Current Issues
Merrimac Wants Army to Clean up Contamination Affecting Lake Wisconsin and Private Wells
Last night, Town of Merrimac board members unanimously passed a resolution calling on the U.S. Army to clean up groundwater contamination that is affecting private drinking water wells and is discharging into the wetlands and surface water of Lake Wisconsin at...
Badger Contamination has Reached Lake Wisconsin
A new environmental study has confirmed that groundwater contamination from an old hazardous waste dump at Badger Army Ammunition Plant has moved beyond the plant boundary and is discharging into Lake Wisconsin at Weigand’s Bay. Concentrations of the carcinogenic...
Hilgenberg Urges DNR to Address BAAP Groundwater Contaminants
On behalf of residents in his district, State Representative Steve Hilgenberg is encouraging the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to respond to concerns about unregulated groundwater contaminants originating from the Badger Army Ammunition Plant (BAAP)....
Wisconsin Groundwater Standards for Explosives Will Set Precedent
A precedent-setting move by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) is being applauded by rural neighbors of the Badger Army Ammunition Plant but is expected to draw strong opposition from the U.S. military. The WDNR recently received approval from the...
USDA Should Invest in Grazing, not Confinement
A diverse coalition of 35 organizations representing family farming, healthy food initiatives, social and environmental justice, conservation, and community-supportive agriculture is urging the U.S. Department of Agriculture and University of Wisconsin to invest...
Federal Investigation Will Probe Historical Exposures to Ammo Plant Workers & Families
U.S. Senator Russ Feingold has asked for an investigation into potential exposures and health risks to tens of thousands of workers, their families, and other onsite personnel that may have resulted from past exposures to contaminated drinking water at Badger Army...
Army Finds Explosives in Rural Merrimac Wells
Army contractors have announced that new test results have detected explosives in at least two residential wells at Weigand’s Bay in the rural township of Merrimac. This is the first time that Dinitrotoluene (DNT) has been reported in private wells near the northeast...
Solvent Persists in Groundwater Near Badger
Recent testing by the U.S. Army has detected elevated concentrations of the carcinogenic solvent Trichloroethylene (TCE) in groundwater at the far west boundary of the Badger Army Ammunition Plant. In March 2009, TCE levels were detected at 25 parts per billion...
EPA Questions Military’s Handling of PCBs
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) wants answers to dozens of long-standing questions about the handling of PCB-contaminated wastes at Badger Army Ammunition Plant and other U.S. Army production facilities nationwide. In a July 7 letter to the U.S. Army,...
Army Deer Study Is Inconclusive
A new technical review by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has found that concentrations of the explosive DNT may be increasing in groundwater in the rural town of Merrimac. Residential areas that may be in the path of contamination originating from Badger Army...
Disappointing Results at Gruber’s Grove Bay
In a June 7 letter to Citizens for Safe Water Around Badger (CSWAB), the Wisconsin DNR said it has found mercury concentrations more than 25 times the required cleanup goal and almost 400 times higher than levels reported by the Army in sediments at Gruber’s Grove Bay...
U.S. Army Corps Study Targets Merrimac Groundwater
A new technical review by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has found that concentrations of the explosive DNT may be increasing in groundwater in the rural town of Merrimac. Residential areas that may be in the path of contamination originating from Badger Army...