Chapter ATCP 48
DRAINAGE DISTRICTS
Subchapter I — Definitions
Subchapter II — Assessing Drainage District Costs and Benefits
ATCP 48.02 Assessing costs against lands in a drainage district.
ATCP 48.04 Recovering costs from lands outside a drainage district.
ATCP 48.06 Assessing benefits to lands in a drainage district.
ATCP 48.08 Assessing benefits to agricultural lands.
ATCP 48.10 Assessing benefits to nonagricultural lands.
Subchapter III — Inspecting drainage districts
ATCP 48.12 Inspection authority.
ATCP 48.14 Annual inspection.
ATCP 48.16 Inspection after major storm.
ATCP 48.18 Department review and action.
Subchapter IV — District Map, Drains and Corridors
ATCP 48.20 Drainage district specifications.
ATCP 48.21 Changing drainage district specifications.
ATCP 48.22 Construction and maintenance; general.
ATCP 48.24 District corridors.
ATCP 48.26 District drains; design, construction and maintenance.
ATCP 48.28 Controlling woody vegetation.
ATCP 48.30 Controlling soil erosion and runoff.
ATCP 48.32 Deposition of materials.
ATCP 48.33 Structures impeding drainage.
Subchapter V — Construction Projects and Drainage Alterations; Department Approval
ATCP 48.34 Construction projects and drainage alterations; department approval required.
ATCP 48.36 Applying for approval.
ATCP 48.38 Department approval or disapproval.
Subchapter VI — Landowner Rights and Responsibilities
ATCP 48.40 Notice of landowner actions affecting drainage district.
ATCP 48.42 Removing lands from drainage district.
ATCP 48.43 Connecting private drains to district drains; extending private drains.
ATCP 48.44 Obstructing or altering district drains.
ATCP 48.45 Landowner rights.
Subchapter VII — Drainage District Records and Financial Management
ATCP 48.46 Records required.
ATCP 48.48 Care and inspection of records.
Subchapter VIII — Enforcement and Variances
ATCP 48.49 Financial management.
ATCP 48.50 Investigations.
ATCP 48.52 Compliance orders.
ATCP 48.54 Hearing on compliance order.
Subchapter IX — Grants to County Drainage Boards
ATCP 48.60 Grants to county drainage boards.
Ch. ATCP 48 Note
Note: This chapter establishes legal obligations related to drainage districts:
Ch. ATCP 48 Note
Drainage districts are special purpose districts formed for the purpose of draining land, primarily for agricultural purposes. Lands within a drainage district are drained by means of common drains that cross individual property boundaries. Chapter
88, Stats., spells out procedures for creating, modifying and dissolving drainage districts.
Ch. ATCP 48 Note
County drainage boards are responsible for operating drainage districts in compliance with ch.
88, Stats., and this chapter. A county drainage board may levy assessments against landowners in a drainage district to pay for the design, construction and maintenance of district drains, and to pay other district operating costs. The county drainage board must allocate cost assessments between landowners based on a drainage district benefit assessment that complies with this chapter.
Ch. ATCP 48 Note
The state of Wisconsin department of agriculture, trade and consumer protection monitors county drainage board compliance with ch.
88, Stats., and this chapter. Drainage district specifications and construction projects must be approved by the department. Within the limits of available resources, the department also provides technical assistance to county drainage boards.
Ch. ATCP 48 Note
County drainage boards are primarily responsible for resolving drainage disputes within and between drainage districts. A landowner may petition a county drainage board to comply with applicable requirements under ch.
88, Stats., and this chapter. A landowner may also ask the department to order a county drainage board to comply.
Ch. ATCP 48 Note
A county drainage board may prevent municipalities and other persons from connecting their drains to district drains, except under terms prescribed by the county drainage board. A county drainage board may also require a person to disconnect a drain. If a proposed connection will increase costs to the drainage district, the county drainage board may assess costs to the person wishing to connect.
Ch. ATCP 48 Note
Landowners in a drainage district have certain rights and responsibilities prescribed by ch.
88, Stats., and this chapter. Drainage rights are based on drain specifications formally established by the circuit court (or by a county drainage board under this chapter). A county drainage board may not change established drain specifications without department approval. The county drainage board must comply with procedures designed to protect landowner rights.
