Milwaukee County; sewage, waste, refuse
Wis. Stat. § 59.792
in effect(1) In this section:
(a) “County” means a county with a population of 750,000 or more.
(b) “Waste” includes, without limitation because of enumeration, garbage, ashes, municipal, domestic, industrial and commercial rubbish, waste or refuse material.
(2) The county’s board may provide for the transmission and disposal of sewage from any county buildings. The county shall annually pay to the municipality in which the buildings are situated its proportion of the expense of the transmission and disposal of the sewage by the municipality, as certified under s. 200.55 (5). The county’s proportionate expense shall be determined by the ratio that the amount of sewage contributed by any county buildings bears to the total amount of sewage contributed by the municipality to the sewage system. Each municipality in which county buildings are located, if payment is to be made, shall provide and furnish meters to determine the amount of sewage so contributed. This subsection shall not apply to user charges billed to the county under s. 200.59.
(3)
(a) The county’s board may do any of the following:
1. Engage in the function of the destruction or disposal of waste by providing dumpage facilities.
2. Acquire lands by purchase, lease, donation or right of eminent domain within the county and use the lands as dumpage sites for depositing, salvaging, processing, burning or otherwise disposing of waste.
3. Acquire land by purchase, lease or donation outside the county for purposes described in subd. 2. where state and local regulations permit.
4. Construct and equip incinerators and other structures to be used for disposal of waste.
5. Maintain, control and operate dumpage sites.
6. Maintain, control and operate incinerators for burning waste.
7. Utilize or dispose of by sale or otherwise heat or power reclaimed from incinerator facilities.
8. Sell all salvageable waste materials and by-products.
9. Levy a tax to create a working capital fund to maintain and operate dumpage facilities, construct, equip and operate incinerators and other structures for disposal of wastes.
10. Charge or assess reasonable fees to persons making use of such sites, incinerators or other structures for the disposal of waste.
11. Make charges approximately commensurate with the cost of services rendered to any municipality using the county waste disposal facilities.
12. Authorize payment to any municipality, in which county waste disposal facilities, including incinerators, are located, to cover the reasonable cost of fire fighting services rendered to the county when fire fighting service is required.
13. Contract with private collectors and municipalities and transporters to receive and dispose of waste other than garbage at dumpage and incinerator sites.
14. Levy taxes to provide funds to acquire sites and to construct and equip incinerators and other structures for disposal of wastes.
15. Enact and enforce ordinances, and adopt and enforce rules and regulations, necessary for the orderly conduct of providing dumpage facilities and services and provide forfeitures for the violation thereof.
(b) The charges for waste disposal services shall be determined by the board and shall include a reasonable charge for depreciation. In the determination of the charges the board shall give full consideration to any fees directly collected for the service. Waste disposal charges shall be apportioned under s. 70.63 to the respective municipalities receiving the service. The depreciation charges shall create a reserve for future capital outlays for waste disposal facilities.
(c) Before acquiring any site in the county to be used for dumping or the erection of an incinerator or other structure for the disposal of waste, a public hearing shall be held in the county following notice of hearing by publication as a class 3 notice, under ch. 985.
(d) The powers conferred by this subsection are declared to be necessary to the preservation of the public health, welfare and convenience of the county.
Source: WI Statutes (Official Site)URL: https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/document/statutes/59.792Fetched: 10/7/2026