Foxconn- Environmental and Budgetary Disaster for Wisconsin

[Snarkoleptic]

http://urbanmilwaukee.com/2017/07/31/op-ed-foxconn-could-be-environmental-disaster/

According to reports in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Wisconsin taxpayers may have to underwrite $3 billion in giveaways to Foxconn to get it to build a plant somewhere in southeastern Wisconsin. So much, if that happens, for the fiscally prudent leadership of Gov. Scott Walker and his fellow GOP spenders in the state legislature. As the Journal Sentinel also reported, those sums are sizable multiples of the biggest public incentives ever awarded before by the state to Wisconsin businesses.

Meanwhile, Republican-managed state government has been whacking public educational support by the billions of dollars, including austerity cuts to the once top-tier, R&D powerhouse University of Wisconsin. Now we see where those savings effectively might effectively be redeployed: On a private factory floor. A really, really big factory floor, but still. In Wisconsin and across this nation, political needs trump science and economics with increasing alacrity

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A factory of Foxconn’s anticipated size could require millions of gallons of water per day. On paper, Lake Michigan could supply that. But you may ask yourself: What do electronics manufacturers do with all that water? Where does it go when they’re done with it, and in what condition?

--snip--

Environmentally there are two potential sub-issues to consider here: The first issue is what discharges would leave the plant, to what extent they would be treated, and what kinds of costs if any this might exact on public treatment systems. The other issue involves what impurities would be captured in such a plant but still ride home with the employees.

Let’s assume the state and Foxconn strike a deal and the plant indeed locates in Wisconsin near Lake Michigan and the often-mentioned cities of Racine or Kenosha, which have massive unused water system capacity. Foxconn’s used water — possibly tainted with toxic metals and other contaminants — then will need to be returned to the Great Lakes watershed.

[Snarkoleptic]

1. So Wisconsin has neglected public education and infrastructure, but has

billions to spend in order to attract 3,000, maybe some day leading to 13,000 jobs?

Now an environmental waiver?

Foxconn Deal Lets Company Ignore Wisconsin Environmental Protection Laws

http://www.ibtimes.com/political-capital/foxconn-deal-lets-company-ignore-wisconsin-environmental-protection-laws-2572739

Under those laws, companies are prohibited from discharging materials or otherwise polluting wetlands without a specific permit to do so. Under the bill that Walker has put forward, companies within the new “economics and information technology manufacturing zone” will be allowed to discharge material into non-federal wetlands if it relates to the construction or operation of a manufacturing facility. Walker has called a special session that will discuss his bill tomorrow.

Another section of the bill outlines how existing Wisconsin law requires companies to obtain a permit to disturb or transform nearby waterways. According to the official analysis of the bill by analysts in the Republican-controlled legislature, the new legislation will allow Walker’s administration to waive those permitting requirements “if they relate to the construction, access, or operation of a new manufacturing facility” in the zone where Foxconn is planning to build its facility.

A separate section of the bill exempts new energy utilities built inside the Foxconn development zone from facing regulatory oversight by the state’s Public Service Commission. Those provisions also exempt regulation of the building and relocation of high-voltage transmission lines, according to state legislative analysts.

[dlk]

2. Could There Possibly Be a Large Kickback Hidden in This Dirty Deal?

[DFW]

4. More like

How could there NOT be?

[ProfessorPlum]

3. "con" is right there in the name