Chapter 30

30.2035 History History: 1993 a. 421.

30.2037 30.2037 Big Silver Lake high-water mark. The ordinary high-water mark of Big Silver Lake in the town of Marion in Waushara County shall be set by the department at 867 feet above mean sea level as determined under U.S. geological survey standards.

30.2037 History History: 1997 a. 27.

30.2038 30.2038 Milwaukee shoreline established.

30.2038(1) (1) 

30.2038(1)(a) (a) The shoreline of Lake Michigan in the city of Milwaukee is fixed and established to extend from approximately the line of East Lafayette Place extended easterly on the north to the present north harbor entrance wall of the Milwaukee River on the south as specified in an agreement between the Chicago and Northwestern Railway Company and the city of Milwaukee recorded with the office of the register of deeds of Milwaukee County on April 23, 1913, in volume 662, pages 326-330, as document number 762955.

30.2038(1)(b) (b) The shoreline described under par. (a) constitutes the boundary line between the lake bed of Lake Michigan and land that is not part of the lake bed of Lake Michigan.

30.2038(2) (2) Any restrictions, conditions, reverters, or limitations imposed on the use of land or conveyance of land under chapter 358, laws of 1909, chapter 389, laws of 1915, chapter 284, laws of 1923, chapter 150, laws of 1929, chapter 151, laws of 1929, chapter 516, laws of 1929, chapter 381, laws of 1931, chapter 76, laws of 1973, 1985 Act 327, and any other act conveying a part of the lake bed of Lake Michigan do not apply to land located to the west of the shoreline described under sub. (1) (a).

30.2038(3) (3) The declarations under sub. (1) are made in lieu of, and have the same effect as, a final judgment entered by a court under ch. 841.

30.2038 History History: 2013 a. 20, 140.

30.2038 Note NOTE: 2013 Wisconsin Act 140, section 2, contains legislative declarations and findings.

30.2039 30.2039 Great Lakes and river waterfront property.

30.2039(1) (1) Definitions. In this section:

30.2039(1)(a) (a) “Concession” means a private allowable use that is a structure or facility that provides lodging, restaurant and food and beverage services, or retail services supporting the public interest in navigable waters and that support public access and use of navigable waters.

30.2039(1)(b) (b) “Great Lakes water” means Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Green Bay, or Sturgeon Bay.

30.2039(1)(c) (c) Notwithstanding s. 30.01 (4), “municipality” means a city or village.

30.2039(1)(d) (d) “Public use” means public access and use, including the provision of, access to, and use of parkland, trails and roads, and public recreational facilities.

30.2039(1)(e) (e) “Record title holder” means a person with a claim of ownership of property based on a recorded conveyance of an ownership interest in the property.

30.2039(1)(f) (f) “Upland” means property that remained at an elevation above the current ordinary high water mark from December 9, 1977, to March 29, 2024, other than for temporary maintenance activities or because of accretion or reliction.

30.2039(2) (2) Waterfront development plan.

30.2039(2)(a) (a) Authority. A municipality may create a waterfront development plan with respect to parcels that include land that may have been part of a riverbed or that may have been part of the submerged bed of a Great Lakes water at the time of statehood.

30.2039(2)(b) (b) Elements of the plan. A municipality shall include all of the following information in a waterfront development plan under this subsection:

30.2039(2)(b)1. 1. A map identifying parcels of land that are subject to the proposed plan area.

30.2039(2)(b)2. 2. An approximate delineation of the shoreland at statehood based on existing government survey maps.

30.2039(2)(b)3. 3. A delineation of upland areas. In determining whether portions of the proposed plan area are upland, the municipality may use photographs, survey data, publicly available global positioning system mapping, geographic information system mapping, or other documentation.

30.2039(2)(b)4. 4. A delineation of any area that is subject to a lake bed grant or a submerged land lease, a bulkhead line established under s. 30.11, or a shoreline established under s. 30.2038.

30.2039(2)(b)5. 5. An overall plan for the development of the proposed plan area, including a map showing areas that will be dedicated to the public for public use and areas that will allow for private uses. The boundary between the proposed public use areas and remaining areas shall be surveyed and delineated on the map under subd. 1.

