2010 Wisconsin Code
Chapter 30. Navigable waters, harbors and navigation.
30.01 Definitions.

30.01

SUBCHAPTER I
GENERAL PROVISIONS
30.01 Definitions. In this chapter:

30.01(1am)

(1am) "Area of special natural resource interest" means any of the following:

30.01(1am)(a)

(a) A state natural area designated or dedicated under ss. 23.27 to 23.29.

30.01(1am)(b)

(b) A surface water identified as a trout stream by the department.

30.01(1am)(bm)

(bm) A surface water identified as an outstanding or exceptional resource water under s. 281.15.

30.01(1am)(c)

(c) An area that possesses significant scientific value, as identified by the department.

30.01(1b)

(1b) "Authorized base level of water loss" has the meaning given under s. 281.35 (1) (b).

30.01(1c)

(1c) "Boat shelter" means a structure in navigable waters designed and constructed for the purpose of providing cover for a berth place for watercraft, which has a roof but does not have walls or sides. Such a structure may include a device for lifting a boat.

30.01(1d)

(1d) "Boathouse" means a structure used for the storage of watercraft and associated materials which has one or more walls or sides.

30.01(1g)

(1g) "Bridge" means a structure used to convey people, animals and vehicles over navigable waters and includes pipe arches and culverts.

30.01(1j)

(1j) "Department" means the department of natural resources.

30.01(1m)

(1m) "Designated mooring area" means a mooring area designated by a municipality under s. 30.773 (2) and (3), approved by the department and marked as a mooring area.

30.01(1n)

(1n) "Drain" has the meaning given in s. 88.01 (8).

30.01(1nm)

(1nm) "Duck Creek Drainage District" means Outagamie Drainage District No. 6 that is also known as the Duck Creek Drainage District and is located in Outagamie County.

30.01(1p)

(1p) "Fishing raft" means any raft, float or structure, including a raft or float with a superstructure and including a structure located or extending below or beyond the ordinary high-water mark of a water, which is designed to be used or is normally used for fishing, which is not normally used as a means of transportation on water and which is normally retained in place by means of a permanent or semipermanent attachment to the shore or to the bed of the waterway. "Fishing raft" does not include a boathouse or fixed houseboat regulated under s. 30.121 nor a wharf or pier regulated under ss. 30.12 and 30.13.

30.01(1r)

(1r) "Fixed houseboat" means a structure not actually used for navigation which extends beyond the ordinary high-water mark of a navigable waterway and is retained in place either by cables to the shoreline or by anchors or spudpoles attached to the bed of the waterway.

30.01(1t)

(1t) "Flotation device" means any device used to provide flotation for a fishing raft, including each individual barrel or styrofoam coffin.

30.01(2)

(2) "Governing body" means a town board, a village board of trustees, a city council or a county board.

30.01(2m)

(2m) "Great Lakes water body" means Lake Superior or Lake Michigan and includes any bay or harbor that is part of Lake Superior or Lake Michigan.

30.01(3)

(3) "Harbor facility" means every facility useful in the maintenance or operation of a harbor, including transportation facilities of all types, terminal and storage facilities of all types, wharves, piers, slips, basins, ferries, docks, bulkheads and dock walls, and floating and handling equipment, power stations, transmission lines and other facilities necessary for the maintenance and operation of such harbor facilities.

30.01(3e)

(3e) "Mooring" when used as a noun means a mooring anchor and mooring buoy together with attached chains, cables, ropes and pennants and related equipment, unless the term is qualified or restricted.

30.01(3m)

(3m) "Mooring anchor" means any anchor or weight which is designed to rest on the bed or to be buried in the bed of a navigable water, which is designed to be attached by a chain, cable, rope or other mechanism to a mooring buoy and which is designed to be left in position permanently or on a seasonal basis.

30.01(3s)

(3s) "Mooring buoy" means any float or marker which is attached to a mooring anchor and either is suitable for attachment to a boat through the use of a pennant or other device or facilitates the attachment of the boat to the mooring anchor.

30.01(3w)

(3w) "Motor vehicle" has the meaning designated under s. 340.01 (35) except that this term does not include snowmobiles.

30.01(4)

(4) "Municipality" means any town, village, city or county in this state.

30.01(4m)

(4m) "Navigable waters" or "navigable waterway" means any body of water which is navigable under the laws of this state.

30.01(4r)

(4r) "Outlying waters" has the meaning given in s. 29.001 (63).

30.01(5)

(5) "Pier" means any structure extending into navigable waters from the shore with water on both sides, built or maintained for the purpose of providing a berth for watercraft or for loading or unloading cargo or passengers onto or from watercraft. Such a structure may include a boat shelter which is removed seasonally. Such a structure may include a boat hoist or boat lift, and the hoist or lift may be permanent or may be removed seasonally.

30.01(5m)

(5m) "Piling" means a group of piles.

30.01(6)

(6) "Secretary" means the secretary of natural resources.

30.01(6d)

(6d) "Surplus water" means any water of a stream that is not being beneficially used, as determined by the department.

30.01(6e)

(6e) "Swimming raft" means a floating platform without railings, roof or walls that is adequately anchored to the bed of navigable waters and is designed for swimming, diving and related activities.

30.01(7)

(7) "Watercraft" means any device used and designed for navigation on water.

30.01(7m)

(7m) "Water loss" has the meaning given under s. 281.35 (1) (L).

30.01(8)

(8) "Wharf" means any structure in navigable waters extending along the shore and generally connected with the uplands throughout its length, built or maintained for the purpose of providing a berth for watercraft or for loading or unloading cargo or passengers onto or from watercraft. Such a structure may include a boat hoist or boat lift, and the hoist or lift may be permanent or may be removed seasonally.

30.01(9)

(9) "Withdrawal" has the meaning given under s. 281.35 (1) (m).

30.01(10)

(10) "Wolf River municipality" means any city, village or town which adjoins or includes any part of the Wolf River or its stream tributaries from the Shawano dam downstream to Lake Poygan.

30.01 - ANNOT.

History: 1983 a. 189; 1985 a. 243, 332; 1987 a. 374 ss. 1 to 9, 25, 34, 35, 46 to 49, 70, 76; 1987 a. 403; 1989 a. 56; 1993 a. 236; 1995 a. 227; 1997 a. 27, 248; 1999 a. 9; 2003 a. 118.

30.01 - ANNOT.

No threshold showing that a waterway is actually navigated for commercial or recreational purposes is necessary in order to prove that the waterway is navigable. City of Oak Creek v. DNR, 185 Wis. 2d 424, 518 N.W.2d 276 (Ct. App. 1994).