Foxconn’s Wisconsin plant raises environmental worries

MILWAUKEE – Foxconn Technology Group is being enticed to come to Wisconsin with numerous regulatory waivers that are raising concerns from environmentalists wary of the company’s reputation in China, where company has been accused of pollution.

The Taiwan-based company best known for manufacturing Apple products insists its new plant won’t damage the environment and regulators say they’re simply streamlining the process for the company to set up shop.

Wisconsin lawmakers are considering allowing Foxconn to discharge materials into wetlands, fill lakebeds to create more land and reroute streams during construction.

The assurances from Foxconn and its supporters have done little to quell worries about the long-term impacts to wetlands and the state’s waterways. This would be Foxconn’s first plant in the U.S. making liquid crystal display panels.