Waterway and Wetlands Permit Partnerships - What are Permit Partnerships?

State laws and court decisions have given the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) the responsibility to permit and oversee construction activities in or near public waters. In addition, for many activities, local ordinances require that permits also be obtained from the County, Town or Municipality. The DNR is looking for opportunities to work with local municipalities to consolidate duplication in permit reviews and compliance inspections where both agencies have similar requirements.

Partnering with local municipalities can streamline the permitting process for applicants and reduce workload for both the DNR and the local community.

Partnership projects are developed based upon the expertise and willingness of the local municipality. A Memorandum of Agreement between the DNR and the local municipality identifies the roles and responsibilities of each agency and ensures high standards of environmental protection.

For more information, please see the project highlights (below) or contact:

Gregg Breese
Aquatic Habitat Protection Section
Bureau of Watershed Management
101 S. Webster Street
Madison, WI 53703
(608) 261-6430
gregory.breese@wisconsin.gov

Permit Partnership Project Highlights

Nonmetallic Mineral Mining Permit Partnership with Marathon County

The DNR has developed an agreement with Marathon County [PDF 65KB] that hopes to save nonmetallic mineral mining operators significant amounts of time in their permit application process. This agreement allows qualified operators to shorten the DNR permit application turnaround time if certain criteria are met and work more closely with Marathon County which has extensive standards and experience with nonmetallic mining activities.

The partnership process provides an opportunity for operators to complete an abbreviated DNR permit process under a generic Environmental Assessment (EA) [PDF 369KB] that covers a range of site conditions. When a mining facility design meets the requirements set forth in the generic EA, the DNR will shorten the permitting process with Marathon County providing supplemental plan review, site inspection, and reporting. Operators would still need to meet public notice requirements (Ch. 30.19(3)) for all projects and follow the regular permit processes for activities not specifically covered by the generic EA.

Permit Partnership Project with Washington County

The DNR and Washington County are developing a Memorandum of Understanding through a collaborative effort, which will assign lead agencies to a variety of permit activities and develop a process for streamlining the permit process. The lead agency will be the primary contact for the applicant and be responsible for forwarding the application to the secondary agency for review, obtaining the secondary agency's decision on the permit application. Washington County may be the lead agency for the following activities:

Boat Ramps
Clear Span Bridges (less than 35 feet in length)
Culvert Replacement
Single Family Home Site Grading
Riprap
Unconnected Ponds (less than 2 acres in size, not in a wetland, within 500 feet of Ordinary High Water Mark, and within the Shoreland/Wetland or Floodplain ordinance jurisdiction).

The project design process began with discussion to compare regulated activities and standards. A matrix helped compare jurisdiction, standards and processes. Followup discussions focused on how standards could be adapted, how critical information could be shared, and how to handle the logistics of notices and decisions. The DNR will provide guidance based on its short form permits to aid the County in its decision process. Applications involving sensitive areas, Natural Heritage Inventory Areas, threatened or endangered species, wetlands, or 3 or more permitted activities will not be eligible for this process.

Last Revised: Monday February 04 2008