As part of the "Right the Rules" regulatory reform process, the Assembly Committee on Environment and Forestry will be having an informational meeting on April 30 to discuss several water regulations, including NR 217 (Phosphorus) and NR 106 (Thermal Discharge).

In March 2012, Gov. Walker signed into law 2011 WI Act 118, which requires property owners to mitigate for wetland impacts if they receive permission to fill wetlands under an individual permit. Guidelines covering what counts as mitigation under the law have been drafted and are now available for public comment through March 15.

The February 2013 issue of Wisconsin Lawyer, features an article by attorneys Paul Kent and Jordan Lamb on the recent changes to Wisconsin's wetlands law and the progress being made by the DNR toward developing general wetlands permits.

Gov. Walker made clear in his State of the State Address, and with the coinciding release of the Small Business Regulatory Review Board report, that reforming Wisconsin’s Administrative Code is a priority for the state. The Assembly has now started an administrative rules review process designed to review all 1,786 administrative chapters currently in effect in Wisconsin.

“Power Up!” an article in the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute’s December 2012 issue of its magazine, Wisconsin Interest, explores Wisconsin’s electric generation history and the state’s current status relative to other states in the MISO (the Midwest Independent Transmission System Operators) region.

Click here to read the full text of “Power Up!” by Michael Flaherty.
 

All Wisconsin electric providers are in compliance with their Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) requirements for 2011, according to a recent Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSC) order. In addition, the majority of Wisconsin utilities have already achieved the increased percentage of renewable energy that will be required by 2015 under the state’s RPS mandate.

A recent WisconsinEye Newsmakers event brought together experts on sand mining to discuss the boom in mining in Wisconsin, the regulatory challenges it presents, and the opportunity for further growth.

A Dane County Circuit Court judge has narrowly struck down a portion of 2011 Wisconsin Act 21, the regulatory reform bill passed during the 2011-12 Legislative Session and signed into law by Gov. Scott Walker.

A general permit that streamlines and shortens the wetland permitting process for some residential, commercial, and industrial projects impacting wetlands is now in effect.

The Wisconsin State Senate Select Committee on Mining recently held three informational hearings about mining in Wisconsin. Much information was presented to the committee, but perhaps what was more interesting was what was not discussed at the hearings.

Sen. Tim Cullen (D-Janesville), chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Mining has announced plans for three informational hearings on mining in Wisconsin. According to the Senator’s announcement, the hearings will serve to create a greater context for the issues involved in reforming Wisconsin’s mining laws and detail the roles other government entities play in the mining permitting process.

The committee meetings will be Sept. 18, Sept. 20 and Sept. 25 in Room 411 of the Capitol. The hearings will be informational, and only invited speakers will testify.

Administrative agencies continuously promulgate new rules and often do so quickly. Tracking the various proposed rules can be time-intensive and complicated. The Foundation’s Regulatory Calendar includes the dates of important steps in the rulemaking process for various rules we are following at the state and federal level.

An environmental group is trying to stop development of a high-rise apartment building in Milwaukee because the group alleges the site is located on former Lake Michigan lakebed, and therefore subject to the Wisconsin Constitution’s public trust doctrine.

A proposed general permit to streamline the wetland permitting process for some residential, commercial and industrial projects impacting wetlands is now out for public comment, and is the topic of a July 31 public informational hearing in Madison.

2011 Wisconsin Act 167 made major changes to the state’s navigable water permitting process. The Legislative Council has produced a helpful memo outlining the existing law, which remains in effect until August 2012, and explaining the new law.

Most existing piers and wharves are exempt from needing DNR approval and can be placed in lakes and rivers the same as they have always been under a new law signed April 2.

2011 Wisconsin Act 21 made significant changes to Wisconsin’s administrative rule-making process. One of the changes, the rule submittal deadline, is currently undergoing its first test.

The end of the legislative session on March 16, 2012 also marked the last day that an administrative rule may be submitted for review until the new legislature convenes in January of 2013. Wis. Stat. § 227.19(2). This is a change from prior law, where the last day for rule submittal was August 31st of each even numbered year.

The Wisconsin Legislature passed 192 bills and a number of resolutions during the 2011-12 legislative session. As of March 22, 145 of those bills had been signed into law. Several important regulatory related bills passed this session.

The Wisconsin State Bar has uploaded a video interview it did with Matt Moroney, Deputy Secretary of the DNR. Moroney briefly explains legislative changes and other updates to shoreland zoning, wetland reforms, and pier regulation. In addition, Moroney discusses the “hot topic” issues the department will tackle in the foreseeable future.

The Wisconsin State Senate gave final approval to Senate Bill 326, a major regulatory reform measure that streamlines the DNR permitting process in Chapter 30 of the Wisconsin Statutes, which concerns navigable waters, harbors, and navigation. The bill would require the DNR follow specific procedures and timelines for issuing permits, and allow the DNR to issue more simplified general permits for certain activities. The bill also makes changes to the state’s pier regulations, and other DNR processes. The Assembly is scheduled to take up its companion bill, AB 421, on Tuesday, March 13th.