Regional Water Quality Management Plan Update

The Commission has published SEWRPC Planning Report No. 50, A Regional Water Quality Management Plan Update for the Greater Milwaukee Watersheds, which documents a major amendment to the regional water quality plan. The greater Milwaukee watersheds include the Kinnickinnic, Menomonee, Milwaukee, and Root River watersheds, the Oak Creek watershed, and the Lake Michigan Direct Drainage Area. The plan update applies a multi-objective watershed approach to water quality management planning and it is coordinated with the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District 2020 Facilities Plan.

Environmental Justice Task Force

The Commission has formed an Environmental Justice Task Force, which is an advisory body providing another avenue for public participation during the planning process. The Task Force has 15 members and is regional in scope. Its primary role will be to enhance the consideration and integration of environmental justice throughout the regional planning process. In so doing, the Task Force will help address three basic principles of environmental justice: (1) Ensure public involvement of low-income and minority groups in decision making; (2) Prevent disproportionately high and adverse impacts of decisions on low-income and minority groups; and (3) Assure that low-income and minority groups receive a proportionate share of benefits.

KRM Commuter Link

The next phase of planning and development for improved commuter transportation service in the Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee (KRM) corridor is underway. This phase is refining the commuter rail and bus transit alternatives considered to date to make them more cost-effective, identifying the potential impacts of these alternatives on land use development and redevelopment around station sites, and preparing a Draft Environmental Impact Statement. This phase will determine if a project will advance to Preliminary Engineering and eventual implementation.

Another round of public informational meetings was recently held and a new edition of the project newsletter has been published. To see the latest newsletter and find out more about this project, you are invited to visit the website established specifically for the KRM Commuter Link. Here, you will also find additional information, you can submit comments, and you can learn about opportunities to become involved in this planning process.

Regional Telecommunications Planning Program

The Commission has established a program to examine telecommunications services in the Southeastern Wisconsin Region. The goal of the regional telecommunications planning program is to help plan for the next generation of broadband service capabilities that will be required to compete in the global economy. Such planning will also identify the broadband infrastructure required for public needs in such areas as healthcare, education, public safety, and the environment.