Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Aquatic Invasive Species topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Citizens press DNR for pilot program, stronger controls on wake‑surf boat ballast to stop invasive species
Summary
Multiple speakers urged the board and department to act on wake‑surf boat ballast systems that retain water and can spread quagga and zebra mussels; advocates proposed a pilot decontamination/certification program and legislative or rule changes to prohibit non‑drainable ballast until the issue is fixed.
Multiple citizens brought a common message to the Natural Resources Board during open forum on Jan. 22: wake‑surf boats with closed ballast systems retain water that can carry aquatic invasive species (AIS) between lakes and current DNR enforcement and inspection practices cannot reliably verify that ballast tanks are free of AIS.
Speakers included Jim Olson (attorney and petition organizer), Carol Phillips (retired civil engineer), and Jeff Meissman of Last Wilderness Alliance and the Coalition to Protect Wisconsin Lakes. They summarized studies and open‑records material saying wake‑surf ballast systems retain multiple gallons of water after draining and are difficult or impossible to fully inspect. Meissman and others argued that those design features violate existing invasive‑species rules (NR 19.055 and NR 40) that require draining and prevention of AIS transfer; DNR staff told petitioners previously that inspection is impractical.
Advocates proposed a pilot program: establish on‑demand, certified decontamination centers, a certification process for decontaminated boats, and an agency role to register and inspect completed decontamination. Several speakers said the coalition would fund initial decontamination equipment for a pilot but said they had not received a substantive departmental response. Testimony noted quagga mussels found in Lake Geneva (detected by others, the public said) and warned that shallow‑water quagga morphologies expand the range of susceptible lakes.
Board members and staff acknowledged the issue and said it requires multi‑agency and legislative work; Chair Smith and Deputy Secretary Little said department staff are engaged and that the matter is complex because it may require statutory change. Board members encouraged continued engagement and requested departmental updates to the board on possible next steps, pilot designs or legislative recommendations. Advocates requested precautionary measures including a prohibition on operation of ballast‑equipped boats until certification and decontamination systems are available.
The public testimony highlighted three threads: (1) technical evidence that ballast systems retain water and pose AIS risk, (2) lack of a practical inspection/certification pathway under current rules, and (3) citizen and coalition willingness to fund pilot infrastructure if the department will coordinate certification and oversight.
