Riparian business associations petitioned DNR to raise the water levels of Lake Koshkonong. DNR rejected the petition, citing its public trust responsibility. The business associations appealed on the grounds that (1) DNR wrongly applied the public trust doctrine when it considered the impact raising the water would have on private wetlands, (2) DNR exceeded its authority by considering wetland water quality standards in Wis. Admin. Code § NR 103, and (3) DNR erred by refusing to consider the impacts of water levels on residential property values, business income, and public revenue. The Wisconsin Supreme Court held DNR did interpret its public trust authority too broadly and DNR erred in excluding economic impacts, but it did not exceed its authority by relying on Wis. Admin. Code § NR 103.
GLLF filed an amicus brief representing Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce and Midwest Food Processors Association in this case.
Why This Case is Important
The public trust doctrine, incorporated into Wisconsin Constitution art. IX, § 1, holds navigable waters in trust for the public up to the ordinary high mark. The legislature neither expressly nor impliedly delegated DNR the authority under the public trust doctrine to regulate wetlands above the ordinary high water mark, nor could it ever do so given the limitations of the doctrine.
