Wisconsin property owners with water frontage and piers should review the Wisconsin DNR Pier rules and guidelines to make sure they are in compliance. The majority of piers are exempt, meaning they meet certain size & location requirements and no permit, registration or fee applies. Piers which are NOT exempt need to be registered with the DNR by April 11, 2011. The DNR offers an interactive tool to help you determine if you need to register – when the pier was originally placed on the property impacts this decision.
So what is the size of an exempt pier? A few of the guidelines state a maximum width of 6 feet; pier can be the length needed to moor a boat, use a boat lift or reach a 3 foot water depth, whichever is greater.
Pier rules and DNR regulations can be complicated. What if you have a large deck on your pier? What if you are replacing your pier? What if you already have a permit for your pier? For details straight from the DNR regarding those questions, please refer to this Wisconsin Pier Regulation pdf.
We hope you found this information on Wisconsin pier regulations useful. It won’t be too long until those piers can be put in again for the summer! Thanks for reading the First Weber Wisconsin real estate & Wisconsin living blog.
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