ELR Citation: 48 ELR 20200
No(s). 2017AP1776 (Wis. Ct. App. Nov 29, 2018)

In an unpublished opinion, a state appellate court affirmed a lower court's ruling that a Wisconsin landowner violated state law by discharging fill material into a wetland on his property. The lower court found that the landowner had filled waters of the state without obtaining a permit, in violation of state law, and it thus granted summary judgment to the state. On appeal, the landowner argued that the state failed to establish a prima facie case for summary judgment. The appellate court determined, however, that the landowner's own admission that he placed topsoil fill directly on wetland soil in a designated wetland was sufficient to establish that he illegally deposited fill material on the property. The appellate court therefore affirmed the lower court's summary judgment.