Current Issues
Badger Commission Pushes Army on Soil Testing for Explosives
Government officials took action last night calling for improved testing for explosives which have caused widespread groundwater contamination at the closing Badger Army Ammunition Plant. Members of the Badger Oversight Management Commission – which include...
WDNR Nervous About Pushing Military on Cleanup
Escalating pressure from the Department of Defense has prompted administrators at the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) to step back from an order which would have made the Army responsible for testing contaminated soils for all six isomers (forms) of...
CSWAB Gains Better Soil Testing for Explosives
State regulators have ordered the U.S. Army to improve soil test methods for a carcinogenic explosive that has contaminated groundwater and drinking water wells in rural communities near Badger Army Ammunition Plant. The precedent-setting decision by the Wisconsin...
Unsafe Levels of Explosives Detected in Groundwater Near Prairie du Sac
Badger Army Ammunition Plant officials have reported that sampling conducted in June detected unsafe levels of explosives in a groundwater monitoring well in a rural neighborhood north of Prairie du Sac. At the regular meeting of the local Restoration Advisory Board...
CSWAB Petitions for Better Testing for Explosives
Citizens for Safe Water Around Badger (CSWAB) has made a formal request to state regulators asking that soil testing requirements at Badger Army Ammunition Plant be updated. The recommendation follows the adoption of new state groundwater standards for all six...
WDNR Says Army Exit Plan Must Restore Environment
State regulators have determined that a water supply system proposed by the U.S. Army as the primary final remedy for groundwater contamination at Badger Army Ammunition Plant could help protect public health but, by itself, will not meet environmental protection...
Army Should Provide Rural Residents with Better Choices
The Army has just released a report which asks the public to choose between three alternative solutions to groundwater contamination in and around Badger Army Ammunition Plant. A 90-day clock is ticking to choose either a new municipal drinking water system or...
Army Expects Area Farmers to Use Municipal Water
Last night, Badger Army Ammunition Plant officials told the Town of Sumpter board that local dairy farmers, graziers, stables, and other farm operators would be expected to abandon their existing livestock wells and pay for water from the Army’s proposed municipal...
Successful Farming Relies on Clean Groundwater
The U.S. Army has identified more than 10,000 acres in and around Badger Army Ammunition Plant that are at risk for groundwater contamination in the future, likely for decades. While the municipal water system proposed by the Army could provide an alternate source of...
States See Public Involvement as Key in Munitions Cleanups
State environmental regulators have published a new report emphasizing the importance of community involvement in munitions cleanups to ensure safety and often to reduce cleanup costs. The report, published last month by the Association of State and Territorial Solid...
Badger Restoration Advisory Board Challenges Army Decision
Today, members of the Badger Restoration Advisory Board (RAB) took the first step in a formal appeal of the Army’s recent denial of their request for an independent technical advisor. The January 24 letter to the installation director at Badger Army Ammunition Plant...
Army Seeks Exemptions to Groundwater Standards
Merrimac Town Board Asks WDNR for Public Hearing On January 5, CSWAB appeared before the Town of Merrimac board and informed local officials of the Army’s formal request for exemptions to state groundwater standards for nitrate, nitrite, manganese, and arsenic at a...