Chapter ATCP 48

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 Note This 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

subch. I of ch. ATCP 48 Subchapter I — Definitions

ATCP 48.01 ATCP 48.01 Definitions. In this chapter:

ATCP 48.01(1) (1) “Agricultural lands” means lands in agricultural use as provided under s. 91.01 (1), Stats.

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 Note Note: See s. ATCP 48.20 (1) (b).

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(10)(a) (a) A court order.

ATCP 48.01(10)(b) (b) A county drainage board action that complies with s. ATCP 48.20 (5) or 48.21 (2).

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 Note Note: See s. ATCP 48.20 (1) (c).

ATCP 48.01(13r) (13r) “Formally established” means established or reestablished by any of the following:

ATCP 48.01(13r)(a) (a) Circuit court order.

ATCP 48.01(13r)(b) (b) County drainage board action that complies with s. ATCP 48.20 or 48.21.

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(14m) (14m) “Navigable waters” has the meaning given in s. 30.01 (4m), Stats.

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.

ATCP 48.01(20) (20) “Private drain” means any drain other than a district drain. “Private drain” includes a drain operated by the state or by a county, town, village or city.

ATCP 48.01(21) (21) “Restoration” or “restoration project” means dredging or other operations designed to bring the cross-section, grade profile or alignment of a district drain into closer conformity with the formally established cross-section, grade profile or alignment of that district drain.

ATCP 48.01(22) (22) “Restoration costs” means costs incurred for the restoration of a district drain.

ATCP 48.01(23) (23) “Stable” means resistant to erosion or deformation.

ATCP 48.01(24) (24) “Ten-year peak discharge” or “10-year peak discharge” means the maximum flow of water resulting from a 10-year 24-hour rainfall event.

ATCP 48.01(25) (25) “Wetlands” has the meaning given in s. 23.32, Stats.

ATCP 48.01(26) (26) “Woody vegetation” means plants that contain substantial amounts of secondary xylem. “Woody vegetation” includes shrubs and trees but does not include herbs.

ATCP 48.01 History History: Cr. Register, June, 1995, No. 474, eff. 7-1-95; r. (5) and (16), cr. (6m), (13m), (13r), (14m), (26), r. and recr. (9) to (11) and (13), am. (21), Register, August, 1999, No. 524, eff. 9-1-99.

subch. II of ch. ATCP 48 Subchapter II — Assessing Drainage District Costs and Benefits

ATCP 48.02 ATCP 48.02 Assessing costs against lands in a drainage district.

ATCP 48.02(1) (1) General. Pursuant to ch. 88, Stats., and this chapter, a county drainage board may, after public hearing, issue an order levying cost assessments against land in a drainage district to cover costs lawfully incurred by the drainage district, including construction, maintenance, restoration, legal and operating costs.

ATCP 48.02 Note Note: See, e.g., ss. 88.23, 88.35, 88.45, 88.63, 88.70, 88.71, 88.72 and 88.78, Stats.

ATCP 48.02(2) (2) Construction cost assessments; limitations.

ATCP 48.02(2)(a) (a) A county drainage board may not levy cost assessments to construct a new drainage district if the construction cost for that new district will exceed 75% of the total assessed benefits accruing to district landowners from the construction of that new district.

ATCP 48.02 Note Note: See s. 88.36 (6), Stats. Benefits are assessed to landowners according to s. ATCP 48.06.

ATCP 48.02(2)(b) (b) A county drainage board may not levy cost assessments to construct enlarged or supplemental drains unless the drainage board finds that the benefits from the enlarged or supplemental drains will exceed the cost of construction.

ATCP 48.02 Note Note: See s. 88.71 (1m), Stats. Benefits to landowners are assessed according to s. ATCP 48.06.

ATCP 48.02(2)(c) (c) A county drainage board may not, without obtaining the landowner’s consent and sufficient security under s. 88.23 (3), Stats., levy a construction cost assessment against any parcel of land if the amount of the assessment, when added to construction cost assessments previously assessed to that parcel of land, exceeds the last confirmed assessment of benefits for that parcel of land. This paragraph does not limit the assessment of maintenance, restoration or operating costs.

ATCP 48.02 Note Note: See ss. 88.23 (3) and 88.63, Stats. See definitions of “construction costs,” “maintenance costs,” “operating costs,” and “restoration costs” under s. ATCP 48.01 (4), (14), (17) and (22).