30.2039(2)(b)6. 6. A description of areas and types of proposed public use consistent with the standards established under par. (d) and any restrictions on public use to be proposed for safety or security reasons. The plan shall describe how the public use areas will be accessible to the public.

30.2039(2)(b)7. 7. A plan for implementing and enforcing the development and perpetual maintenance of the public use areas, including appropriate ordinances. The plan shall require that the record title owner grant an easement to the department ensuring that future use of public use areas will be consistent with the plan and shall include appropriate mechanisms for department enforcement.

30.2039(2)(c) (c) Plan review.

30.2039(2)(c)1. 1. The municipality shall consult with any record title holders within the plan area proposed under par. (b) prior to approval by the municipality.

30.2039(2)(c)2. 2. Upon adoption of the waterfront development plan by the municipality, the municipality shall provide the plan to the department for review and approval.

30.2039(2)(c)3. 3. No later than 90 days after receiving a request for review under this paragraph, the department shall hold a public hearing and shall provide public notice by publishing a class 2 notice under ch. 985 and by posting notice on the department’s website.

30.2039(2)(c)4. 4. No later than 90 days following the public hearing under subd. 3., the department shall make a determination under par. (d). The department and the applicant may agree to extend this timeline. The failure of the department to act within 90 days or within any timeline agreed to by the department and the applicant may not be deemed to be an approval by the department.

30.2039(2)(d) (d) Determinations by the department. The department may impose additional restrictions and conditions on a plan submitted under par. (c) 2. but may not approve a plan, with or without additional restrictions and conditions, unless the department determines all of the following:

30.2039(2)(d)1. 1. The plan meets the requirements of par. (b).

30.2039(2)(d)2. 2. The uses proposed in the plan are not inconsistent with existing lake bed grants or submerged land leases.

30.2039(2)(d)3. 3. The private uses proposed in the plan will not materially affect the public interest in navigable waters.

30.2039(2)(d)4. 4. The amount and location of the public use areas to be developed and maintained under the plan provide a substantial benefit to the public interest in navigable waters. Appropriate uses in public use areas may include concessions open to the public under long-term lease with a municipality if the concessions provide a significant benefit to the public interest in navigable waters.

30.2039(2)(d)5. 5. The plan contains sufficient provisions to ensure that the public uses proposed in the plan will be implemented and perpetually maintained.

30.2039(2)(d)6. 6. The plan requires that the proceeds from any lease or license to private or public entities to create or operate a concession be used by the municipality to promote the public interest in navigable waters pursuant to a plan approved by the department. This paragraph does not apply to revenue from real property taxes received by the municipality.

30.2039(2)(d)7. 7. The boundary established in the plan will not result in a substantial impairment of the public interest in navigable waters and is incidental to the development and perpetual maintenance of the public use areas of the plan.

30.2039(2)(e) (e) Effect of determination.

30.2039(2)(e)1. 1. An approval under par. (d) constitutes a determination by the department that the public interest in navigable waters is served by implementation of the plan and, with respect to areas that may have been part of the submerged bed of a Great Lakes water at the time of statehood, the boundary established between land that is held in trust by the state or is otherwise publicly owned and land held in private fee title ownership is in the public interest in navigable waters.

30.2039(2)(e)2. 2. Following an approval under par. (d), the applicant shall record the approval with the register of deeds and the department shall post the approval on the department’s website. Upon implementation of the portions of the plan approved under par. (d) that relate to the public use areas, and any conditions imposed in the approval related to those areas, areas designated for private use that may have been part of a riverbed at the time of statehood shall not be subject to a navigational servitude and, for areas that may have been part of the submerged bed of a Great Lakes water at the time of statehood, the boundary between land that is held in trust by the state or is otherwise publicly owned and land held in private fee title ownership shall have the same effect as if the boundary were confirmed in a quiet title action granted by a court under s. 841.10.

30.2039(2)(e)3. 3. This section does not alter the right of property owners to seek a quiet title action under common law.

30.2039(2)(f) (f) Boundary amendments. A municipality may seek to amend a public use boundary approved under par. (d) only by preparing and submitting a new plan using the process under this subsection.

