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. Adds as a condition to the repair and maintenance of a boathouse or fixed
houseboat extending beyond the ordinary high-water mark that is allowed if within
certain cost limits under current law that the repair or maintenance may not involve
the placement of a floor over a wet bay.
2. Adds foundations to the list of structural elements of a boathouse or fixed
houseboat that may be replaced within the current cost limit on repairing and
maintaining a boathouse or fixed houseboat.
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 prohibits DNR from placing, on a general permit authorizing a riparian
owner to place a boat shelter, conditions 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, except to prohibit the boat shelter from extending beyond the line of
navigation, 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, except that DNR may
deny the permit on the basis that the boat shelter will extend beyond the line of
navigation.

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. The
substitute amendment also provides that DNR may impose conditions on the
replacement of a seawall located in an ASNRI only if those conditions do not prohibit
the replacement of a seawall located in an ASNRI.
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.
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 instead 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 only one of those conditions is met.
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 small
business project. However, the substitute amendment provides that a lot created as
part of a subdivision, land division, or other development initiated after July 1, 2012,
is not eligible for this limited review.
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 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.

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:
SB459-SSA3,1 1Section 1. 30.01 (1am) (a), (b) and (bm) of the statutes are amended to read:
SB459-SSA3,6,32 30.01 (1am) (a) A state natural area designated or dedicated under ss. 23.27
3to 23.29 and shown on a map published on the department's Internet site.
SB459-SSA3,6,54 (b) A surface water identified as a trout stream by the department and shown
5on a map published on the department's Internet site
.
SB459-SSA3,7,3
1(bm) A surface water identified as an outstanding or exceptional resource
2water under s. 281.15 and shown on a map published on the department's Internet
3site
.
SB459-SSA3,2 4Section 2. 30.01 (1am) (c) of the statutes is repealed.
SB459-SSA3,3 5Section 3. 30.01 (1am) (d), (e), (f), (g) and (h) of the statutes are created to read:
SB459-SSA3,7,86 30.01 (1am) (d) A body of water designated as a wild rice water under a written
7agreement between the department and the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife
8Commission and shown on a map published on the department's Internet site.
SB459-SSA3,7,119 (e) A body of water in a wetland along Lake Michigan or Lake Superior that the
10department has identified as an ecologically significant coastal wetland and shown
11on a map published on the department's Internet site.
SB459-SSA3,7,1412 (f) A river that is included in the national wild and scenic rivers system or
13designated as a wild river under s. 30.26 and shown on a map published on the
14department's Internet site.
SB459-SSA3,7,1615 (g) The portion of a body of water that contains a sensitive area and shown on
16a map published on the department's Internet site.
SB459-SSA3,7,1917 (h) A unique and significant wetland specified by the department in a special
18wetland inventory study or a special area management plan and shown on a map
19published on the department's Internet site.
SB459-SSA3,4 20Section 4. 30.01 (1d) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB459-SSA3,7,2421 30.01 (1d) "Boathouse" means a structure with one or more walls or sides that
22has been
used for one or more years for the storage of watercraft and associated
23materials which has one or more walls or sides, regardless of the current use of the
24structure
.
SB459-SSA3,5 25Section 5. 30.01 (3c) of the statutes is created to read:
SB459-SSA3,8,2
130.01 (3c) "Line of navigation" means the depth of a navigable water that is
2the greater of the following:
SB459-SSA3,8,33 (a) Three feet, as measured at summer low levels.
SB459-SSA3,8,44 (b) The depth required to operate a boat on the navigable water.
SB459-SSA3,6 5Section 6. 30.01 (6b) of the statutes is created to read:
SB459-SSA3,8,96 30.01 (6b) "Sensitive area" means an area of aquatic vegetation identified by
7the department as offering critical or unique fish and wildlife habitat, including
8seasonal or lifestage requirements, or offering water quality or erosion control
9benefits to the body of water.
SB459-SSA3,7 10Section 7. 30.025 (5) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB459-SSA3,8,1411 30.025 (5) Exemption from certain Exclusive procedures. Sections 30.208
12and 30.209 do not apply to an application for any permit
The procedures provided
13under this section are exclusive and apply in lieu of any other procedures that would
14otherwise apply to permits applied for under this section
.
SB459-SSA3,8 15Section 8. 30.053 of the statutes is created to read:
SB459-SSA3,8,21 1630.053 Applicability of chapter to artificial water bodies. Except in
17subch. V of this chapter and except as specifically provided otherwise in this chapter,
18nothing in this chapter applies to an artificial water body, as defined in s. 30.19 (1b)
19(a), that is not hydrologically connected to a natural navigable waterway and that
20does not discharge into a natural navigable waterway except as a result of storm
21events.
SB459-SSA3,9 22Section 9. 30.12 (1k) (f) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB459-SSA3,9,323 30.12 (1k) (f) A decision of If the department against determines that the
24owner of a structure for which is not entitled to an exemption is claimed under this
25subsection is subject to a trial de novo, the owner may bring an action for declaratory

