Clean Wisconsin v. Department of Natural Resources decisions

Author / Creator

Lauer, Ethan, author

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Online

Physical

Summary

"The Wisconsin Supreme Court recently issued two separate but related opinions, both captioned Clean Wisconsin, Inc. v. Department of Natural Resources. Although they arose in the context of permit...

"The Wisconsin Supreme Court recently issued two separate but related opinions, both captioned Clean Wisconsin, Inc. v. Department of Natural Resources. Although they arose in the context of permitting decisions made by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), the decisions clarify some broader uncertainty that had existed since 2011 with regard to agency administrative authority. In that year, the Legislature enacted a statute that prohibits an agency from taking certain administrative actions unless those actions are explicitly authorized. The central question in each case was whether agency authority that is stated in broad terms nevertheless qualifies as "explicit" within the meaning of the 2011 enactment. The Court held that it does. This issue brief provides relevant background information and summarizes the Court's two decisions, one addressing water pollution permits and the other addressing high capacity well permits.."-- from page 1.

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