LRB-4485/1
RCT/RNK/MDK:kjf&nwn:jf
2009 - 2010 LEGISLATURE
March 15, 2010 - Introduced by Senators Miller, Jauch, Robson, Risser and
Lehman, cosponsored by Representatives Black, Mason, Clark, Hebl,
Zepnick, Soletski, Hixson, Roys, Dexter, Smith, Parisi, Berceau,
Pope-Roberts, Pocan, Milroy, Pasch, A. Williams
and Fields. Referred to
Committee on Environment.
SB620,1,11 1An Act to repeal 16.968 and 281.34 (9); to renumber 160.50 (2); to renumber
2and amend
20.865 (2) (em), 196.03 (3) (a) and 281.34 (7); to amend 20.370 (6)
3(eg), 196.03 (3) (b) 1., 281.34 (1) (f), 281.34 (4) (a) 2., 281.34 (4) (a) 3., 281.34 (5)
4(b) 1., 281.34 (5) (c), 281.34 (5) (d), 281.344 (4s) (dm), 281.344 (4s) (dm), 281.346
5(4s) (dm), 281.346 (4s) (dm), 281.348 (3) (c) 8. and 281.348 (3) (cm); and to
6create
36.25 (6) (f), 145.133, 160.50 (2) (b), 196.03 (3) (ag), 196.03 (3) (c), 281.34
7(1) (eg), 281.34 (1) (er), 281.34 (4) (a) 4., 281.34 (4) (a) 5., 281.34 (4) (am), 281.34
8(5) (dc), 281.34 (5) (de), 281.34 (5) (ds), 281.34 (7) (c), 281.34 (7) (d), 281.34 (11),
9281.341, 281.346 (8) (cm), 281.346 (8) (cs), 281.348 (3) (a) 3. and 4. and 281.348
10(3) (d) 4m. of the statutes; relating to: groundwater management, water
11conservation, and granting rule-making authority.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
Groundwater management areas
Designation
This bill establishes standards and a process for designating areas in this state
as groundwater management areas. The standards vary depending on whether an

area has a confined aquifer or an unconfined aquifer. An aquifer is a water bearing
geologic formation. A confined aquifer has above it a layer (of rock, for example)
through which water does not pass easily. An unconfined aquifer does not have such
a layer above it.
The standards for designating an area with a confined aquifer as a groundwater
management area are related to effects that the pumping of groundwater has caused
in reducing the level to which water would rise in an open well or in reducing the
water level in wells while pumps are operating. The standards for designating an
area with an unconfined aquifer as a groundwater management area are related to
reductions in stream flows caused by pumping and to declines in water tables.
Current law provides for a Groundwater Coordinating Council (GCC),
consisting of the secretaries of agriculture, trade and consumer protection, natural
resources, commerce, and transportation, and the president of the University of
Wisconsin System, or their designees; the state geologist; and a person to represent
the governor. This bill requires the GCC to appoint a subcommittee on groundwater
area review (council subcommittee), consisting of individuals with technical
expertise in the area of groundwater science and management.
The bill requires the council subcommittee to examine areas that may qualify
for designation as groundwater management areas and to forward its conclusions to
the GCC. If the council subcommittee forwards a conclusion that an area qualifies
as a groundwater management area and the GCC agrees with that conclusion, the
bill requires the GCC to recommend that the Department of Natural Resources
(DNR) designate the area as a groundwater management area. If DNR receives such
a recommendation from the GCC, DNR may, by rule, designate the area as a
groundwater management area.
The bill requires the council subcommittee to first consider two areas, one in
and adjacent to Brown County and one in and adjacent to Waukesha County, for
designation as groundwater management areas.
After DNR promulgates a rule designating an area as a groundwater
management area, it must establish a date by which it is reasonable to expect that
the groundwater conditions in the area will improve sufficiently that the area will
cease to qualify as a groundwater management area (a target date).
Planning
The bill requires a local groundwater management council to be appointed after
an area is designated as a groundwater management area. If the groundwater
management area is entirely in one county, the county executive, or, if the county
does not have a county executive, the chairperson of the county board, appoints the
groundwater management council. If the groundwater management area includes
all of part of more than one county, the bill requires the appointment of a
groundwater management council according to an agreement negotiated by the
counties. If a groundwater management council is not appointed within six months
of the designation of a groundwater management area, the bill requires DNR to
appoint a groundwater management council for the groundwater management area.
The bill requires a groundwater management council to develop a groundwater
management plan for the groundwater management area. The plan must be