30.2039(2)(g) (g) Review. Determinations made under par. (d) are subject to review under ch. 227.

30.2039(3) (3) Title to nonriparian parcels. A parcel that may include areas that were part of the submerged bed of a Great Lakes water at the time of statehood and that remained separated from a Great Lakes water by one or more other parcels from December 9, 1977, to March 29, 2024, for which there is a record title holder, and that is not subject to a fill authorization as defined in s. 30.2034 (1) (a), is deemed to be not part of the lake bed of a Great Lakes water and to be held in fee title ownership. For land held in fee title ownership as determined under this subsection, this determination operates in the same manner as if a person were granted quiet title to the property by a court under s. 841.10.

30.2039(4) (4) Exception for existing uses. The department shall treat upland property adjacent to a Great Lakes water, all or part of which may have been land that was part of the submerged lake bed of the Great Lakes water at the time of statehood, as property owned by the record title holder for purposes of exercising any regulatory authority, if the property includes portions of land that are upland and the use of such property has not materially changed since March 29, 2024. In this subsection, “materially changed” means a material modification or termination of an existing use and does not include the maintenance, repair, replacement, restoration, rebuilding, or remodeling of any part of any existing structure or the transfer of the property. This subsection may not be construed as authorizing the combining of existing uses on multiple properties for the purposes of this subsection.

30.2039 History History: 2023 a. 247.

30.204 30.204 Lake acidification experiment.

30.204(1) (1) Authorization. Between May 15, 1984, and January 1, 2008, the department is authorized to conduct a lake acidification experiment on the lake specified under sub. (2).

30.204(2) (2) Lake selection. The department shall select Little Rock Lake in the town of Arbor Vitae, Vilas County, township 41 north, range 6 east, for the lake acidification experiment.

30.204(3) (3) Experiment. In conducting the lake acidification experiment, the department shall deny access to and prohibit navigation on the lake by posted notice, may place a barrier or dyke across the lake, may place chemicals or other substances in the lake and may take other actions necessary for the experiment.

30.204(4) (4) Restoration.

30.204(4)(a) (a) Before artificially acidifying the lake, the department shall establish an escrow account containing sufficient funds to restore the lake and its aquatic life as provided under par. (c).

30.204(4)(b) (b) After the department has artificially acidified the lake, it may allow and monitor the natural restoration of the lake and its aquatic life as part of the experiment.

30.204(4)(c) (c) At the conclusion of the experiment or in the event of an unanticipated occurrence that requires that the lake be restored before the conclusion of the experiment, the department shall do all of the following to the fullest extent possible given available technology:

30.204(4)(c)1. 1. Artificially restore the lake to its original acid level if the lake has not been naturally restored to the original acid level during the experiment.

30.204(4)(c)2. 2. Artificially reestablish the lake’s aquatic life if the aquatic life has not been naturally reestablished during the experiment.

30.204(5) (5) Exemption from certain statutes and rules. Activities of the department in conducting the lake acidification experiment are exempt from any prohibition, restriction, requirement, permit, license, approval, authorization, fee, notice, hearing, procedure or penalty specified under s. 29.601 (3), 30.01 to 30.03, 30.06 to 30.16, 30.18 to 30.29, 30.50 to 30.99, 59.692, 87.30, 287.81, 299.15 to 299.23, 299.91, 299.95 or 299.97 or chs. 281, 283 or 289 to 292 or specified in any rule promulgated, order issued or ordinance adopted under any of those sections or chapters.

30.204(6) (6) Compliance with environmental impact statute. The department shall comply with the requirements under s. 1.11 in conducting the experiment authorized by this section. The department shall initiate compliance by preparing and reviewing, under the procedures it has established under s. 1.11, an environmental assessment for this experiment.

30.204 History History: 1983 a. 421; 1985 a. 135 s. 85; 1989 a. 335; 1991 a. 39; 1995 a. 201, 227, 258; 1997 a. 35, 248; 2001 a. 16.

30.204 Note NOTE: 1983 Wis. Act 421, which created this section, has “legislative findings” in section 1.

30.205 30.205 Water resources development projects. The department may cooperate with and enter into agreements with the appropriate federal agencies for the purpose of constructing, maintaining and operating water resources development projects. Such agreements may contain any indemnification provisions required by federal law.

