In the eyes of the business community, the bills provide necessary clarity and certainty for farmers and manufacturers to operate. In the eyes of local residents and environmental groups, the changes are tantamount to a corporate blank check for water withdrawal without regard to how it is affecting lakes and aquifers.

Both bills would allow those who currently hold permits for high capacity wells to make a series of changes to them, or transfer the permit to someone else — without the approval from the state Department of Natural Resources. The DNR currently has authority to review any changes to high capacity well permits. The bills would allow a high capacity well owner to repair, reconstruct, and maintain the well. It would also allow a well owner to build a replacement well.

The bills only pertain to existing permits, not new permits for high capacity wells. They would require the DNR to study lakes and rivers in some parts of the state most affected by high capacity wells and issue recommendations to the Legislature based on its findings.

A high capacity well is one or more wells, drillholes or mine shafts on a property that have a combined approved pump capacity of 70 or more gallons per minute, with the ability to withdraw as much as 100,000 gallons per minute, according to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.