One or more projects may be included in a single grant
application. Any of the following projects are eligible for a County Lake
Grant:
(1) COUNTY LAKE PROTECTION
PLANS. County lake protection planning projects will update and improve basic
lake information for lakes located in the county, establish consistency between
existing lake information systems, and identify lakes in need of protection. A
lake protection planning project shall result in a lake protection strategy
that is designed by the county working in cooperation with the department and
employing program-approved protocols. A lake protection plan shall have all of
the following elements:
(a) A county shall
verify and, where necessary, update basic lake information. Updated or new
state lake information that may impact a regulatory program shall be approved
by the department before becoming official lake information. The following
information is considered basic lake information for the purposes of this
paragraph:
1. The size, depth, and shape of
the lake.
2. The size of the lake's
watershed.
3. The quality of the
water in the lake.
4. The location
and capacity of public access.
5.
The presence of aquatic invasive species.
(b) A county shall identify lake protection
priorities for the purposes of implementing a county lake protection project.
Lakes that are identified as protection lakes are those that are attaining
state eutrophication water quality standards. For the purposes of identifying
county lake protection projects, counties shall classify a subset of those
lakes that are most vulnerable to degradation, considering all of the following
factors:
1. The lake's current use, or
potential for the lake to be overused for recreational purposes.
2. The current or potential development of
land surrounding the lake.
3. The
potential for the lake to suffer from nonpoint source water
pollution.
4. The condition of the
fish and wildlife population and the extent of their habitats in and around the
lake.
5. The presence or risk of
introduction of aquatic invasive species.
(c) A county shall develop a list of proposed
activities for lake protection and a strategy for their
implementation.
(d) A county may
classify lakes for the purpose of implementing protection activities for which
the county or a cooperating jurisdiction has existing statutory authority. A
county may work with other local governments on lake use classification for
managing recreational uses. Nothing in this section shall be interpreted to
grant new authority to counties for managing lakes and shorelines.
Classification and the resulting protection activities may not result in
lowering existing state standards designed to protect lakes and shall be
consistent with all existing state classifications and regulatory programs.
Note: Examples of state lake information can
be found in Wisconsin Lakes PUB-FH-800, the Surface Water Integrated Monitoring
System (SWIMS), and the department's 24K hydrography
database.
(2)
COUNTY LAKE PROTECTION PROJECTS. A county that has completed a lake protection
plan is eligible to apply for a grant under this subchapter to assist in the
implementation of lake protection activities. Eligible projects are planning
and management projects that have been identified in this chapter.
