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Public commenters press DNR to regulate ballast systems and wake-surfing after Minnesota study
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Summary
Multiple members of the public and conservation advocates urged the Natural Resources Board to regulate ballast-equipped wake boats, citing invasive-species risk and a new University of Minnesota study showing surf-mode damage to shallow lakebeds; DNR said it is reviewing the study and would evaluate options.
Public commenters at the Natural Resources Board meeting on Aug. 13 pressed the Department of Natural Resources to regulate ballast-equipped wake boats and wakesurfing, citing both invasive-species transmission via ballast systems and a new University of Minnesota study that documented lakebed resuspension from surf-mode wake boats.
Jim Olson, representing petitioners on a revised home-lake rule, told the board he had obtained records showing broad enforcement of boat-inspection laws for conventional boats but little enforcement or rulemaking for wake boats and their ballast systems. "The department's doing a great job as far as other boats are concerned, but they're totally ignoring the wake boats and the ballast systems," Olson said, urging the DNR to adopt rules requiring thermal decontamination or other measures before ballast-equipped boats move between waters.
Other commenters echoed concerns about shoreline damage and user conflicts. Richard Phillips of Presque Isle called wakesurfing "by far the most commonly reported Wisconsin lake issue the past several years" and said the DNR’s silence left local officials and lake associations to confront the problem without guidance. Several speakers asked the department to provide clearer, proactive guidance or to pursue regulatory authority.
Presenters from the public also highlighted a new empirical study from the University of Minnesota (the St. Anthony Falls study) that combined drone and underwater footage, velocity sensors and water sampling to assess wake-boat hydrodynamics on Lake Minnetonka. Presenters played video clips from that study showing underwater turbidity plumes after repeated wake-boat passes in shallower test depths; study authors recommended minimum operating depths to reduce bed disturbance. Jeff Meissman, who coordinated the public presentation for northern-lake residents, summarized the study’s findings and urged the DNR to use it in policy consideration: "Wake boat surfing ... produce[s] a much greater bottom damage" in surf mode, he said, and the study authors recommended deeper minimum depths for surf-mode operation.
How the DNR responded: Secretary Karen Young told the board she had instructed staff to conduct a thorough review of the Minnesota study and evaluate options, including whether the department needs legislative authority or resources to implement recommendations. Young said the department had previously recommended decontamination practices for ballast systems and was prepared to review the new evidence before proposing any rulemaking.
Why it matters: commenters said ballast systems both transport invasive organisms and, in surf mode, can resuspend sediments that damage aquatic plants and water clarity. Public commenters pointed to growing local ordinances — and at least one pending legal challenge to a municipal wakesurfing ban — and urged clearer state guidance to reduce conflicts and environmental harm.
Next steps: Department staff said they will analyze the study, coordinate with other states’ DNRs and consider whether legislative change would be necessary to give the agency the authority and resources to require thermal decontamination or to regulate wake-boat operation.
