2. Prohibits DNR from requiring a person to collect a sediment sample as part
of an application for an individual permit or prior to proceeding under a general
permit, unless DNR has specific information that indicates the potential that
contaminants may be present in the material proposed to be dredged.
3. Exempts from the permit requirements certain shoreline maintenance
activities that are conducted in certain shoreline areas.
4. Exempts from the permit requirements the dredging of an artificial water
body that does not connect with a navigable waterway.
5. Establishes that a permit is required to construct or enlarge an artificial
water body that is within 500 feet of the OHWM of an existing navigable waterway
but that does not or will not connect with the existing navigable waterway.
6. Limits the types of areas that DNR may identify as areas of special natural
resource interest (ASNRI) and requires the Joint Committee for Review of
Administrative Rules to approve any new types identified by DNR. Under current
law, a riparian owner is exempt from the permit requirement for depositing material
or placing a structure on the bed of certain navigable waters if the structure or
material is located in an area other than an ASNRI, does not interfere with riparian
rights of other riparian owners, and is a certain type of structure or material.
7. Provides that, in issuing general permits for the replacement or repair of
existing riprap or the replacement of seawalls, DNR may not impose conditions that

prohibit the replacement or repair of riprap or the replacement of seawalls located
in areas designated as ASNRI.
Structures in navigable waters
Piers
Under this substitute amendment, a DNR decision that a riparian owner does
not fall under an exemption to the prohibition against placing a pier or wharf on the
bed of a navigable water may only be challenged through a declaratory judgment
proceeding in the circuit court for the county in which the riparian property is located
and is not subject to a contested case hearing or judicial review under the statutory
administrative review procedures. Under current law, a DNR decision against the
riparian owner is subject to a new trial.
Under this substitute amendment, an owner of riparian land abutting a
navigable water who owns a boat docking facility that is lawfully placed in that water
is not prohibited from entering into an agreement with another owner of riparian
land abutting the same navigable water to use a shared boat docking facility
provided that the agreement does not result in more slips than are authorized.
Boathouses
This substitute amendment changes the definition of a boathouse to specify
that a boathouse is a structure used for one or more years for the storage of watercraft
and associated materials regardless of its current use. The substitute amendment
also makes various changes to the regulation of boathouses, including:
1. Allows a boathouse located beyond the OHWM of a navigable waterway to
be expanded, and provides that the expansion does not require a permit, if the
boathouse is listed in the national register of historic places in Wisconsin or the state
register of historic places, the boathouse is not expanded beyond its listed historical
boundaries, and the expansion does not involve the placement of any new structure
on the bed of a navigable water.
2. Adds foundations to the list of structural elements of a boathouse that may
be replaced within the current cost limit on repairing and maintaining a boathouse.
3. Allows the repair or maintenance of a boathouse in existence on December
16, 1979, to affect the configuration of the boathouse and still fall under the exception
to the cost limit on repairing and maintaining such a boathouse, but adds a condition
that the repair or maintenance may not involve the placement of a floor over a wet
bay in the boathouse.
Boat shelters
Under current law, a boat shelter is a structure used for the storage of
watercraft and associated materials that has no walls or sides. This substitute
amendment eliminates the conditions that DNR may place on a general permit
authorizing a riparian owner to place a boat shelter relating to the location of the
shelter and other existing structures. Under the substitute amendment, DNR may
impose conditions on the general permit governing the architectural features of boat
shelters and the number of boat shelters that may be placed adjacent to a parcel of
land, but those conditions may not govern the distance that a boat shelter will extend
from the shore and may not be based on the degree to which adjacent land is
developed. Also under the substitute amendment, in determining whether to issue

an individual permit to the owner of a proposed permanent boat shelter, DNR may
not deny the permit on the basis of the distance at which a boat shelter will extend
from the shore or the degree to which adjacent land is developed.
