along the reroute path of the Enbridge Line 5 oil and gas pipeline. In a statement, Enbridge spokesperson Juli Kellner said that “a flow of water was observed following the direct installation of pipe beneath the Marengo River.”

Kellner said that Enbridge is working with the Department of Natural Resources “and other engineering and environmental specialists to determine next steps.” The breach was first reported by Northern News Now.

It’s unclear how much water was released due to the breach. The DNR didn’t respond to requests for comment. 

In August, a section of Line 5 released more than 1.3 million gallons of natural gas liquid after an unoccupied truck rolled and damaged the pipeline. WPR reported that the leak was the largest of its kind for both Enbridge and the state of Wisconsin. 

Enbridge previously  breached an aquifer while building the Line 3 pipeline in Minnesota. The breach led to an uncontrolled release of hundreds of millions of gallons of groundwater. Minnesota’s attorney general filed charges against the company in that case. 

Line 5 is a decades-old pipeline that carries up to 23 million gallons of crude oil and natural gas liquids daily from Ontario to the southern Unites States. In 2019, the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa sued Enbridge to shut the pipeline down and to expel the Canadian-owned company from tribal lands. 

Enbridge has since begun work on rerouting Line 5 around the reservation, a move that has been contested by tribal communities and environmental groups as endangering ecosystems and natural resources. Legal battles over the pipeline’s future continue in federal court. Advocates have called on the Wisconsin DNR to revoke the permits granted to Enbridge to carry out the reroute.

On Tuesday, a DNR spokesperson sent an emailed statement to Wisconsin Examiner, stating that the state agency is monitoring the groundwater release. The breach occurred during the installation of a new section of pipeline. The spokesperson added that the area’s hydrology is complex and that “it is unknown if this event is caused by a aquifer breach. The flow rate for the release is 5% of the flow rates of confirmed aquifer breaches in other states involving similar projects.

This article was updated with comment from the Department of Natural Resources.

 

Ahead of her Oct. 6 talk at UW-Superior, the granddaughter of Jacques Cousteau says technology, public concern and knowledge of restoration offer hope for the world’s waters

The post Oceans advocate Alexandra Cousteau champions ‘our lucky moment’ for Lake Superior appeared first on WPR.

Enbridge is responding to an aquifer breach on a $1 billion project to reroute its Line 5 oil and gas pipeline in northern Wisconsin.

The post Aquifer breach occurs on Enbridge’s Line 5 in northern Wisconsin appeared first on WPR.

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Editor’s note: This story was updated Oct. 5, 2026 to add comment from the Wisconsin Citizens Utility Board.

Oracle is looking to Wisconsin’s only operating nuclear plant to power its Ozaukee County data center.

We Energies announced an agreement with the cloud computing giant on Friday that would allow Oracle to “subscribe” to between 10% and 20% of the Point Beach Nuclear Plant’s electricity generation. That electricity would help meet the energy needs of Project Lighthouse, the data center campus in Port Washington that Oracle is co-developing with artificial intelligence firm OpenAI. 

The agreement still requires approval by Wisconsin’s Public Service Commission. If it is approved, We Energies spokesman Brendan Conway said it could spare the utility’s other customers roughly $300 million in fuel costs over the next five years.

The 60-year-old Point Beach plant in Manitowoc County is the state’s largest generator, but the electricity it produces is more expensive than alternatives. We Energies spends about twice as much on fuel as its sibling utility, Wisconsin Public Service Company (PSC). The cost of nuclear fuel for Point Beach accounts for much of the difference. 

We Energies owned the facility until 2007, when it sold Point Beach to independent energy infrastructure giant NextEra Energy but continued purchasing most of the plant’s electricity output. The utility’s current purchase agreement expires in 2033, but We Energies recently signed on to continue buying roughly 86% of the plant’s electricity for another 20-year term. 

“The announcement by Oracle is certainly a step forward, as we have been seeking relief on this for years,” Wisconsin Citizens Utility Board Executive Director Tom Content said. “Whether that is a baby step or a leap forward for affordability remains to be seen.”

Meanwhile, We Energies filed a separate application with the PSC on Friday seeking approval  to build a new natural gas power plant on the site of the Fox Energy Center in Outagamie County. The proposed plant would more than double the site’s electricity output.

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We Energies strikes deal to power Oracle data center with nuclear energy is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.