1judgment under s. 806.04 in the circuit court for the county in which the riparian
2property is located. The owner is not entitled to a contested case hearing or judicial
3review under ch. 227
.
SB459-SSA3,10 4Section 10. 30.12 (3) (a) 6. (intro.) of the statutes is renumbered 30.12 (3) (a)
56. and amended to read:
SB459-SSA3,9,96 30.12 (3) (a) 6. Place a permanent boat shelter adjacent to the owner's property
7for the purpose of storing or protecting watercraft and associated materials, except
8that no general or individual permit may be issued for a permanent boat shelter that
9is constructed after May 3, 1988, if any of the following apply:
.
SB459-SSA3,11 10Section 11. 30.12 (3) (a) 6. a., b. and c. of the statutes are repealed.
SB459-SSA3,12 11Section 12. 30.12 (3) (a) 13. of the statutes is amended to read:
SB459-SSA3,9,1912 30.12 (3) (a) 13. Place a seawall to replace an existing seawall for which a
13permit has been issued or an exemption granted under this chapter, or for which no
14permit was required at the time the seawall was built
. The replacement may not
15exceed 100 continuous feet in an inland lake of 300 or more acres and may not exceed
16300 continuous feet in a Great Lakes water body. In issuing the permit, the
17department may impose conditions on the replacement of a seawall located in an
18area of special natural resource interest only if those conditions do not prohibit the
19replacement of a seawall located in an area of special natural resource interest.
SB459-SSA3,13 20Section 13. 30.12 (3) (c) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB459-SSA3,9,2521 30.12 (3) (c) The department may impose conditions on general permits issued
22under par. (a) 6. to govern the architectural features of boat shelters and the number
23of boat shelters that may be constructed adjacent to a parcel of land. The conditions
24may not govern the aesthetic features or color of boat shelters or the distance at
25which a boat shelter may extend from the shore, except to prohibit a boat shelter from

1extending beyond the line of navigation, and may not be based on the degree to which
2adjacent land is developed
. The conditions shall be designed to ensure the structural
3soundness and durability of boat shelters. A municipality may enact ordinances that
4are consistent with this paragraph and with any conditions imposed on general
5permits issued to regulate the architectural features of boat shelters that are under
6the jurisdiction of the municipality.
SB459-SSA3,14 7Section 14. 30.12 (3m) (cr) of the statutes is created to read:
SB459-SSA3,10,108 30.12 (3m) (cr) In determining whether to issue an individual permit to the
9owner of a proposed permanent boat shelter, the department may not deny the
10permit on the basis of any of the following:
SB459-SSA3,10,1311 1. The distance at which the shelter will extend from the shore, except that the
12department may deny the permit on the basis that the boat shelter will extend
13beyond the line of navigation.
SB459-SSA3,10,1414 2. The degree to which adjacent land is developed.
SB459-SSA3,15 15Section 15. 30.121 (1) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB459-SSA3,10,1816 30.121 (1) Definition. In this section, the terms "maintain" and "repair"
17include replacing structural elements, including roofs, doors, walls, windows,
18beams, porches, and floors, and foundations.
SB459-SSA3,16 19Section 16. 30.121 (3) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB459-SSA3,11,620 30.121 (3) Maintenance and repair. The riparian owner of any boathouse or
21fixed houseboat extending beyond the ordinary high-water mark of any navigable
22waterway may repair or maintain the boathouse or fixed houseboat if the cost to
23repair or maintain the boathouse or fixed houseboat does not exceed 50% of the
24equalized assessed value of the boathouse or fixed houseboat and the repair or
25maintenance does not involve the placement of a floor over a wet bay on or after the