Seawalls
This substitute amendment requires DNR, in the general permit authorizing
a riparian owner to replace an existing seawall for which DNR has issued a permit,
to authorize a seawall for which DNR granted an exemption from a permit
requirement or for which no permit was required when the seawall was built.
Riprap
This substitute amendment requires DNR, in the general permit authorizing
a riparian owner to place riprap on the bed or bank of a navigable water adjacent to
the owner's property in certain amounts, to authorize the riprap to extend to the top
of the bank of the navigable water or four feet above the OHWM, whichever is lower.
Operation of a vehicle in navigable water
This substitute amendment exempts from the general prohibition on operating
a utility terrain vehicle or all-terrain vehicle on any navigable water or the exposed
bed of a navigable water a person engaged in activities landward of a lawfully
established bulkhead line for which no general or individual permit and no contract
is required under navigable water law.
Wetlands
Wetland permits
Current law requires DNR to issue certain wetland general permits for
discharges to wetlands that are necessary for the treatment or disposal of hazardous
waste or toxic pollutants if not more than two acres of wetlands are affected, and
discharges for commercial, residential, or agricultural purposes if not more than
10,000 square feet of wetland are affected. Current law allows DNR to establish
different requirements, conditions, and exceptions in general permits to ensure that
the discharges will cause only minimal adverse environmental effects. Current law
establishes a procedure for obtaining authorization to proceed under a wetland
general permit that is similar to the procedure for obtaining authorization under
general permits that authorize structures and other activities in or near navigable
waters. Current law also authorizes DNR to require a person to apply for and obtain
a wetland individual permit if DNR determines that conditions specific to the site
require additional restrictions on the discharge in order to provide reasonable
assurance that no significant adverse impacts to wetland functional values will
occur.
This substitute amendment exempts from the permitting requirement any
discharge that is the result of maintaining a sedimentation or stormwater detention
basin and associated conveyance features. Current law exempts from the permitting
requirement any discharge that is the result of maintaining a drainage ditch, and
this substitute amendment adds to this exemption a discharge that is the result of
a roadside ditch. However, the substitute amendment removes from these
exemptions any drainage or roadside ditch that serves as fish spawning habitat or
a passage to fish spawning habitat in Brown or Oconto County.

Practicable alternatives review
Under current law, DNR reviews the practicable alternatives presented in an
application for a individual permit, and must find that the project complies with
wetland quality standards if it determines that the proposed project represents the
least environmentally damaging practicable alternative, all practicable measures to
minimize the adverse impact to wetland functional values will be taken, and the
discharge will not result in significant adverse impacts to wetland functional values
or to water quality or result in any other significant adverse environmental
consequences. Upon making such a finding, DNR is authorized, but is not required,
to issue a wetland individual permit.
Current law requires DNR to limit its review of practicable alternatives to those
that are located at the site of the discharge or adjacent to that site if the applicant
has demonstrated that the proposed project causing the discharge will result in a
demonstrable economic public benefit, that the proposed project is necessary for the
expansion of an existing industrial, commercial, or agricultural facility that is in
existence at the time the application is submitted, or that the proposed project will
occur in an industrial park that is in existence at the time the application is
submitted. This substitute amendment also requires DNR to limit its review of
practicable alternatives to those located on the property owned by the applicant for
projects involving fewer than two acres of wetland if the project is limited to either
the construction or expansion of a single-family home and attendant features, the
construction or expansion of a barn or farm buildings, or the expansion of a business
project. However, the substitute amendment provides that a project that is part of
a common plan of development initiated after July 1, 2012, is not eligible for this
limited review unless wetland boundaries on the project site as shown in an onsite
delineation have changed since commencement of the development project.
The substitute amendment requires DNR to limit its review of practicable
alternatives to those that are consistent with the overall purpose and scope of the
project. The substitute amendment also requires DNR to impose a level of scrutiny
and to require an applicant to provide an amount of information that is
commensurate with the severity of the environmental impact of the project, as
determined by DNR.
