The U.S. Supreme Court rules 5-4 that the federal Clean Water Act does not allow the U.S. Corps of Engineers to regulate wetlands not connected to interstate waterways. That decision wipes out the jurisdiction on which Wisconsin law bases state Department of Natural Resources authority over wetlands. The Assembly adjourns until May 1 without action on the Senate bills. The U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 9 removed the basis for state Department of Natural Resources oversight of isolated wetlands when the high court ruled that the Clean Water Act gave the Army Corps of Engineers jurisdiction only over wetlands connected to the nation's waterways.
DNR authority rests on corps jurisdiction.
However, both houses of the Legislature adjourned last month until May 1 without sending a wetlands bill to the governor. Senate Democrats and Assembly Republicans blame each other for being unwilling to compromise. Meanwhile, the DNR gets almost daily letters from the Corps of Engineers about wetland fill proposals now beyond corps control. An early letter identified this 0.6-acre prairie pothole near Madison. It may not look like much, but it looks like something different to every observer.