MON AM News: MMAC leader says ozone reclassification poses threat to regional economy; Baldwin slamming ‘halt on lifesaving research’

February 17, 2025

— The head of the MMAC says a recent air quality classification change for southeastern Wisconsin is likely the “most significant threat” to the regional economy, and could drive away companies looking to set up shop in the area.

Speaking Friday during an online briefing, Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce President Dale Kooyenga said the group is already seeing the consequences of the EPA’s classification change.

The agency in January changed a regional ozone nonattainment classification from “moderate” to “serious,” creating new emissions requirements for industry in the region. But the MMAC, chambers of commerce and economic development groups in the state are fighting the change, arguing the vast majority of the emissions that led to the change are coming from outside of Wisconsin.

“We have already had a large deal, with over 400 employees and hundreds of millions of dollars in investment, pull out of our region because of this,” Kooyenga said. “So on the economic development side, we’re already seeing negative consequences of this.”

The MMAC in January announced a coalition to counter the EPA’s classification change. The group is spearheading a national lobbying effort to amend the Clean Air Act of 1963, tapping Michael Best Strategies for the endeavor.

MMAC leadership has been meeting with the state’s congressional delegation to discuss the issue, and Kooyenga said both U.S. Sens. Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison, and Ron Johnson, R-Oshkosh, “in particular have been very helpful.” He added U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil’s 1st Congressional District is “arguably most proportionately impacted” by the change; he said the Republican lawmaker from Janesville will likely take a leading role in addressing it.

For member businesses in the region, Kooyenga said “the cost and uncertainty” associated with the new classification is a major concern. The “serious” ozone classification for the area carries increased regulatory burdens, according to Michael Best Partner Todd Palmer, affecting up to 450 industrial emissions sources.

Palmer described the new requirements as “Draconian,” noting companies that want to move to or expand in the region will need to deploy advanced emissions controls “without any consideration of cost,” among other restrictions.

Under an earlier, lower EPA classification, many industrial sources in the region were permitted at 99 tons of certain emissions or less, as the major source threshold under the federal program was 100 tons. But the latest classification shift moved that threshold down to 50 tons, according to Palmer.

“When that happened, all of those sources that received permits at 99 tons instantly became major sources under the federal Clean Air Act, yet they did not have permits that limited them to emissions less than that new 50-ton threshold,” he said. “They were essentially caught in this regulatory snafu, where they hold permits that they think keep them out of the federal program, but in fact no longer do.”

Palmer expects most affected companies “have no idea” that this has happened to them. For those that need new permits, some may take only a few weeks, but others could take up to 18 months, he said.

“All that time, they’re out of compliance. The maximum penalty for violating the Clean Air Act is over $100,000 per day,” he said. “They don’t seek that amount of penalty when they sue these companies, if they were to sue them, but that’s the maximum exposure they have.”

The framework for the higher classification comes from the Clean Air Act’s National Ambient Air Quality Standards, which define the maximum acceptable level of pollution in the air, Palmer explained Friday. But he said controlling emissions within metropolitan Milwaukee “has little, if any” effect on the ozone levels for the region, adding “it really is all attributable to transport.”

Palmer said Lake Michigan acts as an “ozone cooker” for the upper Midwest, as environmental factors drive pollutants from Chicago, Indiana and elsewhere upward over the lake, where they mix to form “extremely high levels” of the pollutant. That ozone then is blown onshore by lake breezes and picked up by monitors along the shoreline.

Kooyenga says the MMAC takes the environment very seriously, but doesn’t see this classification issue as environmental in nature.

“Essentially this is just a nonsensical consequence of a law that was written decades ago, that has a negative impact on our area, but is not a problem we have caused,” he said.

Just 10% of the ozone hitting Wisconsin’s shoreline monitors come from sources within the state, Palmer said, pointing to an analysis that “very clearly” shows most of it coming from Illinois and Indiana. Of that 10% coming from within the state, about 14% is from industrial sources.

“So the bulk of these regulatory problems that we’re talking about fall on the backs of industrial sources, however, at this point in 2025, those sources really are contributing very little,” Palmer said.

