30.025(3)
(3) Permit Issuance. The department shall issue, or authorize proceeding under, the necessary permits if it finds that the applicant has shown that the proposal:
30.025(3)(a)
(a) Complies with environmental statutes administered by the department and rules promulgated thereunder, and federal environmental standards which the department has authority to enforce.
30.025(3m)
(3m) Environmental assessments for certain projects. The department is not required to prepare an environmental impact statement under s.
1.11 (2) (c) for the construction of a project that is specified in s.
196.491 (4) (c) 1m. or
1s. and for which one or more permits are required, but shall prepare an environmental assessment regarding the construction if the department's rules require an environmental assessment.
30.025(4)(a)
(a) The permit may be issued, or the authority to proceed under a permit may be granted, upon stated conditions deemed necessary to assure compliance with the criteria designated under sub.
(3).
30.025(4)(b)
(b) Except as provided in par.
(c), the department shall grant or deny the application for a permit for the utility facility within 30 days of the date on which the commission issues its decision under s.
196.49 or
196.491 (3).
30.025(4)(c)
(c) Notwithstanding the deadline in par.
(b), upon agreement between the department and a person who submits an application under s.
196.491 (3) for a permit to construct a high-voltage transmission line, the department shall grant or deny the application within 45 days after the department receives all of the information necessary for it to carry out its obligations under this subsection, as determined by the department.
30.025(5)
(5) Exclusive procedures. The procedures provided under this section are exclusive and apply in lieu of any other procedures that would otherwise apply to permits applied for under this section.
30.027
30.027
Lower Wisconsin State Riverway. For activities in the Lower Wisconsin State Riverway, as defined in s.
30.40 (15), no person obtaining a permit under subchs.
I,
II or
V may start or engage in the activity for which the permit was issued unless the person obtains any permit that is required for the activity under s.
30.44 or
30.445.
30.027 History
History: 1989 a. 31.
30.03
30.03
Enforcement of forfeitures; abatement of nuisances; infringement of public rights. 30.03(2)(2)
The district attorney of the appropriate county or, at the request of the department, the attorney general shall institute proceedings to recover any forfeiture imposed or to abate any nuisance committed under this chapter or ch.
31.
30.03(3)
(3) All forfeitures shall be recovered by civil action as provided in ch.
778 and when collected shall be paid directly into the state treasury.
30.03(4)(a)(a) If the department learns of a possible violation of s.
281.36 or of the statutes relating to navigable waters or a possible infringement of the public rights relating to navigable waters, and the department determines that the public interest may not be adequately served by imposition of a penalty or forfeiture, the department may proceed as provided in this paragraph, either in lieu of or in addition to any other relief provided by law. The department may order a hearing under ch.
227 concerning the possible violation or infringement, and may request the hearing examiner to issue an order directing the responsible parties to perform or refrain from performing acts in order to comply with s.
281.36 or to fully protect the interests of the public in the navigable waters. If any person fails or neglects to obey an order, the department may request the attorney general to institute proceedings for the enforcement of the department's order in the name of the state. The proceedings shall be brought in the manner and with the effect of proceedings under s.
111.07 (7).
30.03(4)(am)
(am) In determining an appropriate remedy for a violation under this chapter relating to a pier or wharf, the department may not order the removal of a pier or wharf unless the department considers all reasonable alternatives offered by the department and the owner of the pier or wharf relating to the location, design, construction, and installation of the pier or wharf.
30.03(4)(b)
(b) No penalty may be imposed for violation of a hearing examiner's order under this subsection, but violation of a judgment enforcing the order may be punished in civil contempt proceedings.
30.03 Annotation
Under sub. (4), the department of natural resources has jurisdiction to pursue any “possible violation" of the public trust doctrine as embodied in ch. 30. ABKA Limited Partnership v. Department of Natural Resources,
2002 WI 106,
255 Wis. 2d 486,
648 N.W.2d 854,
99-2306.
30.03 Annotation
The department of natural resources has a statutory duty under sub. (4) (a) to proceed against piers it believes to be in violation of ch. 30 or contrary to the public's rights in the waters of the state. No administrative rule limits the department's statutory enforcement authority, nor could it do so. Baer v. Department of Natural Resources,
2006 WI App 225,
297 Wis. 2d 232,
724 N.W.2d 638,
05-0668.
