SB732: Bill Text

SB732,22 Section 22 . 281.34 (9) of the statutes is repealed.

SB732,23 Section 23 . 281.341 of the statutes is created to read:

SB732,12,12 281.341 Groundwater management areas. (1) Definitions. In this section:

SB732,12,13 (a) “Aquitard" means a geologic formation having low permeability.

SB732,12,17 (b) “Baseflow" means the sustained flow of a stream, principally by groundwater discharge, in the absence of direct runoff, calculated as the 7-day low flow that occurs on an average of once in every 10 years, or as determined by the department using other statistical measures.

SB732,12,19 (c) “Confined aquifer" means a water-bearing geologic formation that is bounded on its upper surface by an aquitard.

SB732,12,20 (d) “Local governmental unit” has the meaning given in s. 281.34 (1) (c).

SB732,12,21 (e) “Potentiometric surface" has the meaning given in s. 281.34 (1) (e).

SB732,12,25 (f) “Sustainable hydrologic conditions" means the balance between groundwater consumption and groundwater replenishment in which there are no significant adverse environmental impacts, as defined in s. 281.34 (1) (er), to surface water or groundwater.

SB732,13,3 (g) “Target date" means a date by which it is reasonable to expect that a groundwater management area will no longer qualify for designation as a groundwater management area.

SB732,13,5 (h) “Unconfined aquifer" means a water-bearing geologic formation that is not bounded on its upper surface by an aquitard.

SB732,13,7 (2) Groundwater management area designation. (a) The department may, by rule, designate an area as a groundwater management area.

SB732,13,9 (b) An area with a confined aquifer qualifies for designation as a groundwater management area if any of the following applies:

SB732,13,12 1. The potentiometric surface of the confined aquifer has been reduced by 150 feet or more from what the potentiometric surface would be if no groundwater had been pumped from the area.

SB732,13,15 2. The potentiometric surface of the confined aquifer has been reduced to less than 20 feet above the top of the aquitard bounding the upper surface of the confined aquifer.

SB732,13,17 3. The static water level in the majority of the wells that pump water from the confined aquifer is below the bottom of the confined aquifer's bounding aquitard.

SB732,13,19 4. The potentiometric surface of the confined aquifer is declining at a rate exceeding 5 feet per year averaged over a 10-year period.

SB732,13,20 5. The department has initiated an action under s. 30.03 (4) relating to the area.

SB732,13,22 (c) An area with an unconfined aquifer qualifies for designation as a groundwater management area if any of the following applies:

SB732,14,2 1. The baseflow of the streams in the area has declined by more than 10 percent from what the baseflow of the streams would be if no groundwater had been pumped from the area and that decline has resulted in significant adverse environmental impact, as defined in s. 281.34 (1) (er).

SB732,14,4 2. The water table elevation of the unconfined aquifer is declining at a rate exceeding one foot per year averaged over a 10-year period.

SB732,14,7 3. The withdrawal of groundwater in the area has caused a decline in the water table of one foot or more beneath, or adjacent to, lakes or wetlands in the area, as determined by use of groundwater flow modeling.

SB732,14,8 4. The department has initiated an action under s. 30.03 (4) relating to the area.

SB732,14,15 (d) The department shall regularly examine areas that may qualify for designation as groundwater management areas under this subsection. Any person may file a petition with the department requesting consideration of an area for designation as a groundwater management area, which the department shall promptly examine. Before examining any other area, the department shall examine the following areas to determine whether they qualify for designation as groundwater management areas under this subsection:

SB732,14,17 1. The 2 groundwater management areas designated under s. 281.34 (9), 2017 stats.

SB732,14,18 2. The area known as the central sands region.

SB732,14,22 (e) If the department promulgates a rule designating an area as a groundwater management area as authorized under par. (a), the department shall, not later than 90 days after the rule is promulgated, establish a target date and sustainable hydrologic conditions for the area.

SB732,15,3 (f) After the target date established under par. (e) for an area, the department shall consider whether the area still qualifies as a groundwater management area under this subsection. If the department concludes that the area no longer qualifies as a groundwater management area, the department may rescind the designation of the area as a groundwater management area, by repealing the rule designating the area as a groundwater management area.

SB732,15,7 (3) Groundwater management planning for groundwater management area. (a) Subject to pars. (b) and (c), upon the designation under sub. (2) of a groundwater management area, the department shall develop and adopt a groundwater management plan for the groundwater management area.

SB732,15,14 (b) If the department conducts evaluation or modeling of the designated groundwater management area in preparing the groundwater management plan for the area, the evaluation and modeling shall follow the same parameters as the evaluation and modeling of the hydrology of the Little Plover River conducted by the Geological and Natural History Survey, University of Wisconsin-Extension, and U.S. Geological Survey, and shall use the model that resulted from that evaluation, if applicable.