The regulatory challenge for businesses could get much worse in several years if nothing changes, he noted, referencing DNR projections showing the region will be bumped up to the “severe” category under the current trajectory.

“That will just increase the burdens on southeast Wisconsin even more,” he said.

— U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin is slamming the Trump administration for having “completely stopped funding” for medical research through the NIH, noting the federal agency hasn’t announced any new grants for the past 10 days.

In a release Friday, the Madison Dem said the administration has awarded 3,600 fewer NIH grants and $1 billion less in funding for U.S. research institutions than during the same period of the previous administration.

Baldwin also noted more than 50 NIH Advisory Council meetings have been canceled, disrupting a “crucial final step” in the grant funding approval process.

“The NIH supports truly lifesaving, groundbreaking work that helps people across the country stay healthy and alive, and halting this funding only means fewer treatments for Americans and fewer American jobs,” she said in a statement.

Her remarks come after a federal judge in Massachusetts earlier this week issued a temporary restraining order blocking a move to reduce the amount of NIH grants going toward overhead costs associated with medical research. Wisconsin and 21 other states have filed suit.

See the release.

— The proposed NIH cuts could mean tens of millions of dollars in lost funding for institutions in Wisconsin, according to a New York Times analysis.

Based on data from the NIH grant registry, the $550 million in funding top Wisconsin institutions received in fiscal year 2024 would have been reduced by $84 million under a proposal from the Trump administration to limit support for “indirect” medical research costs.

The largest portion of that lost funding, $62 million, would have been carved out of UW-Madison’s $395 million in funding for the year. The next largest, $15 million, would come from the Medical College of Wisconsin’s $105 million, while other cuts under the proposal would reduce funding by between $4 million and $120,000 per institution.

See more in Top Stories below.

— Researchers in Madison have found a way to prevent the negative effects of certain treatments for depression on pregnant women.

The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation is promoting the discovery as a top licensing prospect in its health care portfolio of UW-Madison research.

In an overview on the research, WARF notes this marks the first successful attempt to prevent “adverse pregnancy outcomes” linked to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs. These drugs are widely used to treat depression and other conditions, and work by increasing the levels of a neurotransmitter called serotonin.

The researchers used several animal models, including mice and sheep, to demonstrate that the effects of SSRIs impact placental function, compromising fetal development. Using another drug called ketanserin, they were able to prevent “adverse effects” in pregnant mice by preventing increasing serotonin signaling, the overview shows.

The treatment “prevented most placental changes and adverse pregnancy and neonatal outcomes” caused by SSRIs, according to WARF.

“Importantly, ketanserin does not affect the antidepressant effects of SSRI, allowing women to benefit from the effects of SSRI in the brain without harming pregnancy outcomes,” authors wrote, adding this approach is “critical to allow women to benefit from the antidepressant effects of SSRI without compromising fetal health.”

Inventors include Profs. Laura Hernandez and Milo Wiltbank, both of which are affiliated with the university’s Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences.

See more in the overview.

For more of the most relevant health care news, reports on groundbreaking research in Wisconsin, links to top stories and more, sign up today for the free daily Health Care Report from WisPolitics and WisBusiness.com.

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— In a recent Dem radio address, Gov. Tony Evers highlights his plans to invest in Wisconsin’s agricultural industry.

The Dem governor says supporting the state’s agricultural industry has been a “top priority since day one.” It’s why he says his upcoming 2025-27 executive budget will allot more than $80 million toward supporting the industry’s future.

“I’ve been proud to support Wisconsin farmers and farm families over the past six years, and my next budget will be no different,” he says.

Evers says these investments will prioritize the wide-ranging needs of farmers and their families. This includes doubling funding for farmer mental health initiatives and increasing grant funding for agricultural infrastructure.

More than just supporting farmers and food producers, Evers says he will invest in supply chain programs to address food insecurity statewide.

“My administration and I remain committed to continuing our work to uplift this vital industry and the farm families that make it all possible because Wisconsin’s agricultural industry isn’t just core to our economy — it’s core to our culture, heritage, and who we are as a state,” he says.

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ECONOMY

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ENVIRONMENT

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