1effective date of this subsection .... [LRB inserts date]
. If the boathouse or fixed
2houseboat is not subject to assessment, the owner may repair or maintain the
3boathouse or the fixed houseboat if the cost of the repair or maintenance does not
4exceed 50% of the current fair market value of the boathouse or fixed houseboat and
5the repair or maintenance does not involve the placement of a floor over a wet bay
6on or after the effective date of this subsection .... [LRB inserts date]
.
SB459-SSA3,17 7Section 17. 30.121 (3c) of the statutes is renumbered 30.121 (3c) (intro.) and
8amended to read:
SB459-SSA3,11,129 30.121 (3c) Exception; certain boathouses. (intro.) Subsection (3) does not
10apply to repairing or maintaining a boathouse if the boathouse was in existence on
11December 16, 1979, and if all of the following apply to the repairing or maintaining
12repair or maintenance:
SB459-SSA3,11,13 13(a) It does not affect the size, or location, or configuration of the boathouse and.
SB459-SSA3,11,14 14(b) It does not result in the boathouse being converted into living quarters.
SB459-SSA3,18 15Section 18. 30.121 (3c) (c) of the statutes is created to read:
SB459-SSA3,11,1716 30.121 (3c) (c) It does not involve the placement of a floor over a wet bay in the
17boathouse on or after the effective date of this paragraph .... [LRB inserts date].
SB459-SSA3,19 18Section 19. 30.121 (3w) (c) of the statutes is renumbered 30.121 (3w) (c) (intro.)
19and amended to read:
SB459-SSA3,11,2120 30.121 (3w) (c) (intro.) The boathouse is located within in any of the following
21locations:
SB459-SSA3,11,23 221. Within a harbor that is being operated as a commercial enterprise or is
23located on
.
SB459-SSA3,11,24 242. On a river that is a tributary of Lake Michigan or Lake Superior.
SB459-SSA3,20 25Section 20. 30.121 (3w) (c) 3. of the statutes is created to read:
SB459-SSA3,12,2
130.121 (3w) (c) 3. On an outlying water and the work is limited to the
2expansion, repair, or maintenance of an existing boathouse.
SB459-SSA3,21 3Section 21. 30.19 (1b) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB459-SSA3,12,64 30.19 (1b) (a) "Artificial water body" means a proposed or existing body of
5water that does not have a history of being a lake or stream or of being part of a lake
6or stream.
SB459-SSA3,22 7Section 22. 30.19 (1g) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB459-SSA3,12,98 30.19 (1g) (a) Construct, dredge, or enlarge any artificial water body that
9connects with a an existing navigable waterway.
SB459-SSA3,23 10Section 23. 30.19 (1g) (am) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB459-SSA3,12,1611 30.19 (1g) (am) Construct, dredge, or enlarge any part of an artificial water
12body that is or will be located within 500 feet of the ordinary high-water mark of, but
13that does not or will not connect with,
an existing navigable waterway, including.
14An artificial water body that meets the requirements of this paragraph includes
a
15stormwater management pond that does not discharge into a navigable waterway
16except as a result of storm events.
SB459-SSA3,24 17Section 24. 30.19 (1m) (dm) of the statutes is created to read:
SB459-SSA3,12,2118 30.19 (1m) (dm) The dredging of any part of an artificial water that does not
19connect with a navigable waterway. An artificial water body that meets the
20requirements of this paragraph includes a stormwater management pond that does
21not discharge into a navigable waterway except as a result of storm events.
SB459-SSA3,25 22Section 25. 30.19 (4) (d) of the statutes is created to read:
SB459-SSA3,12,2423 30.19 (4) (d) 1. In this paragraph, "covered municipality" has the meaning
24given in s. 281.16 (1) (br).
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