Eau Claire County v. Department of Natural Resources, 83-1472
| Decision Date | 24 April 1984 |
| Docket Number | No. 83-1472,83-1472 |
| Citation | 119 Wis.2d 62,349 N.W.2d 723 |
| Parties | EAU CLAIRE COUNTY, a quasi-municipal corporation, Petitioner-Appellant, v. DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES, State of Wisconsin, Respondent. |
| Court | Wisconsin Court of Appeals |
Carl T. Bahnson, Asst. Corp. Counsel, Eau Claire, for petitioner-appellant.
Bronson C. La Follette, Atty. Gen., and Thomas L. Dosch, Asst. Atty. Gen., for respondent.
Before FOLEY, P.J., and DEAN and CANE, JJ.
Section 144.443(2)(a), Stats., requires sanitary landfill operators to maintain proof, satisfactory to the Department of Natural Resources, that their landfills will be properly closed and cared for after they are closed. The DNR sets the closing and care requirements and estimates the closing and care costs. The landfill operator must provide a bond covering these costs or in some other manner guarantee that the costs will be covered. Because the DNR acted reasonably and within its authority in estimating the costs in this case, and because its decision is not an unexplained deviation from its prior practice, we affirm the circuit court judgment. 1
The DNR estimated the closing and care costs for Eau Claire County's Seven Mile Creek Sanitary Landfill based on the DNR's cost of having the work done by an independent contractor. Eau Claire County contends that the cost estimates should have been based on the county's cost of doing the work with its own work crews and equipment. The circuit court rejected the county's argument and affirmed the DNR's decision.
The circuit court must uphold the DNR's decision unless it finds a basis for changing the decision under a specific provision of sec. 227.20(2), Stats. A court may not substitute its judgment for that of an agency on an issue of discretion, sec. 227.20(8), Stats., and must accord due weight to the experience, technical competence, and specialized knowledge of the agency, sec. 227.20(10), Stats. A court should also accord great weight to an agency's interpretation of a statute that it administers. Pigeon v. DILHR, 106 Wis.2d 135, 138, 316 N.W.2d 117, 118 (Ct.App.1981).
We agree with the circuit court that there is no basis for changing the DNR's decision. The purpose of requiring a bond or other guarantee from a sanitary landfill operator is to ensure that enough money will be available when a landfill is closed to protect the environment and the public health and safety from the hazards posed by the landfill. See sec. 114.445(1)(c), Stats. The DNR is authorized to independently contract for...
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