Chapter 281

281.344(8)(b)1. 1. Promotion of environmentally sound and economically feasible water conservation measures through a voluntary statewide program.

281.344(8)(b)1m. 1m. Mandatory and voluntary conservation and efficiency measures for the waters of the Great Lakes basin that are necessary to implement subs. (4), (4s), and (5) and s. 281.348.

281.344(8)(b)2. 2. Water conservation and efficiency measures that the public service commission requires or authorizes a water utility to implement under ch. 196.

281.344(8)(b)3. 3. Water conservation and efficiency measures that the department of safety and professional services requires or authorizes to be implemented under chs. 101 and 145.

281.344(8)(d) (d) Water conservation and efficiency measures. The department shall promulgate rules specifying water conservation and efficiency measures for the purposes of implementing par. (b). In the rules, the department may not require retrofitting of existing fixtures, appliances, or equipment. In specifying the measures, the department shall consider the results of any pilot water conservation program conducted by the department in cooperation with the regional body.

281.344(9) (9) Public participation.

281.344(9)(b) (b) Public notice.

281.344(9)(b)1. 1. The department shall, by rule, create procedures for circulating to interested and potentially interested members of the public notices of each complete application that the department receives under sub. (4). The department shall include, in the rule, at least the following procedures:

281.344(9)(b)1.a. a. Publication of the notice as a class 1 notice under ch. 985.

281.344(9)(b)1.b. b. Mailing of the notice to any person, group, local governmental unit, or state agency upon request.

281.344(9)(b)2. 2. The department shall establish the form and content of a public notice by rule. The department shall include in every public notice concerning an application under sub. (4) at least the following information:

281.344(9)(b)2.a. a. The name and address of each applicant.

281.344(9)(b)2.b. b. A brief description of the proposal for which the application is made under sub. (4), including the amount of the proposed interbasin transfer.

281.344(9)(b)2.c. c. A brief description of the procedures for the formulation of final determinations on applications, including the 30-day comment period required under par. (c).

281.344(9)(c) (c) Public comment. The department shall receive public comments on a proposal for which it receives an application under sub. (4) for a 30-day period beginning when the department gives notice under par. (b) 1. The department shall retain all written comments submitted during the comment period and shall consider the comments in making its decisions on the application.

281.344(9)(d) (d) Public hearing.

281.344(9)(d)1. 1. The department shall provide an opportunity for any interested person or group of persons, any affected local governmental unit, or any state agency to request a public hearing with respect to a proposal for which the department receives an application under sub. (4). A request for a public hearing shall be filed with the department within 30 days after the department gives notice under par. (b). The party filing a request for a public hearing shall indicate the interest of the party and the reasons why a hearing is warranted. The department shall hold a public hearing on a proposal for which the department receives an application under sub. (4) if the department determines that there is a significant public interest in holding a hearing.

281.344(9)(d)2. 2. The department shall promulgate, by rule, procedures for the conduct of public hearings held under this paragraph. A hearing held under this paragraph is not a contested case hearing under ch. 227.

281.344(9)(d)3. 3. The department shall circulate public notice of any hearing held under this paragraph in the manner provided under par. (b) 1.

281.344(9)(e) (e) Public access to information. Any record or other information provided to or obtained by the department regarding a proposal for which an application under sub. (4) is received is a public record as provided in subch. II of ch. 19. The department shall make available to and provide facilities for the public to inspect and copy any records or other information provided to or obtained by the department regarding a proposal for which an application for a new or increased interbasin transfer under sub. (4) is received, except that any record or other information provided to the department may be treated as confidential upon a showing to the secretary that the record or information is entitled to protection as a trade secret, as defined in s. 134.90 (1) (c), or upon a determination by the department that domestic security concerns warrant confidential treatment. Nothing in this subsection prevents the use of any confidential records or information obtained by the department in the administration of this section in compiling or publishing general analyses or summaries, if the analyses or summaries do not identify a specific owner or operator.

281.344(11) (11) Water use report. Beginning no later than 8 years after June 11, 2008, and every 5 years thereafter, the department, using water use data reported under this section, shall publish a water use report to summarize water usage, identify related trends, identify areas of future water usage concerns, and recommend future actions to promote sustainable water use. The department shall also include in the report water resource information derived from reporting and data accumulation requirements under other water regulatory laws.

