Audit finds fault with DNR

Sound Familiar?

From the Milw Journal-Sentinel

Monitoring of wetlands poor, enforcing of protections uneven, it says

...The audit also questions why staff members in some of the five DNR regions appear to check more aggressively for wetland violations than others.

...Violations occur when wetlands are disturbed without a permit or when those with a permit ignore its conditions.

The DNR cannot fine violators.

Instead, DNR staff must rely on cooperative compliance from landowners on wetland violations, the report says. Uncooperative landowners have been referred to the state Department of Justice, where financial penalties as high as $125,000 have been given.