Utility permit procedure
Under current law, with certain exceptions, a public utility may not begin
construction on a utility project, and no person, including a public utility, may
construct a large electric generating facility or a high-voltage transmission line,
unless the Public Service Commission (PSC) has issued a certificate for the project.
A public utility is a company or municipality that produces or delivers heat, light,
water, or power to or for the public.
Generally, under current law, a person must submit an application to DNR for
each required permit, including an individual permit to conduct an activity in a
navigable water or a discharge in a wetland. If the applicant is a utility that is
required to obtain a certificate from the PSC, however, the utility must submit a
single application to DNR requesting all of the DNR permits that the utility is
required to obtain for a given project affecting navigable waters and wetlands and

must follow a different procedure for obtaining these DNR permits (utility
application procedure).
This substitute amendment removes the exemption in current law that
provides that the permit application procedures that would normally apply to an
application for an individual permit do not apply to an application for an individual
permit submitted under the utility application procedure. This substitute
amendment also removes the exemption in current law that provides that the
procedures that would normally apply to administrative and judicial review of a
DNR decision on an individual permit do not apply to decisions on an individual
permit submitted under the utility application procedure. Instead, the substitute
amendment specifies that the utility permit procedures are exclusive and apply in
lieu of any other procedures that would otherwise apply to permits applied for under
the utility permit procedure.
Also under this substitute amendment, there is no opportunity to object to, and
request a stay of, a DNR decision related to a wetland individual permit applied for
under the utility application procedure.
Nonpoint water pollution
This substitute amendment provides that, if a covered municipality has
obtained all permits required for the construction of a stormwater management pond
in an artificial water body, whether navigable or nonnavigable, DNR may not
prohibit the construction of the stormwater management pond as a method by which
the covered municipality may achieve compliance with DNR's prescribed
performance standards for sources of nonpoint water pollution, which is water
pollution from diffuse sources, or with an approved total maximum daily load
(TMDL) requirement. A covered municipality is a municipality that has been issued
an individual municipal separate storm sewer permit or that is covered by a general
municipal separate storm sewer permit. A TMDL is the maximum amount of a
pollutant that a body of water can receive and still meet water quality standards.
DNR's current rules provide that, for the purpose of determining compliance
with performance standards, DNR may give credit for the use of practices, measures,
or techniques (best management practices) that minimize pollutants carried in
runoff. The rules prohibit DNR from giving credit for a best management practice
that is located in a navigable water. The substitute amendment provides that DNR
must give credit for any pollutant reduction achieved by a pond constructed by a
covered municipality in determining compliance with performance standards
specified in a stormwater discharge permit or with an approved TMDL requirement.
The substitute amendment also provides that, if a covered municipality applies
for an individual permit for the construction of a stormwater management pond in
an artificial water body, whether navigable or nonnavigable, for the purpose of
achieving compliance with performance standards specified in a stormwater
discharge permit or with an approved TMDL requirement, in making its
determination DNR is required to take into consideration the sediment control in

and water quality improvements to the watershed as a whole that result from the
stormwater management pond.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do
enact as follows:
AB600-ASA1,1 1Section 1. 23.24 (4) (b) 4. of the statutes is created to read:
AB600-ASA1,8,32 23.24 (4) (b) 4. A person who engages in an activity listed under sub. (3) (a) in
3the course of performing shoreline maintenance as authorized under s. 30.125.
AB600-ASA1,2 4Section 2. 30.01 (1am) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB600-ASA1,8,65 30.01 (1am) (a) A Subject to s. 30.106, a state natural area designated or
6dedicated under ss. 23.27 to 23.29.
AB600-ASA1,3 7Section 3. 30.01 (1am) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB600-ASA1,8,98 30.01 (1am) (b) A Subject to s. 30.106, a surface water identified as a trout
9stream by the department.
AB600-ASA1,4 10Section 4. 30.01 (1am) (c) of the statutes is repealed.
