Section 48.24. District corridors.

 

(1)   Corridor required. A county drainage board shall establish and maintain a district corridor around every district ditch. The county drainage board shall maintain the district corridor, in compliance with this subchapter, for all of the following purposes:

(a) To provide effective access for the county drainage board and its agents, and for their vehicles and equipment, over the entire length of the district ditch.

(b) To provide a buffer against land uses which may adversely affect water quality in the district ditch.

(2)   Width of corridor. A district corridor shall extend for 20 feet from the top of the ditch bank on each side of a district ditch. A county drainage board may, by giving specific notice to landowners, establish a wider corridor if necessary to permit vehicle access or to protect water quality in the district ditch.

(3)   Access to corridor. Except as provided under sub. (4) , a member of a county drainage board or an employee or other authorized agent of a county drainage board may, without prior notice to a landowner, do any of the following:

(a) Enter a district corridor, and bring vehicles and equipment into a district corridor, for the purpose of inspecting, surveying, maintaining, repairing, restoring or improving a district drain or corridor.

(b) Perform operations in a district corridor related to the maintenance, repair, restoration or improvement of a district drain or corridor, including cutting, mowing, pesticide application, dredging, excavation and other operations.

(4)   Notice of activities in the corridor. Before a county drainage board or its agent does either of the following in a district corridor, the county drainage board or its agent shall notify the landowner by one of the methods specified under s. ATCP 48.22 (5) :

(a) Cutting trees that are more than 6 inches in diameter measured at breast height.

(b) Excavating or depositing materials in the district corridor.

(5)   Row cropping and obstructions in district corridor.

(a) No person may do any of the following without written permission from the county drainage board:

1. Engage in row cropping in a district corridor.

2. Place in a district corridor any building or other obstruction that interferes with the county drainage board's ability to inspect, restore and maintain the district ditch and corridor.

(b) A county drainage board may give a person written permission to engage in activities under par. (a) , subject to conditions or limitations which the drainage board specifies in writing.

(c) A person who engages in row cropping or places any obstruction in a district corridor under par. (a) , with or without drainage board permission, waives any claim for damages to those crops or obstructions that may be caused by county drainage board activities authorized under ch. 88 , Stats. , or this chapter.

(d) This subsection does not require a landowner to remove any building or fixture constructed or installed in a district corridor prior to September 1, 1999. The owner of the preexisting building or fixture waives any claim for damages to that building or fixture that may be caused by county drainage board activities authorized under ch. 88 , Stats. , or this chapter.

Cr. Register, June, 1995, No. 474 , eff. 7-1-95; r. and recr. (5), Register, August, 1999, No. 524 , eff. 9-1-99.

Note

Under s. ATCP 48.28 , a county drainage board is required to control the growth of woody vegetation in a district corridor, except that a county drainage board may allow the growth of woody vegetation in portions of a district corridor if it does not interfere with effective access to district drains. Microsoft Windows NT 6.1.7601 Service Pack 1 In deciding whether to authorize row cropping in a district corridor, a county drainage board should consider whether that row cropping will increase maintenance requirements, soil erosion, or movement of suspended solids to district drains. It may consider relevant factors such as the type of row cropping and tillage proposed, the topography of the district corridor, and the type, quality and character of the soil and subsoil in the district corridor. Microsoft Windows NT 6.1.7601 Service Pack 1 See s. ATCP 48.28 related to the control of woody vegetation in a district corridor. Microsoft Windows NT 6.1.7601 Service Pack 1