ATCP 48.02(3) (3) Allocating cost assessments. Except as provided under sub. (4), a county drainage board shall allocate cost assessments among all of the parcels of land in a drainage district in proportion to the last confirmed assessment of benefits for each parcel. A county drainage board, when levying cost assessments, may allow a reasonable credit to a landowner who provides maintenance services or other “in kind” payments to the drainage district.

ATCP 48.02 Note Note: A county drainage board assesses benefits to land parcels in a drainage district according to s. ATCP 48.06, and allocates cost assessments on the basis of those benefit assessments.

ATCP 48.02(4) (4) Construction costs caused by individual landowner.

ATCP 48.02(4)(a) (a) Except as provided under par. (c), a county drainage board may assess, to a specified parcel of land in a drainage district, the full amount of any construction costs incurred by the drainage district as a direct result of any of the following:

ATCP 48.02(4)(a)1. 1. A request by the landowner for drainage improvements that are solely of benefit to that land.

ATCP 48.02 Note Note: Under s. 88.70, Stats., landowners who seek additional drainage for part of a drainage district may also petition the county drainage board to create a subdistrict for that purpose. The county drainage board may create a subdistrict, and may levy additional assessments against lands in the subdistrict to cover the costs of providing additional drainage for that subdistrict.

ATCP 48.02(4)(a)2. 2. A land use change or other action by the landowner that alters the flow of water into or from a district drain.

ATCP 48.02(4)(a)3. 3. A land use change or other action by the landowner that increases soil erosion or the movement of suspended solids to a district drain.

ATCP 48.02(4)(a)4. 4. A failure by the landowner to maintain a private drain on that land in compliance with s. ATCP 48.30 (5).

ATCP 48.02(4)(a)5. 5. A failure by the landowner to implement necessary erosion control practices on that land, as required by the county drainage board under s. ATCP 48.30 (6).

ATCP 48.02(4)(a)6. 6. The landowner’s extension of a private drain from the assessed land to land outside the district.

ATCP 48.02 Note Note: If a private drain is extended or modified without approval, the county drainage board may also issue an order against the offending landowner or initiate an action for damages under s. 88.92, Stats. Alternatively, a county drainage board may annex the newly drained land under s. 88.78, Stats., and may assess the newly drained land according to s. 88.405, Stat.

ATCP 48.02(4)(b) (b) If, contrary to sub. (2) (c), a construction cost assessment under par. (a) will exceed the last confirmed assessment of benefits for the assessed parcel of land, the county drainage board may order a higher assessment of benefits for that land under s. ATCP 48.06 (2). The assessment of benefits may be increased by the full amount needed to accommodate the construction cost assessment under par. (a).

ATCP 48.02(4)(c) (c) Paragraph (a) does not apply to any of the following:

ATCP 48.02(4)(c)1. 1. Maintenance, restoration or operating costs.

ATCP 48.02(4)(c)2. 2. Construction costs incurred by a drainage district because the county drainage board has failed to comply with this chapter.

ATCP 48.02(5) (5) Assessing costs to state and municipal lands in a drainage district.

ATCP 48.02(5)(a) (a) A county drainage board may levy cost assessments against agricultural lands in a drainage district that are owned by the state of Wisconsin, but may not levy cost assessments against other lands owned by the state.

ATCP 48.02 Note Note: See s. 88.50, Stats.

ATCP 48.02(5)(b) (b) A county drainage board may levy cost assessments against lands in a drainage district that are owned by a county, town, village or city.

ATCP 48.02 Note Note: See s. 88.48, Stats. Under s. 88.01 (11), Stats., ”lands” include public streets and highways.

ATCP 48.02 History History: Cr. Register, June, 1995, No. 474, eff. 7-1-95; am. (3), Register, August, 1999, No. 524, eff. 9-1-99.

ATCP 48.04 ATCP 48.04 Recovering costs from lands outside a drainage district.

ATCP 48.04(1) (1) General. Except as provided under subs. (2) and (3), a county drainage board may not levy a cost assessment on behalf of a drainage district against lands located outside the drainage district, but may do any of the following:

ATCP 48.04(1)(a) (a) Refuse to permit the connection of a private drain to a district drain, except as provided under s. 88.93, Stats.