AB600-ASA1,5 11Section 5. 30.01 (1am) (d), (e), (f) and (g) of the statutes are created to read:
AB600-ASA1,8,1412 30.01 (1am) (d) A body of water designated as a wild rice water under a written
13agreement between the department and the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife
14Commission.
AB600-ASA1,8,1715 (e) Subject to s. 30.106, a body of water in a wetland along Lake Michigan or
16Lake Superior that the department has identified as an ecologically significant
17coastal wetland.
AB600-ASA1,8,1918 (f) A river that is included in the national wild and scenic rivers system or
19designated as a wild river under s. 30.26.
AB600-ASA1,8,2120 (g) Subject to s. 30.106, the portion of a body of water that contains a public
21rights feature in a sensitive area of a lake.
AB600-ASA1,6
1Section 6. 30.01 (1d) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB600-ASA1,9,52 30.01 (1d) "Boathouse" means a structure with one or more walls or sides that
3has been
used for one or more years for the storage of watercraft and associated
4materials which has one or more walls or sides , regardless of the current use of the
5structure
.
AB600-ASA1,7 6Section 7. 30.01 (5p) of the statutes is created to read:
AB600-ASA1,9,107 30.01 (5p) "Public rights feature" means a location in a body of water identified
8by the department as in need of special protection under ss. 30.12 (1p) (a) 3. and (2m),
930.123 (6m) and (6s), 30.20 (1k) (a) 2. and (1m), 30.206 (1) (ag), (3) and (3r) to assure
10that the public's rights and interests under the public trust doctrine are protected.
AB600-ASA1,8 11Section 8. 30.01 (6b) of the statutes is created to read:
AB600-ASA1,9,1512 30.01 (6b) "Sensitive area" means an area of aquatic vegetation identified by
13the department as offering critical or unique fish and wildlife habitat, including
14seasonal or lifestage requirements, or offering water quality or erosion control
15benefits to the body of water.
AB600-ASA1,9 16Section 9. 30.025 (5) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB600-ASA1,9,2017 30.025 (5) Exemption from certain Exclusive procedures. Sections 30.208
18and 30.209 do not apply to an application for any permit
The procedures provided
19under this section are exclusive and apply in lieu of any other procedures that would
20otherwise apply to permits applied for under this section
.
AB600-ASA1,10 21Section 10. 30.053 of the statutes is created to read:
AB600-ASA1,9,24 2230.053 Applicability of chapter to artificial water bodies. Except as
23specifically provided otherwise in this chapter, nothing in this chapter applies to an
24artificial water body, as defined in s. 30.19 (1b) (a), that is not hydrologically

1connected to a natural navigable waterway and that does not discharge into a
2natural navigable waterway except as a result of storm events.
AB600-ASA1,11 3Section 11. 30.106 of the statutes is created to read:
AB600-ASA1,10,9 430.106 Approval of certain areas of special natural resource interest.
5Beginning on the effective date of this section .... [LRB inserts date], the department
6may not identify an area described under s. 30.01 (1am) (a), (b), (e), or (g) as an area
7of special natural resource interest unless it first notifies the joint committee for
8review of administrative rules in writing of the proposal and obtains the approval of
9the committee.
AB600-ASA1,12 10Section 12. 30.115 of the statutes is created to read:
AB600-ASA1,10,11 1130.115 Ownership of certain filled navigable waters. (1) In this section:
AB600-ASA1,10,1312 (a) "Line of navigation" means the depth of a navigable water that is the greater
13of the following:
AB600-ASA1,10,1414 1. Three feet.
AB600-ASA1,10,1715 2. The depth required to operate a boat on the navigable water based on normal
16summertime low levels on the navigable water or summer minimum levels if
17summer minimum levels are established by the department.
AB600-ASA1,10,2118 (b) "Riparian zone" means the area that extends from riparian land waterward
19to the line of navigation as determined by a method that establishes riparian zone
20lines between adjacent riparian owners in a manner that equitably apportions access
21to the line of navigation.
