APPEALS COURT WANTS SUPREME COURT TO DEFINE DNR’S ‘PROTECT PROPERTY’ MANDATE

(Rock-Koshkonong Lake District, et al v. DNR)

Does the DNR’s mandate to “protect property” when considering water level decisions includes the economic effect on property values, business income and public revenues in the surrounding area? That’s the question the District IV Court of Appeals has certified to the State Supreme Court.

The case at hand focuses on the Rock-Koshkonong Lake District request for the DNR to raise water levels on Lake Koshkonong. The DNR denied the petition even though the district offered to prove raising the water level would economically benefit lake front property owners, lake-related businesses, and local municipalities. The hearing examiner excluded that testimony by concluding evidence of “secondary or indirect economic impacts” was inadmissible under Wisconsin’s Environmental Decade v. DNR. The DNR’s decision was affirmed by the Rock County circuit court.