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Wisconsin’s Natural Resources Board will rethink some controversial proposed rules for piers owned by waterfront property owners.
That’s probably good news, especially for areas with lots of shorelines.
But we should not forget the important point is to keep a balance between the rights of property owners and the public interest of a healthy environment.
The Department of Natural Resources originally proposed new regulations on piers. That had some owners of waterfront homes wondering if they would be allowed to keep their piers, or if they would have to pay new fees to keep them in place.
Originally, the DNR had thought there were about 500,000 piers along Wisconsin’s many thousands of lakes and rivers. That many piers might point to the need for tougher regulation to protect wildlife habitat, achieve erosion control or otherwise safeguard the environment.
But a new state study has shown that there are not nearly as many piers as the DNR thought. It’s possible that for most property owners, there would be no new fees for their docks.
The new study shows that there are about 187,000 piers in Wisconsin, and not nearly as many large piers greater than eight feet wide with more than 200 square feet of deck space.
About 86 percent of the piers in Wisconsin are no more than six feet wide with less than 120 square feet of deck. If the owners of the vast majority of private piers in Wisconsin can escape new fees and qualify under existing laws, that’s a positive development.
That would leave the state free to regulate or charge fees for owners of larger piers that have a bigger environmental impact.
However the new rules are drawn up, the goal should be to keep that balance between public and private interests.
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