30.03 Annotation
Summary judgment is not permitted in forfeiture actions for violations of ch. 30. The relevant procedural statutes cannot be reconciled with the summary judgment procedure. Although the parties agreed to the filing of a written answer in lieu of an appearance, such an agreement cannot provide the basis to impose upon the statutory scheme a summary judgment procedure that does not otherwise exist. State v. Ryan,
2012 WI 16,
338 Wis. 2d 695,
809 N.W.2d 37,
09-3075.
30.03 Annotation
The department of natural resources may enforce the terms of lakebed grants under sub. (4) (a) as long as the enforcement does not conflict with s. 30.05.
78 Atty. Gen. 107.
30.05
30.05
Applicability of chapter to municipally-owned submerged shorelands. Nothing in this chapter relative to the establishment of bulkhead or pierhead lines or the placing of structures or deposits in navigable waters or the removal of materials from the beds of navigable waters is applicable to submerged shorelands in Lake Michigan, the title to which has been granted by the state to a municipality.
30.053
30.053
Applicability of chapter to artificial water bodies and certain impoundments. 30.053(1)(1)
Except in subch.
V and except as specifically provided otherwise in this chapter, nothing in this chapter applies to an artificial water body, as defined in s.
30.19 (1b) (a), that is not hydrologically connected to a natural navigable waterway and that does not discharge into a natural navigable waterway except as a result of storm events.
30.053(2)
(2) Except in subch.
V and s.
30.10 (2) (b), nothing in this chapter applies to an impoundment described under s.
30.10 (2) (b) if the impoundment is not hydrologically connected to a stream classified by the department on March 30, 2018, as a class I, class II, or class III trout stream and the impoundment does not discharge directly into a natural navigable waterway.
30.056
30.056
Exemption from certain permit requirements. Notwithstanding ss.
30.12,
30.19,
30.195 and
30.294, the city of Oak Creek may not be required to remove any structure or concrete or other deposit that was placed in Crayfish Creek in the city of Oak Creek before June 1, 1991, and may continue to maintain the structure, concrete or deposit without having a permit or other approval from the department.
30.056 History
History: 1995 a. 455.
30.06
30.06
Waiver of certain provisions of this chapter. The department, by rule, may waive the applicability to specified navigable waters of the United States of all or part of those provisions of this chapter which relate to the establishment of bulkhead or pierhead lines or the placing of structures or deposits in navigable waters or the removal of materials from the beds of navigable waters. The department may promulgate such rule only after it has entered into an agreement with the appropriate federal agency wherein it is agreed that the comparable federal law will be enforced on the waters in question in lieu of the state law which is being waived. The objective of such agreement shall be to avoid duplication of administration with respect to navigable waters over which this state and the U.S. government have concurrent jurisdiction, in those situations wherein administration by a single governmental agency will tend to avoid confusion and the necessity of obtaining permits from both the state and federal governments by those who are subject to the law and at the same time will adequately protect the public interest. The agreement may contain such further provisions as are designed to achieve this objective.
30.06 History
History: 1981 c. 390 s.
252;
1985 a. 332 s.
251 (1).
30.07
30.07
Transportation of aquatic plants and animals; placement of objects in navigable waters. 30.07(1)(a)
(a) “Aquatic animal" means any animal that lives or grows only in water during any life state and includes that animal's eggs, larvae, or young.
30.07(1)(b)
(b) “Aquatic plant" means a submergent, emergent, floating-leaf, or free-floating plant or any part thereof. “Aquatic plant" does not mean wild rice.
30.07(1)(c)
(c) “Highway" has the meaning given in s.
340.01 (22), except that it does not include public boat access sites or parking areas for public boat access sites.
30.07(1)(e)
(e) “Local governmental unit" means a city, village, town, or county; a special purpose district in this state; an agency or corporation of a city, village, town, county, or special purpose district; or a combination or subunit of any of the foregoing.
30.07(1)(f)
(f) “Public boat access site" means a site that provides access to a navigable water for boats and that is open to the general public for free or for a charge or that is open only to certain groups of persons for a charge.
