New DNR Head Has Agenda of Change

He’s been the state’s chief environmental advocate for only seven months, but Preston Cole wants big changes.

In a WisconsinEye interview, Cole called for action to confront groundwater contamination, replace lead-lined pipes that bring water to homes in 130 communities, a return to science-based decisions, and for Wisconsin to lead on handling climate change.

A former Milwaukee city official with a college degree in forestry management, Cole is running DNR while he waits on the state Senate to confirm him. Democratic Gov. Tony Evers tapped him to run DNR, but former Republican Gov. Scott Walker appointed him to DNR’s governing board in 2007.

Cole called groundwater contamination Wisconsin’s “number one” environmental and public health problem.

“People are worried,” he said. “About 1.7 million people get their water from 800,000 private wells...

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Ken Notes: he has clearly hit the ground running and 10 years on the board has given him a clear understanding of the system...