On April 18, 2017, the Wisconsin (so-called) Department of Natural Resources and the Army Corps of Engineers held a shared public hearing in Tomah, Wisconsin to hear (and then to ignore) public testimony on the proposed destruction of a significant wetland to make way for a frac sand mining operation. Katie Groves, who lives in Sparta, Wisconsin, decided to testify at the hearing in a somewhat different way. When it was her turn to speak, she turned the mic around and spoke directly to the crowd, with her back to the so-called deciders, which they didn’t appreciate at all. Katie used her allotted two minutes to educate the public about what was really going on there – that regulatory hearings are a fundamental violation of our inherent rights as We the People to govern ourselves, as these decision-makers are not accountable to us; and regulatory law is all about legalizing and normalizing endless destruction of our environment. Here is Katie’s testimony:

 

My name is Katie Groves and I live in Sparta, WI. I’d like to address the audience today. It is past time for us to take a stand for our communities, our children, our grandchildren, and this planetary ecosystem we are all a part of.

Watching the national and statewide news over the past 3 months, and really 10 years, it has never been clearer that so called “environmental protection agencies” are not so much interested in protecting our communities and our residents as much as they are interested in economics and finding ways to permit and regulate harm. Specifically, they decide how many micrograms of crystalline silica per cubic meter of air a corporation is “allowed” to dispense into our air. How many micrograms of lead per deciliter a corporation is “allowed” to dispense into our water. How many millions of gallons of our precious and finite groundwater is allowed to be pumped, polluted and returned to our water table. Why are we allowing corporations to harm us, to pollute us, to poison us?

Recently I relearned some U.S. history at a Community Rights course in Winona. Did you know that originally charters were only granted for a single purpose that would do NO harm and at the same time serve the PUBLIC GOOD? Corporations had a limited life span, could NOT contribute to organizations or own any land beyond what was necessary to fulfill their purpose. Did you know that’s how corporations were originally supposed to be created? I didn’t.

Now all that has changed. The Supreme Court has granted corporations constitutional rights. In return, corporations have encouraged government to establish regulatory agencies (gesture to the DNR permitting board) that appear to protect the public, but in fact are simply a buffer between the corporations and the outrage and fear of the people (gesture to the audience).

Now I also want to read you something important from OUR Wisconsin State Constitution.

“Article I Section 1: All people are born equally free and independent, and have certain inherent rights; among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; to secure these rights, governments are instituted, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”(gesture to the audience) That’s us.

We do not have to quit if the DNR and the Army Corps of Engineers approve this facility. Our local communities can organize and stand up to corporate power with Community Rights ordinances and can prosper. WE, the sovereign people of Wisconsin and Monroe County.

I’d like to end with a quote from someone who I admire very much and hope to meet some day, Winona LaDuke:

“Someone needs to explain to me why wanting clean drinking water makes you an activist, and why proposing to destroy water with chemical warfare doesn’t make a corporation a terrorist.”

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Here are two news reports about this public hearing – the first one quotes Katie Groves’ testimony:

Tomah Journal: Sand facility gets negative reviews

News Channel 8: Community members voice concern over proposed frac sand project