Wisconsin Ag Connection - Rob Cowles Introduces High-Capacity Well Legislation

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Rob Cowles Introduces High-Capacity Well Legislation
Wisconsin Ag Connection - 10/09/2015

A state lawmaker would like to see Wisconsin's high-capacity well regulations revised. On Thursday, Sen. Rob Cowles introduced a bill that would grant the Department of Natural Resources authority to impose conditions on well permits only to ensure the well won't cause a significant adverse impact to navigable water.

According to the Associated Press, Republicans in the legislature have been working to update the regulations since an administrative judge ruled last year that the DNR must consider the cumulative effects of such wells on groundwater.

As part of the measure, the agency could not impose conditions on any existing wells as part of approving a new well. But if the DNR suspects high-capacity wells could be depleting an area's streams and lakes to the point of killing fish and other aquatic life, the agency would have to ask the budget committee for permission to conduct a study.

Meanwhile, the measure also would require the DNR to conduct a special review if an applicant wants to sink a well within 1,600 feet of a trout stream or outstanding resource water. Right now the threshold for such a review is 1,200 feet.

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