Great Lakes Aquatic Habitat News
The Newsletter of the Great Lakes
Aquatic Habitat Network and Fund
Volume 8, Number 2 • March-April 2000
Great Lakes Aquatic Habitat NewsThe Newsletter of the Great Lakes
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Wisconsin has been a “holdout” in allowing mitigation projects for wetland losses, and is one of the last states to accept mitigation for wetland development activities. The Wisconsin Legislature recently passed a “wetland mitigation bill” during the Spring 2000 Session. Although the new law was a compromise bill endorsed strongly by the Wisconsin Builders Association, it contained some important elements in support of wetland conservation and protection. Not only does the language of the law include the important clause “avoid and minimize” to reduce potential impacts to wetlands, but also includes important enforcement authority for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR). Until now, the DNR has been unable to enforce violators of state wetland water quality standards (NR 103). The new law allows for an “expedited water quality process” for projects with limited wetland impacts. How the bill will be interpreted is dependent upon the “rule making” process that will be determined in the coming months. For example, although the law allows wetland “creation” (using federal mitigation language), the rules could provide significant disincentives to do so.
In the last issue of the “Habitat News”, you read about the controversy over the Perrier Group of America (bottling company) efforts to sink high capacity wells in the vicinity of an important state waterway, the Mecan River and Springs. Although that location has been abandoned due to massive public pressure to avoid impacts to this state natural area and trout stream, Perrier has not gone away. Instead, the company is now targeting a less-known site, “Big Springs” in Adams County, central Wisconsin, for a huge bottling facility. Perrier has made a $20,000 “contribution” to the Town of New Haven, close to Big Springs, in an apparent attempt to win support of their bottling initiative. Perrier sent a press release to local and state media announcing their contribution. Fortunately, town residents “smell a fish” and have been attending Town meetings to discourage local officials from allowing the wells in their region. Statewide groups (River Alliance of Wisconsin, Trout Unlimited) have called for an Environmental Impact Statement to be prepared for any high capacity commercial wells proposed for the region.
At present, the DNR has no authority over high capacity wells unless they would impact a municipal water supply. Legislation to regulate high capacity wells was hastily introduced into the State Legislature this spring, but was poorly drafted and did not contain the sort of control measures needed for this type of activity. No bill was passed during the Session.
In collaboration with the Wisconsin Association of Lakes, the DNR and the University of Wisconsin Extension, Wisconsin Wetlands Association sponsored a day-long wetlands workshop in Stevens Point this past March. Over 200 lake association members attended the event. The workshop’s keynote speaker was Wil Cwikiel from Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council, Petosky, Michigan. The afternoon “breakout” workshops featured “wetland wildlife”, “wetland restoration and management”, and “wetland regulations” with presentations by experts from throughout the state.