ATCP 48.24(3)(a) (a) Enter a district corridor, and bring vehicles and equipment into a district corridor, for the purpose of inspecting, surveying, maintaining, repairing, restoring or improving a district drain or corridor.

ATCP 48.24(3)(b) (b) Perform operations in a district corridor related to the maintenance, repair, restoration or improvement of a district drain or corridor, including cutting, mowing, pesticide application, dredging, excavation and other operations.

ATCP 48.24(4) (4) Notice of activities in the corridor. Before a county drainage board or its agent does either of the following in a district corridor, the county drainage board or its agent shall notify the landowner by one of the methods specified under s. ATCP 48.22 (5):

ATCP 48.24(4)(a) (a) Cutting trees that are more than 6 inches in diameter measured at breast height.

ATCP 48.24(4)(b) (b) Excavating or depositing materials in the district corridor.

ATCP 48.24(5) (5) Row cropping and obstructions in district corridor.

ATCP 48.24(5)(a) (a) No person may do any of the following without written permission from the county drainage board:

ATCP 48.24(5)(a)1. 1. Engage in row cropping in a district corridor.

ATCP 48.24(5)(a)2. 2. Place in a district corridor any building or other obstruction that interferes with the county drainage board’s ability to inspect, restore and maintain the district ditch and corridor.

ATCP 48.24(5)(b) (b) A county drainage board may give a person written permission to engage in activities under par. (a), subject to conditions or limitations which the drainage board specifies in writing.

ATCP 48.24 Note Note: In deciding whether to authorize row cropping in a district corridor, a county drainage board should consider whether that row cropping will increase maintenance requirements, soil erosion, or movement of suspended solids to district drains. It may consider relevant factors such as the type of row cropping and tillage proposed, the topography of the district corridor, and the type, quality and character of the soil and subsoil in the district corridor.

ATCP 48.24(5)(c) (c) A person who engages in row cropping or places any obstruction in a district corridor under par. (a), with or without drainage board permission, waives any claim for damages to those crops or obstructions that may be caused by county drainage board activities authorized under ch. 88, Stats., or this chapter.

ATCP 48.24(5)(d) (d) This subsection does not require a landowner to remove any building or fixture constructed or installed in a district corridor prior to September 1, 1999. The owner of the preexisting building or fixture waives any claim for damages to that building or fixture that may be caused by county drainage board activities authorized under ch. 88, Stats., or this chapter.

ATCP 48.24 Note Note: See s. ATCP 48.28 related to the control of woody vegetation in a district corridor.

ATCP 48.24 History History: Cr. Register, June, 1995, No. 474, eff. 7-1-95; r. and recr. (5), Register, August, 1999, No. 524, eff. 9-1-99.

ATCP 48.26 ATCP 48.26 District drains; design, construction and maintenance.

ATCP 48.26(1) (1) Drainage capacity. Every district drain constructed after July 1, 1995 shall be designed and constructed so that it is capable of removing the volume of water from a 10-year 24-hour rainfall event within 48 hours after that rainfall event. For each county, a 10-year 24-hour rainfall event is the amount of rain shown in table 1 falling in 24 hours.

ATCP 48.26(2) (2) Ditch stability.

ATCP 48.26(2)(a) (a) A county drainage board shall design and construct every district ditch, including the ditch bed, banks, and related structures such as culverts, bridges and inlets, so that the ditch will remain stable when subjected to a 10-year peak discharge under sub. (1). A district ditch is not required to contain the entire volume of water from the peak discharge. The stability standard under this paragraph does not apply to a district ditch or related structure constructed prior to July 1, 1995.

ATCP 48.26(2)(b) (b) A county drainage board shall repair and maintain every district ditch, as necessary, to restore and maintain the stability of that ditch.

ATCP 48.26(3) (3) District drains must conform to specifications. A county drainage board shall restore, repair, maintain and, if necessary, modify district drains so that each district drain conforms to the specifications formally established for that drain by court order, or by county drainage board action under s. ATCP 48.20 or 48.21. If the county drainage board levies any cost assessment for work needed to conform a drain to formally established specifications, it shall levy the assessment according to subchapter II.

ATCP 48.26(4) (4) Removing obstructions. A county drainage board shall remove sediment dams, windfalls, deadfalls, sand bars, beaver dams and other obstructions from district ditches. The county drainage board shall remove the obstructions annually, or more frequently as necessary. The county drainage board shall also remove submerged vegetation from district ditches as necessary.

ATCP 48.26(5) (5) Restoration projects; notice to department. A county drainage board shall notify the department in writing before the county drainage board initiates any restoration project in a drainage district which involves the removal of more than 3,000 cubic yards of material.

ATCP 48.26 Note Note: A county drainage board does not need department approval for a restoration project, but may need a dredging permit from the Wisconsin department of natural resources under s. 30.20 or s. 88.31, Stats. A county drainage board may not, under the guise of a “restoration project,” dredge below the bottom elevation specified as part of the formally established grade profile. See definition of “restoration project” under s. ATCP 48.01 (21).

ATCP 48.26 History History: Cr. Register, June, 1995, No. 474, eff. 7-1-95; r. and recr. (3), cr. (5), Register, August, 1999, No. 524, eff. 9-1-99.

ATCP 48.28 ATCP 48.28 Controlling woody vegetation.

ATCP 48.28(1) (1) Requirement. Except as provided under sub. (2), a county drainage board shall control the growth of woody vegetation in district ditches and corridors to ensure effective drainage and effective access for inspection, maintenance and repair. A county drainage board may control woody vegetation by one or more of the methods specified under sub. (3).

ATCP 48.28(2) (2) Exception. A county drainage board may allow the growth of woody vegetation in portions of a district corridor, provided that the woody vegetation does not interfere with effective access to district drains. A county drainage board, when deciding whether to allow the growth of woody vegetation, shall consider how the woody vegetation may affect the cost of maintaining and cleaning district drains. Any portions of a corridor left in woody vegetation shall be maintained under a resource conservation plan developed in cooperation with the county land conservation department or the United States natural resources conservation service.

ATCP 48.28 Note Note: In some parts of a district corridor, woody vegetation may have important value as wildlife habitat, or for controlling soil erosion. Ordinarily, ditches are not subject to local shoreland or wetland zoning ordinances. However, in a small number of situations, where ditches are considered natural navigable streams, local ordinances may limit the cutting of woody vegetation. See s. 281.31 (2m), Stats., and chs. NR 115 and 117.