AB-850 would undermine pier rules, rule process

Oppose: vetoed by Gov. Jim Doyle.

Several members of the Legislature are trying to push through a bill that would change water regulations statutes less than 2 years since they were changed.

We wonder why this legislation is coming forth at this time. 2003 Act 118, changed the permitting process for piers, codified the pier planner, created an exempt category for piers, and attempted to clarify the whole pier permitting process. The Act gave the DNR the ability to write rules to administer the statute. Yet the rule has not yet gone to the Legislature for approval. Why are they now changing the statute? The stakeholder group that helped draft this rule worked very hard to craft a rule that followed the statute and would be acceptable to most people. Why not let the rule come to the legislature?

The Wisconsin Association of Lakes opposes AB 850 for the following reasons:

1. This bill will allow a boat slip for each and every “dwelling” on a piece of property. This means every keyhole residence, and every condominium on a given parcel would be able to have a boat slip. So if a condo unit had 30 units, there could be a single pier with 30 boat slips on a narrow piece of frontage land.
2. The bill creates substantially more uncertainty for owners of piers that are greater than 6 feet wide and/or longer than to three feet depth of water or long enough to moor a boat. Without requiring registration (a permit) for larger piers, who will know that the pier is, in fact, legal, even under the proposed bill.
3. Existing piers that are now illegally interfering with another riparian's rights or damaging public waters will become legal, with no recourse for those harmed.
4. The proposed bill changes long standing rules for prohibiting problematic piers. The proposed bill requires the DNR to “prove by a preponderance of evidence that the structure presents an imminent and substantial danger to navigation or the public interest,” and not just “interfering with public rights.” It seems this language is intended to create a set of pier rules that are effectively unenforceable.

Press release on AB-850