Wetland Protection Summary: Wisconsin

Name of State Statute: Chapter 281, Wis. Stats., NR 103 Wis. Adm. Code Wetland Water Quality Standards, NR 350- Wetland Compensatory Mitigation, NR 299-Water Quality Certification

In Wisconsin, wetlands are regulated by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) through authority granted by section 401 of the Clean Water Act (CWA) and Chapter 281, Wis. Stats., 2001 Wisconsin Act 6, which specifically regulates those wetlands that are not subject to federal regulation (i.e. isolated or "non-federal" wetlands as a result of the SWANCC decision) . Wetlands are further regulated by state-mandated local shoreland-wetland zoning provisions.

For Corps permitting, all nationwide permits have been replaced by a statewide general permit (GP/LOP- WI) that can be viewed at: http://www.mvp.usace.army.mil/docs/regulatory/WIperfin.PDF

Wetland definition and delineation: State statutes (s. 23.32) provide a definition of wetlands: "Wetlands are areas where water is at, near or above the land surface long enough to be capable of supporting aquatic or hydrophytic vegetation and which have soils indicative of wet conditions". The DNR uses the "Basic Guide to Wisconsin’s Wetlands and their Boundaries" for the delineation of wetlands, which is based on the 1987 Corps of Engineers delineation manual. By rule, DNR has adopted the Corps’ 1987 Manual to be used in delineating "non-federal wetlands".

Wetlands regulated:
All wetlands are regulated either through CWA 401/404 or under the state non-federal wetlands statute, however there are some exemptions for certain "artificial wetlands".

SWANCC Fix:
DNR specifically regulates those wetlands that are no longer federally regulated due to the SWANCC decision.

Contacts:
Source of information: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District (http://www.mvp.usace.army.mil/regulatory/)

Type of information: Public notices of 404 individual permits and SPGP notices.

To get added to the list: For e-mail notification, which is faster and covers more projects, send a request to Mike Weberg at michael.m.weburg@mvp02.usace.army.mil.

For written notices of standard individual permit notices, send a request to Brenda.d.miller@mvp02.usace.army.mil or 651-290-5375. Specify the state.

Department of Natural Resources www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/water/fhp/wetlands/programs.shtml

Wetland Regulatory Programs Contact: Dale Simon, Chief Biologist, at (608) 267-9868 or simond@dnr.state.wi.us.