Wisconsin Administrative Code
Department of Natural Resources
NR 100-199 - Environmental Protection General
Chapter NR 150 - Environmental Analysis And Review Procedures
Section NR 150.04 - Policy

(a) In accordance with the Wisconsin and national environmental policy acts and regulations issued by the president's council on environmental quality, it is the intention of the natural resources board to declare a policy that will encourage productive and enjoyable harmony among people and their environment; to promote efforts which will prevent or eliminate damage to the environment; and to enrich the understanding of the important ecological systems and natural resources of the state.

(b) The board recognizes the potential for impact of many state and federal actions on all components of the human environment. Therefore, the board declares that it is the continuing policy of the department of natural resources, as the primary environmental agency in state government, to develop an understanding of the environmental consequences of its actions and to use all practicable means and measures to create and maintain conditions under which people and nature can exist in productive harmony and fulfill the requirements of present and future generations.

(a) Acknowledge WEPA as an obligation shared by all units of the department to the extent that any unit contemplating regulatory or management actions subject to WEPA review under this chapter shall evaluate and be aware of the environmental consequences of such actions.

(b) Recognize its role as an environmental agency in state government and that it shall set an example in meeting the spirit and intent of WEPA.

(c) Develop, where possible, agreements and understandings with other state, federal, and local agencies to minimize duplication in meeting environmental review requirements and establish a mechanism for resolution of interagency conflict.

(d) Develop appropriate strategic analyses for any issue or policy which involves unresolved conflicts concerning alternative uses of available resources.

(e) Develop appropriate environmental effects information and analysis along with a discussion of meaningful alternatives and make this available to the decisionmaker in a timely manner for all actions where such an evaluation is required by this chapter; and recognize that decisions subject to WEPA requirements cannot be made until the appropriate environmental review process is completed.

(f) Implement the environmental review procedure as an integrated process, not a separate sequence of activities, that must be part of the initial planning process for department projects and initiated at an early stage of the regulatory review process.

(g) Consider the findings of environmental analyses and comments received from the public in making decisions on proposed actions.

(h) Recognize that the department has an affirmative duty within its resources to comment on the environmental review documents of other agencies by virtue of its jurisdiction by law, special expertise, or authority.