30.205 History History: 1987 a. 27.

30.206 30.206 General permits.

30.206(1) (1) Procedure for issuing general permits.

30.206(1)(a) (a) The department shall issue the statewide general permits required under ss. 30.12 (3) (a) and (b), 30.123 (7), 30.19 (3r), and 30.20 (1t) (a) and (3).

30.206(1)(ag) (ag) To ensure that the cumulative adverse environmental impact of the activities authorized by a general permit is insignificant and that the issuance of the general permit will not injure public rights or interests, cause environmental pollution, as defined in s. 299.01 (4), or result in material injury to the rights of any riparian owner, the department may impose any of the following conditions on the permit:

30.206(1)(ag)1. 1. Construction and design requirements that are consistent with the purpose of the activity authorized under the permit.

30.206(1)(ag)2. 2. Location requirements that ensure that the activity will not materially interfere with navigation or have an adverse impact on the riparian property rights of adjacent riparian owners, except that if the activity is necessary in order to maintain or repair a utility facility that is owned or operated by a public utility, as defined in s. 196.01 (5), or a cooperative association organized under ch. 185 for the purpose of producing or furnishing heat, light, water, or power to its members only, the department may not impose a condition on the permit that requires the relocation of the facility.

30.206(1)(ag)3. 3. Restrictions to protect areas of special natural resource interest.

30.206(1)(aj) (aj) Paragraph (ag) applies only to general permits issued under par. (a).

30.206(1)(am) (am) In addition to the general permits required under par. (a), the department may issue a general permit authorizing an activity for which an individual permit is issued, or a contract is entered into, under this subchapter. In issuing general permits under this paragraph, the department shall establish requirements and conditions to ensure that the activities subject to the permit will cause only minimal adverse environmental impacts, will not materially interfere with navigation, and will not have an adverse impact on the riparian property rights of adjacent riparian owners.

30.206(1)(ar) (ar) A permit issued under par. (a) or (am) is in lieu of any permit or contract that would otherwise be required for that activity under this subchapter.

30.206(1)(b) (b) Except as provided in sub. (1r), a general permit issued under par. (a) or (am) is valid for a period of 5 years, and an activity that the department determines is authorized by a general permit remains authorized under the general permit for a period of 5 years from the date of the department’s determination or until the activity is completed, whichever occurs first, regardless of whether the general permit expired before the activity is completed. The department may renew or modify, or revoke a general permit issued under par. (a) or (am) or s. 30.2065 upon compliance with the requirements under subs. (2b) and (2m).

30.206(1r) (1r) Transitions between permits. Any general permit issued under this section that is valid on August 1, 2012, shall remain valid until the date upon which a general permit issued under sub. (1) (a) or (am) that authorizes the same activity becomes effective.

30.206(2b) (2b) Public notice.

30.206(2b)(a) (a) The department shall provide to interested members of the public notices of its intention to issue, renew, modify, or revoke a general permit under sub. (1) (a) or (am) or s. 30.2065. Procedures for providing public notices shall include all of the following:

30.206(2b)(a)1. 1. Publication of a class 1 notice under ch. 985.

30.206(2b)(a)2. 2. Providing a copy of the notice to any person or group upon request of the person or group.

30.206(2b)(a)3. 3. Publication of the notice through an electronic notification system established by the department.

30.206(2b)(a)4. 4. Publication of the notice on the department’s Internet website.

30.206(2b)(am) (am) For the purpose of determining the date on which public notice is provided under this subsection, the date on which the department first publishes the notice on its Internet web site shall be considered the date of public notice.

30.206(2b)(b) (b) The department shall provide a period of not less than 30 days after the date of the public notice during which time interested persons may submit their written comments on the department’s intention to issue, renew, modify, or revoke a general permit under sub. (1) (a) or (am) or s. 30.2065. All written comments submitted during the period for comment shall be retained by the department and considered by the department in acting on the general permit.

30.206(2b)(c) (c) Every public notice issued by the department under par. (a) shall include a description of any activities to be authorized under the general permit.

30.206(2m) (2m) Public hearing.