As Policies Change At DNR, Agency Still Trying To Do More With Less

As the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources plans a major reorganization that proposes giving large livestock operations more leeway to write their own permit applications, at least one long-term trend will continue: the agency`s work is growing more complex while its staff and budget are shrinking.

DNR Secretary Cathy Stepp pitches the plan as a way to streamline the environmental permitting process, especially for the concentrated animal feeding operations that have become more prominent around the state since the turn of the century. Private environmental consultants, certified by the DNR, already work with CAFOs to help draft permits and plans to manage animal waste that pollutes water. Stepp`s plan would expand the role of consultants, giving them more of the responsibility for determining technical and compliance details that DNR employees cover now.