Waterway & Wetland Permits: Public Involvement

The Wisconsin DNR creates and revises administrative rules and regulations to implement statutes enacted by the Legislature. Administrative rules and regulations have the full force and effect of law. Rules that implement and interpret Chapter 30 of Wisconsin's State statutes, the state's long-standing protection for public waters, are mainly found in the 300 series of the Administrative Rules.

Once DNR staff request to start creating or revising a rule and the DNR Secretary approves the request, the Department can begin drafting the rule revisions and ask the Natural Resources Board to approve public hearings. The public hearings and public comment period are the time that you and other citizens can formally submit your comments and recommendations about whatever issues are being addressed in the rule creation or revision. At this time the rule making process takes approximately 12-18 months to become a law.

In addition to DNR staff initiating the rule making process, state law also allows for a citizen to petition the Natural Resources Board directly to request a rule revision; But only if the request meets specific legal requirements (see s. 227.12, Wis. Stats., and s. NR 2.05, Wis. Adm. Code) the Board can direct DNR staff to begin revising a rule, and then the process would continue as described above.

There are currently no water regulation rules that are currently being proposed by DNR.

For more information on how to participate in the Administrative Rules process. Please visit our Department Administrative Rules Page.

Public Hearings for Proposed Rule Revisions

Once DNR staff request to start creating or revising a rule and the DNR Secretary approves the request, the Department can begin drafting the rule revisions and ask the Natural Resources Board to approve public hearings. The public hearings and public comment period are the time that you and other citizens can formally submit your comments and recommendations about whatever issues are being addressed in the rule creating or revision.

The following is a listing of all public hearings recently scheduled for proposed rules affecting public waterways and wetlands:

There are no public hearings currently scheduled for proposed rules affecting public waterways and wetlands.

If you know if a public hearing and cannot find it on this list, please visit the Department Public Hearings and Meetings Web page. For more information on how to comment on a proposed Administrative Rule. Please visit our Department Administrative Rules Page.

Public Informational Hearings

As a citizen you have the right to be informed about what activities go on in and around our public waterways. After all, Wisconsin lakes and rivers are public resources, owned in common by all Wisconsin citizens under the state's Public Trust Doctrine and and held in trust by the Department of Natural Resources. Citizens can keep informed through Public Informational Hearings that can be held under different situations. For example, the department may determine on its own that there is a significant public interest in informing the public of a certain activity; an applicant may request that as a part of their permit application that an informational hearing be held; or any person may request a public informational hearing within 30 days after a notice of complete application has been posted.

The following is a listing of all public informational hearings recently scheduled pertaining to activities affecting public waterways:

There are no public informational hearings currently scheduled.

If you know if a public informational hearing and cannot find it on this list, please visit the Department Public Hearings and Meetings Web page or contact the water management specialist for the county on which the project is proposed.