AB600-ASA1,11,2 22(2) Subject to any public easement under sub. (2m), if a person placed fill on
23the bed of a navigable water before January 1, 1975, the filled area above the
24ordinary high-water mark is owned by the riparian owner in whose riparian zone
25the fill is located on the effective date of this subsection .... [LRB inserts date], if the

1filled area has continuously remained above the ordinary high-water mark since
2January 1, 1975.
AB600-ASA1,11,6 3(2m) If by January 1, 2016, there has been public use of the filled area described
4under sub. (2) that is visible, open, and notorious and of which a reasonable riparian
5owner would be aware, then the riparian owner's ownership of the filled area under
6sub. (2) is subject to a public easement for that public use.
AB600-ASA1,11,9 7(3) The department may not require the riparian owner of a filled area
8described under sub. (2) to remove the fill, whether above or below the ordinary
9high-water mark, from that area.
AB600-ASA1,11,11 10(4) Upon request, the department shall furnish a quitclaim deed to the riparian
11owner described under sub. (2).
AB600-ASA1,11,13 12(5) This section does not apply to a lake bed area conveyed by the legislature
13as provided under s. 13.097.
AB600-ASA1,13 14Section 13. 30.12 (1g) (am) of the statutes is created to read:
AB600-ASA1,11,1615 30.12 (1g) (am) A deposit of sand, gravel, or stone that is necessary to perform
16an activity authorized under s. 30.125 (2) (a).
AB600-ASA1,14 17Section 14. 30.12 (1k) (f) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB600-ASA1,11,2318 30.12 (1k) (f) A decision of If the department against determines that the
19owner of a structure for which is not entitled to an exemption is claimed under this
20subsection is subject to a trial de novo, the owner may bring an action for declaratory
21judgment under s. 806.04 in the circuit court for the county in which the riparian
22property is located. The owner is not entitled to a contested case hearing or judicial
23review under ch. 227
.
AB600-ASA1,15 24Section 15. 30.12 (3) (a) 3c. of the statutes is amended to read:
AB600-ASA1,12,6
130.12 (3) (a) 3c. Place riprap in order to replace or repair existing riprap, other
2than riprap that is exempt under sub. (1g) (i) or (j). Under the permit, the
3department shall allow riprap to extend to the top of the bank of the navigable water
4or 4 feet above the ordinary high-water mark, whichever is lower. In issuing the
5permit, the department may not impose conditions that prohibit the replacement or
6repair of riprap located in an area of special natural resource interest.
AB600-ASA1,16 7Section 16. 30.12 (3) (a) 3g. of the statutes is amended to read:
AB600-ASA1,12,128 30.12 (3) (a) 3g. Place riprap on the bed or bank of a navigable water adjacent
9to an owner's property in an amount up to and including 100 continuous feet in an
10inland lake of 300 acres or more. Under the permit the department shall allow riprap
11to extend to the top of the bank of the navigable water or 4 feet above the ordinary
12high-water mark, whichever is lower.
AB600-ASA1,17 13Section 17. 30.12 (3) (a) 3r. of the statutes is amended to read:
AB600-ASA1,12,1814 30.12 (3) (a) 3r. Place riprap on the bed or bank of a navigable water adjacent
15to an owner's property in an amount up to and including 300 continuous feet in a
16Great Lakes water body. Under the permit the department shall allow riprap to
17extend to the top of the bank of the navigable water or 4 feet above the ordinary
18high-water mark, whichever is lower.
AB600-ASA1,18 19Section 18. 30.12 (3) (a) 6. (intro.) of the statutes is renumbered 30.12 (3) (a)
206. and amended to read:
AB600-ASA1,12,2421 30.12 (3) (a) 6. Place a permanent boat shelter adjacent to the owner's property
22for the purpose of storing or protecting watercraft and associated materials, except
23that no general or individual permit may be issued for a permanent boat shelter that
24is constructed after May 3, 1988, if any of the following apply:
.
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