Ho-Chunk Nation petitions against frack sand company permit to fill wetlands

Midwest Environmental Advocates — on behalf of the Ho-Chunk Nation — has filed a petition to challenge the wetland fill permit issued to Meteor Timber LLC for an industrial sand processing facility and rail project.

Clean Wisconsin also challenged the permit and requested administrative review by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

The petitions ask to put the wetland fill on hold until the parties can get review of the agency’s decision. 

The request is urgent.

The DNR’s approval for Meteor Timber to fill over 16 acres of rare and high-quality wetlands puts valuable natural resources in danger of irreparable destruction.

“The public needs the DNR to protect natural resources like wetlands,” said MEA staff attorney Sarah Geers. “The agency admitted in Meteor Timber’s permit approval that this action may lead to increased applications to destroy rare wetlands. Without our DNR as a gatekeeper, we will continue to lose valuable wetlands that provide irreplaceable habitat and ecological functions. Meteor Timber’s promise to conserve land or rebuild wetlands isn’t a guaranteed fair trade. These rare, high quality wetlands are very difficult to recreate and provide vital and disappearing habitat for threatened or endangered species."

The Ho-Chunk Nation and Midwest Environmental Advocates are challenging the Meteor Timber wetland fill permit because:

• Meteor Timber’s project will cause irreparable harm to high quality wetlands and habitat.

• The DNR approved the permit without enough information.

• Information is still missing on how many acres are shifting from cranberry production to industrial use, whether a wildlife underpass would be successful, restoration and reservoir drawdown plans, wetland and vegetation surveys for mitigation plans and other details about threatened and endangered species protection.

- Meteor Timber did not prove there would be an economic benefit for the public.

• The DNR’s findings of fact prove that DNR should not have issued the permit.

The Ho-Chunk Nation and Midwest Environmental Advocates have been raising questions about Meteor Timber’s application by submitting formal comments to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in July 2016 and to the DNR in April.

The Ho-Chunk Nation is one of the strongest indigenous Nations in the United States. The Nation’s land extends throughout the Midwest, including significant tribal and trust lands in Wisconsin. There are many Ho-Chunk members throughout the state, and their history and culture is tied to Wisconsin.