30.07(2)(a)(a) No person may place or operate a vehicle, seaplane, watercraft, or other object of any kind in a navigable water if it has any aquatic plants or aquatic animals attached to the exterior of the vehicle, seaplane, watercraft, or other object. This paragraph does not require a person to remove aquatic plants or aquatic animals from a vehicle, seaplane, watercraft, or other object during the period of time when the vehicle, seaplane, watercraft, or other object is being operated in the same navigable body of water in which the aquatic plants or aquatic animals became attached.
30.07(2)(b)
(b) No person may take off with a seaplane, or transport or operate a vehicle, watercraft, or other object of any kind on a highway with aquatic plants or aquatic animals attached to the exterior of the seaplane, vehicle, watercraft, or other object.
30.07(3)
(3) A law enforcement officer who has reason to believe that a person is in violation of sub.
(2) may order the person to do any of the following:
30.07(3)(a)
(a) Remove aquatic plants or aquatic animals from a vehicle, seaplane, watercraft, or other object of any kind before placing it in a navigable water.
30.07(3)(b)
(b) Remove aquatic plants or aquatic animals from a seaplane before taking off with the seaplane.
30.07(3)(c)
(c) Remove from, or not place in, a navigable water, a vehicle, seaplane, watercraft, or other object of any kind.
30.07(3)(d)
(d) Not take off with a seaplane, or transport or operate a vehicle, watercraft, or other object of any kind on a highway.
30.07(4)
(4) Subsection
(2) does not prohibit a person from doing any of the following:
30.07(4)(am)
(am) Transporting or operating commercial aquatic plant harvesting equipment that has aquatic plants or animals attached to the exterior of the equipment if the equipment is owned or operated by a local governmental unit, if the equipment is being transported or operated for the purpose of cleaning the equipment to remove aquatic plants or animals, and if the person transports the equipment to, or operates the equipment at, a suitable location away from any body of water.
30.07(4)(b)
(b) Transporting or operating a vehicle, seaplane, watercraft, or other object of any kind with duckweed that is incidentally attached to the exterior of the vehicle, seaplane, watercraft, or other object.
30.07(5)(a)(a) The department shall prepare a notice that contains a summary of the provisions under this section and shall make copies of the notice available to owners required to post the notice under par.
(b).
30.07(5)(b)
(b) Each owner of a public boat access site shall post and maintain the notice described in par.
(a).
30.07(6)
(6) No person may refuse to obey the order of a law enforcement officer who is acting under sub.
(3).
30.07 History
History: 2009 a. 55 ss.
9,
13,
14;
2011 a. 265.
30.10
30.10
Declarations of navigability. 30.10(1)(1)
Lakes. All lakes wholly or partly within this state which are navigable in fact are declared to be navigable and public waters, and all persons have the same rights therein and thereto as they have in and to any other navigable or public waters.
30.10(2)(a)
(a) Subject to par.
(b) and except as provided under sub.
(4) (c) and
(d), all streams, sloughs, bayous, and marsh outlets, which are navigable in fact for any purpose whatsoever, are declared navigable to the extent that no dam, bridge, or other obstruction shall be made in or over the same without the permission of the state.
30.10(2)(b)
(b) If the department makes a determination that a stream or portion of a stream is not navigable and a dam is constructed on the stream that modifies the flow of the stream or portion of the stream as compared to the natural flow of the stream or portion of the stream prior to its construction, and if an artificial impoundment created by the dam is or has been subject to a federal fish and wildlife service Partners for Fish and Wildlife Habitat Development Agreement or, as determined by the department, a similar publicly administered environmental restoration project, then the department may not change its determination of non-navigability with respect to the stream or portion of the stream unless all of the following conditions are met:
30.10(2)(b)1.
1. All structures that affect the flow of the stream or portion of the stream are removed.
30.10(2)(b)2.
2. All changes to the stream or land adjacent to the stream that could affect the flow of the stream or portion of the stream are substantially returned to their natural state.
30.10(2)(b)3.
3. A department evaluation of the navigability of the stream or portion of the stream conducted after the conditions in subds.
1. and
2. are met indicates that the department's determination of non-navigability should be changed.
30.10(3)
(3) Enlargements or improvements in navigable waters. All inner harbors, turning basins, waterways, slips and canals created by any municipality to be used by the public for purposes of navigation, and all outer harbors connecting interior navigation with lake navigation, are declared navigable waters and are subject to the same control and regulation that navigable streams are subjected to as regards improvement, use and bridging.
