Last Updated: Wednesday, June 23, 2004 3:16 PM CDT
State panel reviews emergency DNR rules at Minocqua meeting
By Daily News Staff
The state legislature's Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules is hosting a public hearing in Minocqua Thursday morning.
The hearing will be focused on the possible suspension of emergency rules the DNR created to protect the environment in the wake of the passage of the Job Creation Act (which streamlined regulatory red tape) in April.
The committee is concerned the rules may be infringing on private property rights.
The hearing will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday at the Minocqua Center and is focused on five emergency rules created by the DNR, the most controversial of which is new dock guidelines.
Rep. Lorraine Seratti, vice-chair of the committee, has said the DNR's new pier rule, NR 326, would put strict limits on the construction of new piers and make many existing piers illegal.
The rule will "deprive property owners of the level of riparian access they're accustomed to, as well as harm numerous tourist dependent businesses," she said.
DNR Water Way Policy Coordinator Lisa Lehmann says the concern may not be warranted.
She said the temporary rules are more of a stop-gap measure to protect the environment while the department comes up with new permanent rules in response to the job creation bill.
She said she hopes the committee won't vote Thursday to suspend the rules.
"This is the only way we can find out what works and what doesn't," she said.
Lehmann added that it is not the department's goal to start a slew of enforcement actions related to the pier rules mostly because emergency rules only have a shelf life of six months.
"By the time we took action the rule would be expired," she said.
Also to be discussed Thursday are regulations relating to boathouses and houseboats, erosion control methods, and timelines and procedures for activities in navigable waterways.
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