281.344(13m) (13m) Exceedances. It is not a violation of this section to withdraw an amount of water that exceeds the withdrawal amount specified in a permit issued under sub. (5) or in the database under sub. (4s) (i).

281.344(14) (14) Penalties.

281.344(14)(a) (a) Any person who violates this section or any rule promulgated or approval issued under this section shall forfeit not less than $10 nor more than $10,000 for each violation. Each day of continued violation is a separate offense.

281.344(14)(c) (c) In addition to the penalties under par. (a), the court may order the defendant to abate any nuisance, restore a natural resource, or take, or refrain from taking, any other action as necessary to eliminate or minimize any environmental damage caused by the violation.

281.344(15) (15) Sunset. This section does not apply after the compact’s effective date.

281.344 History History: 2007 a. 227; 2009 a. 180; 2011 a. 32; 2015 a. 177.

281.346 281.346 Water conservation, reporting, and supply regulation; after the compact takes effect.

281.346(1) (1) Definitions. In this section:

281.346(1)(d) (d) “Community within a straddling county” means any city, village, or town that is not a straddling community and that is located outside the Great Lakes basin but wholly within a county that lies partly within the Great Lakes basin.

281.346(1)(dm) (dm) “Compact” means the Great Lakes — St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact under s. 281.343.

281.346(1)(dr) (dr) “Compact’s effective date” means the effective date of the compact under s. 281.343 (9) (d).

281.346(1)(e) (e) “Consumptive use” means a use of water that results in the loss of or failure to return some or all of the water to the basin from which the water is withdrawn due to evaporation, incorporation into products, or other processes.

281.346(1)(g) (g) “Cumulative impacts” means the impacts on the Great Lakes basin ecosystem that result from incremental effects of all aspects of a withdrawal, diversion, or consumptive use in addition to other past, present, and reasonably foreseeable future withdrawals, diversions, and consumptive uses regardless of who undertakes the other withdrawals, diversions, and consumptive uses, including individually minor but collectively significant withdrawals, diversions, and consumptive uses taking place over a period of time.

281.346(1)(h) (h) “Diversion” means a transfer of water from the Great Lakes basin into a watershed outside the Great Lakes basin, or from the watershed of one of the Great Lakes into that of another, by any means of transfer, including a pipeline, canal, tunnel, aqueduct, channel, modification of the direction of a water course, tanker ship, tanker truck, or rail tanker except that “diversion” does not include any of the following:

281.346(1)(h)1. 1. The transfer of a product produced in the Great Lakes basin or in the watershed of one of the Great Lakes, using waters of the Great Lakes basin, out of the Great Lakes basin or out of that watershed.

281.346(1)(h)2. 2. The transmission of water within a line that extends outside the Great Lakes basin as it conveys water from one point to another within the Great Lakes basin if no water is used outside the Great Lakes basin.

281.346(1)(h)3. 3. The transfer of bottled water from the Great Lakes basin in containers of 5.7 gallons or less.

281.346(1)(hm) (hm) “Divert” means to transfer water from the Great Lakes basin into a watershed outside the Great Lakes basin, or from the watershed of one of the Great Lakes into that of another, by any means of transfer, including a pipeline, canal, tunnel, aqueduct, channel, modification of the direction of a water course, tanker ship, tanker truck, or rail tanker except that “divert” does not include any of the following:

281.346(1)(hm)1. 1. To transfer a product produced in the Great Lakes basin or in the watershed of one of the Great Lakes, using waters of the Great Lakes basin, out of the Great Lakes basin or out of that watershed.

281.346(1)(hm)2. 2. To transmit water within a line that extends outside the Great Lakes basin as it conveys water from one point to another within the Great Lakes basin if no water is used outside the Great Lakes basin.

281.346(1)(hm)3. 3. To transfer bottled water from the Great Lakes basin in containers of 5.7 gallons or less.