protective of surface water and groundwater and be designed to ensure that by the
target date the area no longer qualifies as a groundwater management area. The
plan must contain measurable goals, requirements for reporting to DNR, water
conservation measures, and other provisions specified by DNR by rule.
Once a groundwater management council completes a groundwater
management plan for a single-county groundwater management area, it submits
the plan to the county board for approval. For a multicounty groundwater
management area, the council submits the plan to all of the county boards for
approval. After a plan is approved by the county board or, for a multicounty
groundwater management area, all of the county boards, the groundwater
management council submits the plan to DNR for approval.
The bill requires DNR to review and approve or disapprove a groundwater
management plan for a groundwater management area. DNR may approve a plan
only if it complies with the requirements described above. If, 36 months after the
groundwater management area was designated, a groundwater management plan
has not been approved by DNR, the bill requires DNR to develop a groundwater
management plan for the groundwater management area.
Effect of groundwater management plan
Under current law, a person may not construct a high capacity well without an
approval from DNR. A high capacity well is a well that, together with all other wells
on the same property, has the capacity to withdraw more than 100,000 gallons of
water per day.
Under this bill, after DNR approves or develops a groundwater management
plan for a groundwater management area, DNR may not approve a high capacity
well in the groundwater management area unless the high capacity well is consistent
with the groundwater management plan. Also see the description below concerning
the review of existing high capacity well approvals.
Under current law, which implements the Great Lakes Water Resources
Compact, beginning on December 8, 2011, a person may not withdraw groundwater
or surface water in the Great Lakes basin in an amount that averages 100,000
gallons per day or more in any 30-day period unless the withdrawal is covered under
a water use permit issued by DNR. The law requires DNR to include requirements
for water conservation in water use permits. This bill requires DNR to make the
conservation measures for withdrawals in a groundwater management area
consistent with the area's groundwater management plan.
This bill also requires DNR to include water conservation requirements in the
approvals, required under current law, for certain surface water withdrawals in a
groundwater management area that is outside of the Great Lakes basin. The bill
requires DNR to make the conservation requirements for these withdrawals
consistent with the groundwater management plan for the groundwater
management area.
Current law requires DNR to administer a water supply planning process for
public water supply systems in this state. A water supply plan specifies the area for
which the public water supply system will provide water and how the system will
provide the water. The law requires a public water supply system that serves a

population of 10,000 or more to be covered by a water supply plan approved by DNR
no later than December 31, 2025, but systems may obtain approval of plans before
that date.
This bill requires the operator of a public water supply system that serves a
population of 10,000 or more and that is located in a groundwater management area
to be covered by a water supply plan approved by DNR no later than four years after
DNR designates the groundwater management area and requires the water supply
plan to be consistent with the groundwater management plan for the area.
Rescinding designation
After the target date established by DNR for a groundwater management area,
the bill requires the council subcommittee to consider whether the area still qualifies
as a groundwater management area. If the council subcommittee concludes that the
area no longer qualifies as a groundwater management area, it must forward that
conclusion to the GCC. If the GCC agrees that the area no longer qualifies as a
groundwater management area, the GCC must recommend that DNR rescind the
designation. If the GCC makes that recommendation, DNR may rescind the
designation by repealing the rule designating the area as a groundwater
management area.
Groundwater attention areas
Designation
This bill establishes a standard and a process for designating areas in this state
as groundwater attention areas. An area qualifies for designation as a groundwater
attention area if, based on water use trends, the area is likely to qualify for
designation as a groundwater management area within 20 years.
The process for designation of a groundwater attention area is similar to the
process for designating a groundwater management area. First the council
subcommittee determines whether an area qualifies for designation and forwards
that determination to the GCC. The GCC reviews the council subcommittee's
determination that an area qualifies for designation as a groundwater attention
area. If the GCC agrees with the determination, the GCC must recommend to DNR
that the area be designated as a groundwater attention area. If DNR receives such
a recommendation from the GCC, DNR may designate the area as a groundwater
attention area. Unlike for a groundwater management area, the bill does not require
that the designation of a groundwater attention area be made by rule. The bill
requires DNR to publish a notice of the designation of a groundwater attention area
in a newspaper likely to give notice in the area.
Planning
The bill does not require groundwater planning for a groundwater attention
area. The bill gives the county or counties in which the area is located the option to
appoint a groundwater management council (in the same manner as in a
groundwater management area). If a groundwater management council is
appointed, it may develop a groundwater management plan. If a groundwater
management council for a groundwater attention area develops a plan, it must
submit the plan to the county board or county boards for the county or counties in