Ch. ATCP 48 Note
A change of land ownership does not relieve or deprive a succeeding landowner of rights or responsibilities that run with the land under ch.
88, Stats., or this chapter.
Ch. ATCP 48 Note
A county drainage board must comply with public records and open meeting laws under ch.
19, Stats. A county drainage board must also comply with specific procedures required by ch.
88, Stats., and this chapter.
Ch. ATCP 48 NoteThis chapter is adopted under authority of ss.
88.11 and
93.07 (1), Stats.
Ch. ATCP 48 Note
Questions related to drainage districts and this chapter may be referred to the county drainage board or to the department at the following address:
Ch. ATCP 48 Note
Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection
Division of Agricultural Resource Management
Bureau of Land and Water Resources
P.O. Box 8911
Madison, WI 53708-8911
ATCP 48.01
ATCP 48.01 Definitions. In this chapter:
ATCP 48.01(2)
(2) “Base flow" means the normal flow of water not associated with rainfall events.
ATCP 48.01(3)
(3) “Confirmed assessment" means an assessment of costs or benefits that has been confirmed by a circuit court under
ch. 88, Stats., or an assessment of costs or benefits ordered by a county drainage board after May 12, 1994.
ATCP 48.01(4)
(4) “Construction costs" means costs incurred by a drainage district for a construction project. “Construction costs" includes damages awarded to landowners in a drainage district who are adversely affected by a construction project, but does not include maintenance, restoration or operating costs.
ATCP 48.01(6)
(6) “County drainage board" means the board created and appointed under s.
88.17, Stats.
ATCP 48.01(6m)
(6m) “Cross-section" means a series of vertical sections of a drain, taken at periodic intervals along the length of the drain at right angles to the center line of the alignment of the drain.
ATCP 48.01(7)
(7) “Department" means the state of Wisconsin department of agriculture, trade and consumer protection.
ATCP 48.01(8)
(8) “District corridor" means the access corridor and buffer strip established and maintained around a district ditch under
s. ATCP 48.24.
ATCP 48.01(9)
(9) “District ditch" means a district drain which is in the form of a ditch.
ATCP 48.01(10)
(10) “District drain" means a drain, including a main or lateral drain and all points of inlet to that drain, that is located within a drainage district and is designated as a district drain by one of the following:
ATCP 48.01 Note
Note: A drain is not necessarily a “district drain" merely because it is located on land within a drainage district, or merely because it provides drainage for more than one landowner. In some cases, lands within a drainage district are drained by private drains that empty into district drains. Private drains are not operated or maintained by the county drainage board; nor is there any district corridor surrounding a private drain.
ATCP 48.01(11)
(11) “Drain" means any facility, including a ditch, tile, pipe or other facility, for draining water from land. “Drain" includes structures and facilities, such as dams, culverts, pumps, inlet facilities, dikes, dams and levees, that are appurtenant to a drain.
ATCP 48.01(12)
(12) “Drainage district" means a drainage district that is subject to
ch. 88, Stats., regardless of whether the drainage district was formed under
ch. 88, Stats., former
ch. 89, Stats., or any other law.
ATCP 48.01(13)
(13) “Drainage ditch" or “ditch" means a drain which is in the form of an open surface channel. “Ditch" includes the ditch bed, ditch banks, and any structures and facilities that are appurtenant to the ditch.
ATCP 48.01(13m)
(13m) “Grade profile" means a vertical section along the alignment of a drain.
ATCP 48.01(13r)
(13r) “Formally established" means established or reestablished by any of the following:
ATCP 48.01(14)
(14) “Maintenance costs" means costs for the maintenance and repair of district drains and corridors under subch.
IV.
ATCP 48.01(15)
(15) “Nonagricultural lands" means lands other than agricultural lands, including lands in residential, commercial, industrial and transportation use.
ATCP 48.01(17)
(17) “Operating costs" means costs, other than construction, maintenance or restoration costs, that are lawfully incurred by a drainage district.
ATCP 48.01(18)
(18) “Parcel" means a tract of land, all of which is held by the same landowner or landowners.
ATCP 48.01(19)
(19) “Person" means any individual, partnership, corporation, firm, business trust, estate, trust, association, government, governmental subdivision or agency, or any other legal or commercial entity.
