So Waukesha is trying to set a terrible precedent in water politics: It's applying to receive the first exemption to the 2008 Great Lakes Compact, a multi-state agreement that forbid the draining of the Great Lakes. This legally-binding compact was mainly fueled by concerns about water-starved regions far to the south, in the Sun Belt, pleading for resources. But Waukesha has proven that even towns just a few dozen miles from the world's greatest body of fresh water can beggar themselves.
James Rowen at the Political Environment reports that after years of political tussling with its neighbors, Waukesha has completed its application for Great Lakes water, and now the approval process is moving forward:
Despite the delays and blown deadlines -- if the DNR green-lights the plan and it wins the other Great Lakes states' mandatory and unanimous approvals to allow the diversion's projected $206 million construction -- revenue sources still not solidly in hand -- the Waukesha city water utility manager is in line for cash bonuses.
The decision-making process on the exemption will likely be politically-charged. Waukesha is a well-known national Republican stronghold, its growth largely fueled by people moving away from areas closer to the city of Milwaukee. In Governor Scott Walker's Wisconsin, it's unclear whether state's weakened DNR, where the words "climate change" are reportedly off limits, will be an impartial actor. Meanwhile, to win an exemption from the Great Lakes Compact, the plan will also need the support of eight governors -- a majority of whom are Republicans.
Elsewhere on the Network today: The Dirt examines the tracks records of various models of urban growth boundaries around the country. On Jane Jacobs' birthday, Market Urbanism reflects on her ideological legacy. And Seattle Transit Blog explains the political reasons why rail projects in the region often have more appeal to transit advocates than bus projects.
Metro is already installing on-bus cameras. Soon comes testing, outreach, then warning tickets. Wilshire/5th/6th and La Brea will be the first bus routes in the bus lane enforcement program.
This week, we talk to the great Gabe Klein, executive director of President Biden's Joint Office of Energy and Transportation (and a former Streetsblog board member), about curbside electrification.
U.S. car crash deaths are nearly 10 percent higher if you count collisions that happen just outside the right of way. So why don't off-road deaths get more air time among advocates?