Background on the Wetland Regulatory Audit
In response to a January 2006 request by 10 West Central Wisconsin Legislators, the Joint Committee on Legislative Audits voted to have the Legislative Audit Bureau conduct an audit of Wisconsin’s wetland regulatory program.
The audit request letter called for a comparison of Wisconsin and Minnesota’s wetland regulatory programs and a review of the consistency of Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources’ (DNR) administration of the wetland regulatory program between regions. Motivations for the audit request appear to be:
- The perception that we need to relax Wisconsin’s wetland mitigation policies to create a more "business-friendly" state, and
- The perception that DNR personnel in some regions are overzealous in their administration and enforcement of wetland regulatory programs.
Prior to the April 5th hearing to decide on the fate of the proposed audit, the Legislative Audit Bureau released a memo on the possible scope of the audit. Wisconsin Wetlands Association testified at the hearing to urge the audit bureau to consider the ecological impacts of any differences between Wisconsin and Minnesota’s program and to speak on behalf of the public’s interest in maintaining strong wetland protections in the state. We also expressed an interest in participating in the audit, a request that was received favorably by the Legislative Audit Bureau. Others testifying at the audit hearing included the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation and the Wisconsin Builders Association. To read WWA’s testimony, click here
The audit began this month (May 2006) and is expected to take 6-17 months to complete. Watch future issues of WWA’s quarterly printed newsletter, Wisconsin Wetlands, for updates. If you would like to receive a copy of our newsletter, we invite you to become a member of WWA.
Audit Findings and WWA’s Response
In late May 2007, the Legislative Audit Bureau (LAB) released their report on Wisconsin’s wetland permitting and mitigation programs. The Wetlands Audit Report included a mixed bag of recommendations. Some focused on improving implementation and enforcement of existing state wetland protection laws, while others pointed to ways the state should consider building more flexibility into the wetland regulatory program to address the concerns of the regulated community.
Wisconsin Wetlands Association released an analysis and response to the audit report in the July 19, 2007 edition of our Wetland Alert e-newsletter (see: Wetland Regulatory Audit Briefing and Action Plan).
On July 23, 2007, the Joint Committee on Legislative Audits held a hearing to give the legislative audit bureau the opportunity to brief them on the audit findings. WWA’s Executive Director, Becky Abel, appeared and gave testimony urging the legislature to provide full staffing and funding for necessary improvements to Wisconsin’s wetland regulatory program. She also cautioned against legislative actions that would reduce wetland protections to match the less stringent aspects of wetland regulatory programs in neighboring states.