281.346(1)(i) (i) “Environmentally sound and economically feasible water conservation measures” means those measures, methods, or technologies for efficient water use and for reducing water loss and waste or for reducing the amount of a withdrawal, consumptive use, or diversion that are, taking into account environmental impact, the age and nature of equipment and facilities involved, the processes employed, the energy impacts, and other appropriate factors, all of the following:

281.346(1)(i)1. 1. Environmentally sound.

281.346(1)(i)2. 2. Reflective of best practices applicable to the water use sector.

281.346(1)(i)3. 3. Technically feasible and available.

281.346(1)(i)4. 4. Economically feasible and cost-effective based on an analysis that considers direct and avoided economic and environmental costs.

281.346(1)(j) (j) “Facility” means an operating plant or establishment providing electricity to the public or carrying on any manufacturing activity, trade, or business on one site, including similar plants or establishments under common ownership or control located on contiguous properties.

281.346(1)(je) (je) “Great Lakes basin” means the watershed of the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River upstream from Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, within the jurisdiction of the parties.

281.346(1)(ji) (ji) “Great Lakes basin ecosystem” means the interacting components of air, land, water, and living organisms, including humans, within the Great Lakes basin.

281.346(1)(jj) (jj) “Great Lakes council” means the Great Lakes — St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Council, created under s. 281.343 (2) (a).

281.346(1)(jm) (jm) “Intrabasin transfer” means the transfer of water from the watershed of one of the Great Lakes into the watershed of another of the Great Lakes.

281.346(1)(n) (n) “Party” means a state that is a party to the compact.

281.346(1)(nm) (nm) Notwithstanding s. 281.01 (9), “person” means an individual or other entity, including a government or a nongovernmental organization, including any scientific, professional, business, nonprofit, or public interest organization or association that is neither affiliated with nor under the direction of a government.

281.346(1)(o) (o) “Product” means something produced by human or mechanical effort or through agricultural processes and used in manufacturing, commercial, or other processes or intended for intermediate or ultimate consumers, subject to all of the following:

281.346(1)(o)1. 1. Water used as part of the packaging of a product is part of the product.

281.346(1)(o)2. 2. Other than water used as part of the packaging of a product, water that is used primarily to transport materials in or out of the Great Lakes basin is not a product or part of a product.

281.346(1)(o)3. 3. Except as provided in subd. 1., water that is transferred as part of a public or private supply is not a product or part of a product.

281.346(1)(o)4. 4. Water in its natural state, such as in lakes, rivers, reservoirs, aquifers, or water basins, is not a product.

281.346(1)(pm) (pm) “Public water supply” means water distributed to the public through a physically connected system of treatment, storage, and distribution facilities that serve a group of largely residential customers and that may also serve industrial, commercial, and other institutional customers.

281.346(1)(ps) (ps) “Reasonable water supply alternative” means a water supply alternative that is similar in cost to, and as environmentally sustainable and protective of public health as, the proposed new or increased diversion and that does not have greater adverse environmental impacts than the proposed new or increased diversion.

281.346(1)(q) (q) “Regional body” means the body consisting of the governors of the parties and the premiers of Ontario and Quebec, Canada, or their designees as established by the Great Lakes — St. Lawrence River Basin Sustainable Water Resources Agreement.

281.346(1)(qd) (qd) “Regional declaration of finding” means a declaration of finding issued by the regional body under s. 281.343 (4h) (e).

281.346(1)(qm) (qm) “Regional review” means review by the regional body as described in s. 281.343 (4h).

281.346(1)(r) (r) “Source watershed” means the watershed from which a withdrawal originates. If water is withdrawn directly from a Great Lake or from the St. Lawrence River, then the source watershed is the watershed of that Great Lake or the watershed of the St. Lawrence River, respectively. If water is withdrawn from the watershed of a stream that is a direct tributary to a Great Lake or a direct tributary to the St. Lawrence River, then the source watershed is the watershed of that Great Lake or the watershed of the St. Lawrence River, respectively.

281.346(1)(t) (t) “Straddling community” means any city, village, or town that, based on its boundary existing as of the compact’s effective date, is partly within the Great Lakes basin or partly within the watersheds of 2 of the Great Lakes and that is wholly within any county that lies partly or completely within the Great Lakes basin.

281.346(1)(tm) (tm) “Straddling county” means a county that lies partly within the Great Lakes basin.

