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Wisconsin legislature passes wetlands bill

On a voice vote, the Wisconsin State Assembly passed the bill relaxing restrictions on building on wetlands Tuesday night. The bill requires developers to sign mitigation agreements to build specialized projects on wetlands, the developers must either replace the wetlands which are lost, buy credits from those who have created wetlands or pay the DNR’s general wetland protection program. The Senate passed the bill along party lines last week; it now goes to Governor Scott Walker who says he will sign it.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers regulates wetlands along navigable waters in the state; the bill does not affect those.

Both the Assembly and the State Senate passed SB 410 on a voice vote on Tuesday, that bill allows manure haulers to exceed weight limits by up to 15 percent from September 1st through December 31st each year. That bill now goes to the governor as well.