SB732,15,20 (c) The department shall design the groundwater management plan to protect surface water and groundwater, to ensure that the groundwater management area will no longer qualify for designation as a groundwater management area by the target date established under sub. (2) (e), and to achieve the sustainable hydrologic conditions established under sub. (2) (e), and shall include all of the following in the groundwater management plan:

SB732,15,21 1. Measurable goals.

SB732,15,24 2. Requirements for the county or counties to report to the department, including requirements to report progress toward achieving the sustainable hydrologic conditions established under sub. (2) (e).

SB732,15,25 3. Opportunities for public participation in the implementation of the plan.

SB732,16,1 4. Water conservation measures.

SB732,16,3 5. Any other provision that the department determines is necessary to meet the sustainable hydrologic conditions established under sub. (2) (e).

SB732,16,15 (4) Voluntary groundwater management area grants. The department shall provide grants to local governmental units for the purpose of developing groundwater management plans, which the department shall assist in developing, and for the purpose of implementing groundwater management plans that the department approves. A local governmental unit is eligible for a grant under this subsection if the department determines that it is located, either in whole or in part, in an area that qualifies as a voluntary groundwater management area. An area qualifies as a voluntary groundwater management area if it is not in an area designated as a groundwater management area under sub. (2) and if the department determines that the area is likely to be designated as a groundwater management area in the future. The department shall promulgate rules as necessary to administer the grant program under this subsection.

SB732,24 Section 24 . 281.344 (4s) (dm) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB732,16,23 281.344 (4s) (dm) Requiring individual permit. The department may require a person who is making or proposes to make a withdrawal that averages 100,000 gallons per day or more in any 30-day period, but that does not equal at least 1,000,000 gallons per day for any 30 consecutive days, to obtain an individual permit under sub. (5) if the withdrawal is located in a groundwater protection area, as defined in s. 281.34 (1) (am), or a groundwater management area designated under s. 281.34 (9) or 281.341 (2).

SB732,25 Section 25 . 281.344 (4s) (dm) of the statutes, as affected by 2019 Wisconsin Act .... (this act), is amended to read:

SB732,17,7 281.344 (4s) (dm) Requiring individual permit. The department may require a person who is making or proposes to make a withdrawal that averages 100,000 gallons per day or more in any 30-day period, but that does not equal at least 1,000,000 gallons per day for any 30 consecutive days, to obtain an individual permit under sub. (5) if the withdrawal is located in a groundwater protection area, as defined in s. 281.34 (1) (am), or a groundwater management area designated under s. 281.34 (9) or 281.341 (2).

SB732,26 Section 26. 281.346 (4s) (dm) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB732,17,15 281.346 (4s) (dm) Requiring individual permit. The department may require a person who is making or proposes to make a withdrawal that averages 100,000 gallons per day or more in any 30-day period, but that does not equal at least 1,000,000 gallons per day for any 30 consecutive days, to obtain an individual permit under sub. (5) if the withdrawal is located in a groundwater protection area, as defined in s. 281.34 (1) (am), or a groundwater management area designated under s. 281.34 (9) or 281.341 (2).

SB732,27 Section 27 . 281.346 (4s) (dm) of the statutes, as affected by 2019 Wisconsin Act .... (this act), is amended to read:

SB732,17,24 281.346 (4s) (dm) Requiring individual permit. The department may require a person who is making or proposes to make a withdrawal that averages 100,000 gallons per day or more in any 30-day period, but that does not equal at least 1,000,000 gallons per day for any 30 consecutive days, to obtain an individual permit under sub. (5) if the withdrawal is located in a groundwater protection area, as defined in s. 281.34 (1) (am), or a groundwater management area designated under s. 281.34 (9) or 281.341 (2).

SB732,28 Section 28 . 281.346 (8) (cm) of the statutes is created to read:

SB732,18,5 281.346 (8) (cm) Withdrawals in groundwater management areas. 1. The department shall include requirements for water conservation in any permit under s. 30.18 (2) (a) or approval under s. 281.41 if the withdrawal is in a groundwater management area designated under s. 281.341 (2) for which a groundwater management plan under s. 281.341 (3) is in effect.

SB732,18,10 2. In any permit or approval under this section, s. 30.18 (2), or 281.41 for a withdrawal in a groundwater management area designated under s. 281.341 (2) for which a groundwater management plan under s. 281.341 (3) is in effect, the department shall ensure that the requirements for water conservation included in the approval are consistent with the groundwater management plan.

