Waterway & Wetland Permits: Nonmetallic Mining

“I want to mine rotten granite, stone, rock, sandstone, clay, peat, sand, gravel or other nonmetallic substance, for resale, construction or personal use. Do I need to obtain a permit and/or pay a fee?”

A permit is required to dredge materials from the bed of any lake, stream or pond, or to create a pond within 500 feet of navigable water, or to grade in excess of 10,000 square feet on the bank of navigable water. Fees are required.

For a nonmetallic mining project that involves any of the above activities, in most cases you will need to submit an Individual Permit application along with the Permit Supplement application.

The type and number of permits needed depends on the project. For example, if you need to prepare the mining site by grading an area on the bank of a waterway, a grading permit would be needed in addition to a nonmetallic mining permit. The type of grading permit (General or Individual) would depend on a variety of factors. But for all cases if non-metallic mining is involved, the operator would have to submit an Individual Permit application along with the Permit Supplement application.

If you have any questions, please contact the Water Management Specialist covering the county where your project is located.

For more information about other permits required, see Nonmetallic Mining in Wisconsin. We also have an operators guide to Nonmetallic Mining [PDF, 892KB] that provides answers to typical questions related to the initial application process for nonmetallic mining.

Laws

Local permits and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers regulations may also apply. We advise you to contact your local zoning office and your regional U.S. Army Corps of Engineers office [exit DNR].

Applicable statutes and codes include Section 30.19, Wis. Stats. [exit DNR, 627KB], Section 30.20, Wis. Stats. [exit DNR], [PDF 627KB], and Chapter NR 340, Wis. Adm. Code [exit DNR], [PDF 37KB].