281.346(1)(u) (u) “Technical review” means a thorough analysis and evaluation conducted to determine whether a proposal that is subject to regional review under this section meets the criteria for approval under sub. (4), (5), or (6).

281.346(1)(w) (w) “Water dependent natural resources” means the interacting components of land, water, and living organisms affected by the waters of the Great Lakes basin.

281.346(1)(wm) (wm) “Water loss” means the amount of water that is withheld from or not returned to the basin from which it is withdrawn as a result of a diversion or consumptive use or both.

281.346(1)(wp) (wp) “Water supply system,” when not preceded by “public,” means one of the following:

281.346(1)(wp)1. 1. Except as provided in subd. 2., the equipment handling water from the point of intake of the water to the first point at which the water is used.

281.346(1)(wp)2. 2. For a system for providing a public water supply, the equipment from the point of intake of the water to the first point at which the water is distributed.

281.346(1)(wr) (wr) “Water utility” means a public utility, as defined in s. 196.01 (5), that furnishes water.

281.346(1)(x) (x) “Waters of the Great Lakes basin” means the Great Lakes and all streams, rivers, lakes, connecting channels, and other bodies of water, including tributary groundwater, within the Great Lakes basin.

281.346(1)(y) (y) “Withdraw” means to take water from surface water or groundwater.

281.346(1)(z) (z) “Withdrawal” means the taking of water from surface water or groundwater, including the taking of surface water or groundwater for the purpose of bottling the water.

281.346(1)(zm) (zm) “Without adequate supplies of potable water” means lacking a water supply that is economically and environmentally sustainable in the long term to meet reasonable demands for a water supply in the quantity and quality that complies with applicable drinking water standards, is protective of public health, is available at a reasonable cost, and does not have adverse environmental impacts greater than those likely to result from the proposed new or increased diversion.

281.346(2) (2) Determinations concerning applicability of requirements.

281.346(2)(a) (a) Use of surface water divide. For the purposes of this section, the surface water divide is used to determine whether a withdrawal or transfer of surface water or groundwater is from the Great Lakes basin.

281.346(2)(b) (b) Diversions and withdrawals from more than one source. For the purposes of this section, the diversion or withdrawal of water from more than one source within the Great Lakes basin to supply a single facility or public water supply system is considered one diversion or withdrawal.

281.346(2)(bm) (bm) Subsequent withdrawals for aquacultural purposes. If a fish farm withdraws water and places it in an aquacultural pond that is registered with the department of agriculture, trade and consumer protection, any subsequent use of that water from that pond is not a withdrawal for the purposes of this section, if the subsequent use is not, and does not result in, a diversion or an intrabasin transfer.

281.346(2)(c) (c) Water loss. The department shall promulgate rules for determining the amount of water loss from consumptive uses.

281.346(2)(d) (d) County boundaries. For the purposes of sub. (1) (d), (t), and (tm), a county’s boundaries as of December 13, 2005, shall be used to determine whether a county lies partly within the Great Lakes basin.

281.346(2)(e) (e) Baseline.

281.346(2)(e)1g. 1g. The baseline for a withdrawal that before December 8, 2008, averaged 100,000 gallons per day or more in any 30-day period but to which subd. 1m. does not apply is the amount determined under sub. (4e).

281.346(2)(e)1m. 1m. If a person making a withdrawal that averages 100,000 gallons per day or more in any 30-day period registered the withdrawal under s. 281.344 (3) (a) 1. and reported as required under s. 281.344 (3) (e) and the department did not automatically issue a notice of coverage under s. 281.344 (4s) (c) or an individual permit under s. 281.344 (5) (c) for the withdrawal, the baseline for the withdrawal is the amount determined under s. 281.344 (5m) for the withdrawal or, if the department determines a different amount under sub. (4e), the amount determined under sub. (4e).

281.346(2)(e)1r. 1r. The baseline for a withdrawal not covered by subd. 1g. or 1m. is zero.

281.346(2)(e)2. 2. The baseline water loss for a consumptive use for which the department has specified an authorized base level of water loss under s. 281.35 (6) (a) 2. is the amount of that authorized base level on the compact’s effective date.