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Wisconsin Revises Borrow Pit Exemption Rules
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Published: July 6, 2011
Authors:
Peter Conrad and
Charles (Buck) Sweeney
Wisconsin’s new state budget, signed into law by Governor Scott Walker on June 26, 2011, revised the rules relating to when a borrow pit used for a transportation project is exempt from local zoning. Effective July 1, 2011, the revisions:
- Clarified a number of previously ambiguous points
- Expanded the exemption to include the use of borrow pits for disposal of waste material from a transportation project
- Expanded the circumstances under which the exemption applies
Under the revised law, a borrow pit used for extraction or disposal is exempt when:
- The owner of the property consents to the borrow pit on his or her property
- The Wisconsin Department of Transportation determines that the site is not a “commercial establishment” with a fixed place of business that regularly supplies processed or manufactured materials
- The project contractor assumes sole responsibility for operation of the site
- The site is used only for the specified transportation project and only during the period of construction for that project
- The project contractor (or a subcontractor) does not crush, screen, wash, blast or otherwise process the aggregate (either on or off site)
- The project contractor complies with any applicable noise limit standards for a quarry operation established under Wis. Stat. § 101.115(2)(e), and the project contractor also complies with any applicable restoration requirements under Wis. Stat. § 85.19(1) or Wis. Stat. § 30.202(2)
The revisions in Wisconsin’s borrow pit law expand the borrow pit exemption to apply to more than just state highway projects. The exemption now applies to any construction or maintenance project directed and supervised by the DOT that relates to an airport, railroad, highway, bridge or other transportation facility. Furthermore, Wisconsin’s revised borrow pit exemption rules eliminates the previous exemption requirement that the borrow pit has to be located near the site of the construction project. Finally, the revision removes the requirement that the property owner has to agree to any noise abatement or landscaping measures required by the local authorities.
The revision in the statutes clarifies when a borrow pit used for either extraction or disposal is exempt from local zoning. This will help aggregate producers in Wisconsin better understand when the exemption applies. It will also prevent local governments from trying to exert any authority that they could have previously argued under the previous statute.
For more information on Wisconsin’s revised borrow pit exemption rules, contact Buck Sweeney at 608.283.6743 or csweeney@axley.com, or Peter Conrad at 608.260.2483 or pconrad@axley.com.
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