Mandatory enactment and administration of ordinance by counties
Wis. Stat. § 295.13
in effect(1) Mandatory enactment and administration of ordinance.
(a) Requirement to enact and administer ordinance. Within 6 months after the effective date of the rules under s. 295.12 (1), each county shall enact and begin to administer a nonmetallic mining reclamation ordinance that complies with those rules, except as provided in subs. (2) and (2m). This ordinance may be enacted separately from an ordinance enacted under s. 59.69.
(2) Preexisting county ordinances. Any county with a nonmetallic mining reclamation ordinance in effect on June 1, 1993, may maintain and administer that ordinance if the department reviews the existing ordinance and determines that it is at least as restrictive as the rules under s. 295.12 (1). If the department determines that any part of the existing ordinance is not as restrictive as the rules under s. 295.12 (1), the county may amend the ordinance and submit the amended ordinance to the department for a determination of whether the amended ordinance is as restrictive as those rules. After obtaining the determination of the department that an ordinance is as restrictive as the rules under s. 295.12 (1), the county may not amend the ordinance to make it more restrictive. A county may not amend a nonmetallic mining reclamation ordinance to make it less restrictive than the requirements in the rules under s. 295.12 (1).
(2m) Option for certain counties. In a county with a population of 700,000 or more, if every city, village and town that contains a nonmetallic mining site has enacted an ordinance under s. 295.14 by the first day of the 4th month beginning after the effective date of the rules promulgated under s. 295.12 (1), the county is not required to enact an ordinance under this section.
(3) Applicability of county ordinance. An ordinance under sub. (1) or (2) applies to the entire area of the county, except for cities, villages and towns that enact and administer a nonmetallic mining reclamation ordinance under s. 295.14.
(4) Crediting of financial assurance. If a nonmetallic mining site is subject to a county ordinance under sub. (1) or (2) and the city, village, or town in which a nonmetallic mining site is located required the operator of the mining site to provide financial assurance for nonmetallic mining reclamation of the nonmetallic mining site, the county shall credit the value of the financial assurance provided to the city, village, or town against the amount of financial assurance that the operator is required to provide under the county ordinance.
Source: WI Statutes (Official Site)URL: https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/document/statutes/295.13Fetched: 10/7/2026