• Our Environment
Green Tier

First Utility Chosen for DNR's Top Environmental Leadership Program

MGE has been designated the first utility in Wisconsin to participate in the Department of Natural Resources' (DNR) Tier 2 environmental leadership program. We became only the fifth state company to achieve Tier 2 status, which is the highest level in this leadership program.

By participating in the Green Tier program, we are continuing our voluntary commitment to superior environmental performance. In cooperation with the DNR, we will set goals to make significant environmental improvements.

Our improvement projects will include:

  • Dane County manure digester. MGE will help clean area lakes through its support of an innovative manure digester. The company is subsidizing this project through its purchase of electricity from this anaerobic digester when construction is completed in 2013.
  • Yahara WINs. MGE is participating with the Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District, Dane County, municipalities and other partners to implement a groundbreaking phosphorus reduction effort in the Yahara River watershed.
  • Dane County Clean Air Coalition. As one of the founding members, MGE continues its partnership with businesses, schools and government agencies to improve air quality.
  • Community Environmental Advisory Group (CEAG). Under Tier 2, MGE will continue working on its environmental progress with its CEAG, which has community, business, government, environmental and DNR representatives. It is one of the longest-running groups of its kind in Wisconsin.

We agreed to a five-year contract with the DNR under the Tier 2 program. We entered the Green Tier program at the advanced Tier 2 status because of our established environmental management system. We have been a part of the DNR's Environmental Cooperation Pilot Program since 2002.

For more information

MGE Green Tier Fact Sheet [321 kB PDF]
Wisconsin DNR's Green Tier Program

MGE President and CEO Gary Wolter accepts a plaque from Mark McDermid.
MGE President and CEO Gary Wolter (right) accepts a plaque from Mark McDermid, the DNR's Director of Cooperative Environmental Assistance, designating MGE a Tier 2 environmental leadership program participant.