Wisconsin Administrative Code › Department of Natural Resources › NR 300-399 - Environmental Protection - Water Regulation › Chapter NR 328 - Shore Erosion Control Structures In Navigable Waterways › Subchapter I - Shore Erosion Control Structures on Inland Lakes and Impoundments › Section NR 328.01 - Purpose

Current through June 24, 2024
(1) The purpose of this subchapter is to
				  establish reasonable procedures and limitations for exempt activities, general
				  permits and individual permits for placement of shore erosion control
				  structures in inland lakes and impoundments as regulated under s.
				  30.12,
				  Stats., in order to protect the public rights and interest in the navigable,
				  public waters of the state as defined in s.
				  30.10,
				  Stats.
(2) The standards for
				  exemptions, general permits and individual permits in this chapter balance the
				  reasonable right of riparians to control shore erosion under Wisconsin law with
				  the public rights and interests in navigable waters. (Doemel v. Jantz, 180 Wis.
				  225, 193 N.W., 393 (1923)). The public interest in navigable waters includes
				  navigation, recreation, fish and wildlife habitat, water quality and natural
				  scenic beauty.
(3) Natural
				  shoreline features provide natural erosion control in various ways. Nearshore
				  lakebeds and beach slopes change and shoals form, erosion uncovers or sorts out
				  sand, gravel, cobbles, boulders and bedrock from beneath glacial till and other
				  fine soils. These more energy resistant materials are formed into
				  wave-breaking, energy-absorbing barriers that eliminate, or slow, further
				  erosion. Natural vegetation provides erosion control in several ways. Plants
				  form a network of roots that hold soil particles together and stabilize the
				  bank. Exposed stalks, stems, branches, foliage and fallen trees dampen waves,
				  reduce local flow velocities, and dissipate energy against the plant rather
				  than eroding the soil. Vegetation also acts as a buffer to trap suspended
				  sediment and induce its deposition.
(4) Shoreline erosion control structures
				  allowed under this rule are setting-dependent and based on erosive energy at a
				  site. Erosive energy is a reflection of habitat features at a site. Low-energy
				  settings are found to contain fine-size nearshore sediments, stable natural
				  vegetation, and absent or natural levels of erosion. In low-energy and some
				  moderate energy sites vegetation can effectively meet erosion control needs
				  without infringement on the public interest. Shore protection from vegetation
				  alone may be inadequate in some low- to moderate-energy settings and many
				  high-energy settings; therefore, methods that rely on technical structures or a
				  combination of vegetation with technical structures, i.e., large substrates,
				  may be necessary. Riprap, vegetated riprap and integrated toe protection are
				  preferred structural shore protection methods in high-energy settings with
				  erosion problems.
(5) Standards for
				  exemptions are intended to provide clear and consistent requirements so that
				  individuals can determine whether they qualify, and easily design projects to
				  meet the requirements. To achieve this, exemption standards establish
				  reasonable installation practices to minimize environmental impacts, establish
				  reasonable construction and design requirements consistent with the purpose of
				  the activity, and establish reasonable limitations on location.
(6) Standards for general permits are
				  intended to ensure that cumulative adverse environmental impact of authorized
				  activities is insignificant and that issuance of the general permit will not
				  injure public rights or interests, cause environmental pollution as defined in
				  s.
				  299.01(4),
				  Stats., or result in material injury to the rights of any riparian owner. To
				  achieve this, general permit standards establish: construction and design
				  requirements consistent with the purpose of the activity; location requirements
				  that ensure that the activity will not have an adverse impact on fish and
				  wildlife habitat, water quality and natural scenic beauty, or materially
				  interfere with navigation or have an adverse impact on the riparian property
				  rights of adjacent riparian owners.
(7) Standards and factors for individual
				  permits are intended to provide direction for detailed evaluation of permit
				  applications, and to balance case-by-case review with consistent
				  decision-making. Individual permits may only be granted where the department
				  determines that the structure will not materially obstruct navigation, will not
				  be detrimental to the public interest, and will not materially reduce the flood
				  flow capacity of a stream.