SB732,29 Section 29 . 281.346 (12) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB732,18,18 281.346 (12) (a) Subject to par. (am), a person who has a water supply system with the capacity to make a withdrawal from the waters of the state averaging 100,000 gallons per day or more in any 30-day period shall pay to the department an annual fee of $125 $250, except that the department may promulgate a rule specifying a different amount and except that, notwithstanding the department's rule-making authority, no person is required to pay more than $1,000 per year under this paragraph.

SB732,30 Section 30 . 281.346 (12) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB732,18,23 281.346 (12) (b) In addition to the fee under par. (a), a person who withdraws from the Great Lakes basin more than 50,000,000 gallons per year from the waters of the state shall pay to the department an annual fee in an amount specified under par. (c).

SB732,31 Section 31 . 281.348 (3) (cm) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB732,19,13 281.348 (3) (cm) For the purposes of plans under par. (a), and except as provided in par. (cr), an areawide water quality planning agency designated by the governor under ch. NR 121, Wis. Adm. Code, shall delineate the proposed water supply service areas for all of the public water supply systems in the planning area for which the agency is designated. An areawide water quality planning agency shall delineate proposed water supply service areas that are consistent with the approved areawide water quality management plan under s. 283.83 for the planning area and that permit the development of plans that are approvable under par. (d). An areawide water quality planning agency may also provide regional water needs assessments and other regional water supply planning information. The process for conducting regional activities under this subsection may be the same as the process for regional water supply planning for a groundwater management area designated under s. 281.34 (9) or 281.341 (2).

SB732,32 Section 32 . 281.348 (3) (cm) of the statutes, as affected by 2019 Wisconsin Act .... (this act), is amended to read:

SB732,20,3 281.348 (3) (cm) For the purposes of plans under par. (a), and except as provided in par. (cr), an areawide water quality planning agency designated by the governor under ch. NR 121, Wis. Adm. Code, shall delineate the proposed water supply service areas for all of the public water supply systems in the planning area for which the agency is designated. An areawide water quality planning agency shall delineate proposed water supply service areas that are consistent with the approved areawide water quality management plan under s. 283.83 for the planning area and that permit the development of plans that are approvable under par. (d). An areawide water quality planning agency may also provide regional water needs assessments and other regional water supply planning information. The process for conducting regional activities under this subsection may be the same as the process for regional water supply planning for a groundwater management area designated under s. 281.34 (9) or 281.341 (2).

SB732,33 Section 33 . 293.37 (5) of the statutes is repealed.

SB732,34 Section 34 . 293.65 (3) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB732,21,2 293.65 (3) (b) The department may not issue an approval under s. 281.34 if the withdrawal of groundwater for prospecting or mining purposes or the dewatering of mines will result in the unreasonable detriment of public or private water supplies or the unreasonable detriment of public rights in the waters of the state. No withdrawal of groundwater for prospecting or mining purposes or the dewatering of mines may be made to the unreasonable detriment of public or private water supplies or the unreasonable detriment of public rights in the waters of the state. Notwithstanding any limitation on approval conditions in s. 281.34, if the department determines that a proposed withdrawal of groundwater or dewatering of mines will result in the unreasonable detriment of public or private water supplies or the unreasonable detriment of public rights in the waters of the state the department shall include conditions in the mining or prospecting permit or in an approval issued under s. 281.34 to ensure that the withdrawal or dewatering will not result in the unreasonable detriment of public or private water supplies or the unreasonable detriment of public rights in the waters of the state. These conditions may include a requirement that the applicant for the mining or prospecting permit or approval under s. 281.34 provide a replacement water supply of similar quality, provide an increased amount of water to the water supply, or temporarily augment the quantity of water in, or flowing into or from, the affected waters of the state that is of substantially similar quality and that has substantially similar characteristics to the water that was in the affected waters of the state before any proposed mining or prospecting activity began.

SB732,35 Section 35 . 293.66 of the statutes is repealed.

SB732,36 Section 36. Nonstatutory provisions.

SB732,21,12 (1) Report on Internet-based system development. No later than the first day of the 13th month beginning after the effective date of this subsection, the department of natural resources shall submit to the legislature, in the manner provided in s. 13.172 (2), a report on the department's efforts to develop an Internet-based system that prospective applicants for the approval of a high capacity well may use to estimate the likely environmental impact of the proposed withdrawal. The report shall include a discussion of the department's needs for completing and maintaining that system.

SB732,37 Section 37. Effective date. This act takes effect on the day after publication, except as follows:

SB732,21,17 (1) The treatment of ss. 20.370 (6) (eg), 281.34 (9), 281.344 (4s) (dm) (by Section 25), 281.346 (4s) (dm) (by Section 27 ), and 281.348 (3) (cm) (by Section 32 ) takes effect on the first day of the 25th month beginning after publication.

SB732,21,18 (End)