2011 Wisconsin Code
Chapter 281. Water and sewage.
281.12 General department powers and duties.

281.12

281.12 General department powers and duties.

281.12(1)

(1) The department shall have general supervision and control over the waters of the state. It shall carry out the planning, management and regulatory programs necessary for implementing the policy and purpose of this chapter. The department also shall formulate plans and programs for the prevention and abatement of water pollution and for the maintenance and improvement of water quality.

281.12(3)

(3) The department, upon request, shall consult with and advise owners who have installed or are about to install systems or plants, as to the most appropriate water source and the best method of providing for its purity, or as to the best method of disposing of wastewater, including operations and maintenance, taking into consideration the future needs of the community for protection of its water supply. The department is not required to prepare plans.

281.12(5)

(5) The department may enter into agreements with the responsible authorities of other states, subject to approval by the governor, relative to methods, means and measures to be employed to control pollution of any interstate streams and other waters and to carry out such agreement by appropriate general and special orders. This power shall not be deemed to extend to the modification of any agreement with any other state concluded by direct legislative act, but, unless otherwise expressly provided, the department shall be the agency for the enforcement of any such legislative agreement.

281.12 - ANNOT.

History: 1995 a. 227 ss. 376, 383, 385, 987; 1995 a. 378 s. 42.

281.12 - ANNOT.

Cross-reference: See also chs. NR 809, 811, 812, and 845, and ss. NR 1.50, 1.95, and 103.05, Wis. adm. code.

281.12 - ANNOT.

The DNR's general supervision and control over the state's waters is not so sweeping as to authorize the DNR to ban all activities that might adversely affect water quality or to establish limitations for any one specific industry. Rusk County Citizen Action Group, Inc. v. DNR, 203 Wis. 2d 1, 552 N.W.2d 110 (Ct. App. 1996), 95-3125.

281.12 - ANNOT.

Sections 281.11 and 281.12 expressly delegate regulatory authority to the DNR necessary to fulfill its mandatory duty to protect, maintain, and improve the quality and management of the waters of the state, ground and surface, public and private. That ss. 281.11 and 281.12 do not mention wells in particular does not mean that the statutes do not grant the DNR the authority to control or regulate wells by considering environmental factors relevant to protecting, maintaining, and improving waters of the state. Lake Beulah Management District v. DNR, 2010 WI App 85, ___ Wis. 2d ___, 787 N.W.2d 926, 08-3170.

281.12 - ANNOT.

The legislature's mandate that the DNR complete a formal environmental review for only certain wells under ss. 281.34 and 281.35 does not prohibit or rescind the DNR's authority to review other wells under ss. 281.11 and 281.12. However, there is no requirement mandating the DNR to do a full examination of every well to see if the public trust doctrine is affected. It is for the DNR to determine the type and quantum of evidence that it deems enough to investigate, but scientific evidence suggesting an adverse affect to waters of the state should be enough to warrant further, independent investigation. Lake Beulah Management District v. DNR, 2010 WI App 85, ___ Wis. 2d ___, 787 N.W.2d 926, 08-3170.