30.10(4)(a)
(a) This section does not impair the powers granted by law to municipalities to construct highway bridges, arches, or culverts over streams.
30.10(4)(b)
(b) The boundaries of lands adjoining waters and the rights of the state and of individuals with respect to all such lands and waters shall be determined in conformity to the common law so far as applicable, but in the case of a lake or stream erroneously meandered in the original U.S. government survey, the owner of title to lands adjoining the meandered lake or stream, as shown on such original survey, is conclusively presumed to own to the actual shorelines unless it is first established in a suit in equity, brought by the U.S. government for that purpose, that the government was in fact defrauded by such survey. If the proper claims of adjacent owners of riparian lots of lands between meander and actual shorelines conflict, each shall have his or her proportion of such shorelands.
30.10(4)(c)
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, farm drainage ditches are not navigable within the meaning of this section unless it is shown that the ditches were navigable streams before ditching. For purposes of this paragraph, “farm drainage ditch" means any artificial channel which drains water from lands which are used for agricultural purposes.
30.10(4)(d)
(d) A drainage district drain located in the Duck Creek Drainage District and operated by the board for that district is not navigable unless it is shown, by means of a U.S. geological survey map or other similarly reliable scientific evidence, that the drain was a navigable stream before it became a drainage district drain.
30.10 Cross-reference
Cross-reference: See also chs.
NR 305 and
320, Wis. adm. code.
30.10 Annotation
When there are 2 owners of land adjacent to a disputed parcel erroneously meandered under sub. (4), the judge is to divide the parcel proportionately on an equitable, but not necessarily equal, basis. Kind v. Vilas County,
56 Wis. 2d 269,
201 N.W.2d 881 (1972).
30.10 Annotation
The department of natural resources properly considered the existence of beaver dams and ponds and the periods of high water caused by spring runoffs in determining the navigability of a creek. The dams and ponds were normal and natural to the stream, and the periods of high water were of a regularly recurring, annual nature. DeGayner & Co. v. Department of Natural Resources,
70 Wis. 2d 936,
236 N.W.2d 217 (1975).
30.10 Annotation
An owner of land on a meandered lake takes only to the actual shoreline. An owner does not have a “proper claim" to an isolated parcel separated from the remainder of the lot by the lake, making sub. (4) (b) inapplicable as parcels separated by a lake are not “adjacent." State Commissioners of Board of Public Lands v. Thiel,
82 Wis. 2d 276,
262 N.W.2d 522 (1978).
30.10 Annotation
A department of natural resources declaration of navigability subjecting private property to sub. (1) was a taking. Zinn v. State,
112 Wis. 2d 417,
334 N.W.2d 67 (1983).
30.10 Annotation
The department of natural resources has the authority, as well as the obligation, to determine whether the waters of the state are navigable in fact and subject to regulation under ch. 30, another agency's prior ancillary finding to the contrary notwithstanding. Turkow v. Department of Natural Resources,
216 Wis. 2d 273,
576 N.W.2d 288 (Ct. App. 1998),
97-1149.
30.10 Annotation
This chapter applies to navigable ditches that were originally navigable streams. If a navigable ditch was originally nonnavigable or had no previous stream history, the department of natural resources' jurisdiction depends upon the facts of the situation. 63 Atty. Gen. 493.
30.10 Annotation
Erroneously meandered lakeshore — the status of the law as it affects title and distribution. 61 MLR 515.
30.10 Annotation
The Muench case: A better test of navigability. Edwards, 1957 WLR 486.
30.10 Annotation
Riparian Landowners Versus the Public: The Importance of Roads and Highways for Public Access to Wisconsin's Navigable Waters. Williams. 2010 WLR 186.
30.102
30.102
Website information. 30.102(1)(1)
Navigability determination and ordinary high-water mark identification. If the department makes a determination that a waterway is navigable or is not navigable or identifies the ordinary high-water mark of a navigable waterway, the department shall publish that information on the department's Internet website. Any person may rely on the information posted under this section as being accurate. This section does not restrict the ability of a person to challenge the accuracy of the information posted under this section.
