Chapter NR 300
ADMINISTRATION OF WATERWAY AND WETLAND PERMITS, EXEMPTIONS, AND REGULATION ENFORCEMENT
Subchapter I — Regulatory Decisions
NR 300.04 Waterway exemptions. NR 300.05 Wetland exemptions. NR 300.06 Waterway and wetland general permits. NR 300.07 Waterway and wetland individual permits. NR 300.08 Notices and public comment. NR 300.09 Individual permit decision. NR 300.10 Dam permits, approvals, and determinations. NR 300.11 Waterway and wetland permit fees. Subchapter II — Water Quality Certification
NR 300.16 Individual water quality certification decisions. Subchapter III — Regulatory Services
NR 300.17 Navigability and ordinary high water mark determinations. NR 300.18 Wetland determinations. Subchapter IV — Enforcement and Permit Proceedings
NR 300.20 After-the-fact permits. NR 300.21 Relationship of enforcement and permit proceedings. NR 300.22 Relationship of enforcement and confirmations. NR 300.23 Exceptions to time limits. NR 300.24 Inspection authority. NR 300.01NR 300.01 Purpose. This chapter prescribes procedures, timelines, and fees for waterway and wetland regulatory decisions and services including exemption, permitting, and enforcement decisions as well as wetland mapping, wetland identification, wetland confirmation, and waterway jurisdictional decisions. NR 300.01 HistoryHistory: CR 22-013: cr. Register June 2023 No. 810, eff. 7-1-23. NR 300.02NR 300.02 Applicability. This chapter applies to regulatory services and decisions for waterway and wetland activities pursuant to ss. 23.32, 23.321, and 281.36, Stats., and chs. 30, 31, and 227, Stats. NR 300.02 HistoryHistory: CR 22-013: cr. Register June 2023 No. 810, eff. 7-1-23; correction made under s. 35.17, Stats., Register June 2023; correction made under s. 35.17, Stats., Register January 2024 No. 817. NR 300.03NR 300.03 Definitions. In this chapter: NR 300.03(1)(1) “Business day” or “working day” means each day except Saturday, Sunday and “Legal Holidays” as provided in s. 995.20, Stats. NR 300.03(2)(2) “Department” means the department of natural resources. NR 300.03(3)(3) “Environmental damage” means the harming of any wildlife or wildlife habitat including fish, bird, animal, or plant life, or degradation of the air, land, and waters within the state. NR 300.03 NoteNote: The definition of environmental damage is necessarily general as it must be subjectively applied in conformance with applicable statutes.
NR 300.03(5)(5) “Field investigation” means a physical inspection of the location of a proposed action requiring a permit or approval under ch. 30 or 31, Stats., or s. 23.321 or 281.36, Stats., and surrounding areas that may be directly or indirectly affected by the proposed action, carried out by an employee or agent of the department for the purpose of determining whether the proposed action meets applicable requirements of law. NR 300.03(7)(a)(a) “Individual permit” means a permit issued by the department for a single project under specific applicable provisions of s. 281.36 (3m), Stats., or ch. 30, Stats., excluding s. 30.206, Stats. NR 300.03 NoteNote: This incorporates the definition at s. 30.01 (4m), Stats., and current case law, which requires a watercourse to have a bed and banks, Hoyt v. City of Hudson, 27 Wis. 656 (1871), and requires a navigable waterway to float on a regularly recurring basis the lightest boat or skiff, DeGayner & Co., Inc. v. DNR, 70 Wis. 2d 936 (1975); Village of Menomonee Falls v. DNR, 140 Wis.2d 579 (Ct. App. 1987). NR 300.03(10)(10) “Person” means an individual, owner, operator, corporation, limited liability company, partnership, association, municipality, interstate agency, state agency, or federal agency. NR 300.03(11)(11) “Secondary impacts” means impacts to wetlands that are causally linked to the proposed project. NR 300.03 NoteNote: Secondary impacts may include, but are not limited to, hydrologic impacts, changes in wildlife use due to habitat fragmentation or habitat conversion, erosion (sedimentation/siltation) due to inadequate or missing site stabilization, or the introduction or increase of invasive or non-native plant species to a wetland.
NR 300.03 HistoryHistory: CR 22-013: cr. Register June 2023 No. 810, eff. 7-1-23; correction in (7) (a) made under s. 35.17, Stats., Register June 2023 No. 810. NR 300.04(1)(1) Applicability. This section applies to all of the waterway exemptions specified in subch. II of ch. 30, Stats. NR 300.04(2)(2) Eligibility. A person may only undertake a waterway activity that is exempt from permitting under ch. 30, Stats., if the proposed activity complies with all applicable ch. 30, Stats., statutory requirements and administrative code provisions promulgated thereunder. A permit is appropriate in lieu of an exemption specified in ss. 30.12 (1g), 30.123 (6) (d) and (f), and 30.20, Stats., to prevent any of the following: NR 300.04(2)(a)(a) Significant adverse impacts to the public rights and interests.
