## Facts

- The Village of East Troy applied to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) for a high-capacity municipal well permit (Well No. 7) about 1,200 feet from Lake Beulah.
- The DNR issued the permit under Wis. Stat. § 281.34 after internal technical review, concluding the well would not significantly affect the lake.
- Lake Beulah Management District and a lake-protection association challenged the permit, asserting groundwater pumping could draw from Lake Beulah, reduce lake levels, and harm the lake ecosystem.
- The challengers argued that, under the public-trust doctrine and Wis. Stat. ch. 281, DNR was required to evaluate and protect navigable waters potentially affected by groundwater withdrawals.
- After permit issuance, challengers provided additional materials, including a private hydrogeologist’s report indicating pumping could affect lake levels and asserting this required further DNR investigation or permit conditions.
- The circuit court affirmed DNR’s decision; the court of appeals ordered a remand for further DNR consideration; the Wisconsin Supreme Court granted review.

## Issues

1. Whether DNR has authority and a duty, informed by the public-trust doctrine and Wis. Stat. §§ 281.11 and 281.12, to consider effects of a proposed high-capacity groundwater well on nearby navigable waters when deciding whether to issue a permit.
2. Whether the information presented to DNR regarding Well No. 7 constituted sufficient concrete, scientific evidence of potential harm to trigger a duty to conduct additional investigation or alter the permitting decision.

## Decision

- The Wisconsin Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the court of appeals.
- The court held DNR has authority and a general duty under the public-trust doctrine and Wis. Stat. §§ 281.11 and 281.12 to consider environmental effects of high-capacity wells on navigable waters when presented with sufficient evidence that the well may cause harm.
- The court held that, on this record, DNR was not presented with sufficient concrete, scientific evidence that Well No. 7 would harm Lake Beulah so as to require further study or different permit conditions.
- The court upheld DNR’s issuance of the permit and reversed the remand order.

## Legal Principles

- Wisconsin’s public-trust doctrine, together with Wis. Stat. §§ 281.11 and 281.12, supports DNR authority and a general duty to protect “waters of the state,” including considering hydrologic connections between groundwater withdrawals and navigable surface waters.
- DNR’s duty to investigate and consider impacts on navigable waters in the high-capacity well context is triggered when DNR is presented with sufficient concrete, scientific evidence of potential harm.
- Wis. Stat. § 281.34 does not eliminate DNR’s broader authority under Wis. Stat. ch. 281 to protect and manage waters of the state in permitting decisions.
- Courts generally defer to DNR’s technical judgments within its delegated responsibilities absent arbitrary or capricious action or a clear legal violation.

## Conclusion

The Wisconsin Supreme Court recognized DNR’s public-trust-informed duty to consider whether high-capacity wells may harm navigable waters when supported by concrete scientific evidence, but concluded the evidence offered here did not trigger further investigation or altered conditions, and therefore upheld the permit for Well No. 7.


Lake Beulah Mgmt. Dist. v. State Dep't of Nat. Res., 335 Wis. 2d 47, 799 N.W.2d 73 (Wis. 2011)