which the area is located. The plan must be protective of surface water and
groundwater and be designed to ensure that by the target date the area no longer
qualifies as a groundwater attention area.
A groundwater management council that develops a groundwater
management plan for a groundwater attention area may recommend to the county
board or county boards that DNR be requested to approve the plan and to apply the
plan to approvals of high capacity wells. If the county board agrees, or all of the
county boards for a multicounty groundwater attention area agree, the plan is
submitted to DNR and DNR must review and approve or disapprove the
groundwater management plan. DNR may approve a plan only if it complies with
the requirements described above.
Effect of groundwater management plan
Under this bill, after DNR approves a groundwater management plan for a
groundwater attention area (upon the request of the county or counties in which the
area is located), DNR may not approve a high capacity well in the groundwater
attention area unless the well is consistent with the groundwater management plan.
Also see the description below concerning the review of existing high capacity well
approvals.
Rescinding designation
After the target date established by DNR for a groundwater attention area, the
bill requires the council subcommittee to consider whether the area qualifies for
designation as a groundwater management area and, if not, whether the area still
qualifies as a groundwater attention area. If the council subcommittee concludes
that the area qualifies as a groundwater management area, it must forward that
conclusion to the GCC and the process for designating an area as a groundwater
management area proceeds as described above. If the council subcommittee
concludes that the area no longer qualifies as a groundwater attention area, it must
forward that conclusion to the GCC. If the GCC agrees that the area no longer
qualifies as a groundwater attention area, the GCC must recommend that DNR
rescind the designation. If the GCC makes that recommendation, DNR may rescind
the designation of the groundwater attention area.
High capacity wells
Environmental review of proposed high capacity wells
As explained above, under current law, a person may not construct a high
capacity well without an approval from DNR. Current law requires DNR to conduct
an environmental review of applications for approval of all the following:
1. A high capacity well that is located in a groundwater protection area, that
is, an area within 1,200 feet of a trout stream or waters designated by DNR as
outstanding or exceptional resource waters.
2. A high capacity well with a high water loss, which means that less than 5
percent of the water withdrawn is returned after use to the basin from which it is
withdrawn.
3. A high capacity well that may have a significant adverse impact on a
qualifying spring.

Under current law, if DNR determines that an environmental impact report
must be conducted for a proposed well that meets one of these criteria, DNR must
generally include conditions in the approval of the well to ensure that the well does
not cause significant adverse environmental impact or, if it is not possible to ensure
that, must deny the application. If a proposed well will be used to provide a public
water supply and DNR determines that there is no reasonable alternative location
for the well, DNR must include in the approval conditions to ensure that the
environmental impact of the well is balanced by the public benefit of the well.
This bill changes the criteria for determining which springs are qualifying
springs under the high capacity well law. Under current law, to be a qualifying
spring, a spring must result in a flow of at least one cubic foot per second at least 80
percent of the time. The bill requires DNR to conduct an inventory of large springs
in this state and to report the results of the study to the legislature. Once DNR
reports to the legislature, a spring that results in a flow of at least 0.25 cubic foot per
second and that is perennial, as defined by DNR by rule, is a qualifying spring.
This bill expands the environmental review provisions of current law so that
they apply to a proposed high capacity well in a groundwater management area
before DNR approves or develops a groundwater management plan for the area.
(After DNR approves the groundwater management plan, as explained above, DNR
may not approve a high capacity well in the groundwater management area unless
the high capacity well is consistent with the groundwater management plan.) The
bill also provides that the environmental review provisions apply to any proposed
high capacity well for a water bottling facility.
Under this bill, any person may file a petition with DNR requesting
environmental review of a proposed high capacity well that does not meet any of the
criteria for which environmental review is specifically required, on the grounds that
the well is reasonably probable to result in significant adverse environmental impact
to surface waters. A person filing a petition must provide information showing that
the well is reasonably probable to result in significant adverse environmental impact
to surface waters. If DNR determines that the information is adequate, the current
environmental review provisions apply to the well.
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