MADISON, Wis. — Environmentalists fear that a Republican bill allowing people to replace, rebuild or transfer high-capacity wells without state approval would remove key oversight of operations that can suck up millions of gallons of groundwater.

A number of conservationist groups, including Clean Wisconsin, River Alliance of Wisconsin and the Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters, oppose the bill. They argue that it would mean the end of Department of Natural Resources well reviews once permits are issued since the only points where the agency can revisit permit conditions come when owners replace, rebuild or transfer ownership.

The DNR would still review each well’s pumping data annually but would have no say over whether conditions in the original approval still protect groundwater, said Jennifer Griegerich, the legislative director of the Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters.

“No conditions in the permit could ever be changed,” she said.

The bill’s main author, Sen. Rick Gudex of Fond du Lac, insists that the proposal would eliminate burdensome paperwork, give farmers certainty that they can keep their wells running and ensure that property buyers can use wells they acquire without the fear of the DNR shutting them down or imposing new conditions.

He said the bill is largely a reaction to an administrative law judge’s ruling last year requiring the DNR to consider the cumulative effects of high-capacity wells on groundwater use. The bill makes certain that the DNR can’t apply that new standard to wells that have already been approved, he said.

“This bill reduces the added bureaucratic hassle of dealing with an application process that adds no value or protection to our state waters,” Gudex and co-author Rep. Lee Nerison, R-Westby, wrote in a February email to their legislative colleagues.

Under current DNR rules, owners of high-capacity wells, defined as wells that draw at least 100,000 gallons of water per day, need written approval from the agency to build, reconstruct and run their wells. Applications cost $500 and approvals carry a $125 annual fee.

People who acquire a well through a land purchase must notify the DNR. If the new owner isn’t planning to make any modifications to the well, the DNR reissues the approval, agency spokesman Jim Dick said. If the new owner wants to make changes at any point he would have to reapply for approval.

Under the bill, a well owner would have to notify the DNR if she or he plans to replace a well of the same depth within a 75-foot radius of the existing well, reconstruct a well or transfer ownership. No additional approval or inspection would be necessary. Owners would have to abide by the parameters spelled out in the original approval, however; they couldn’t increase their water consumption without DNR approval.

Jeff Beiriger is a lobbyist for the Wisconsin Water Well Association, which represents more than 300 well drillers and pump installers and has registered in support of the bill. He stressed that the measure has nothing to do with water withdrawals.

“This is a good regulatory fix,” he said.

The bill’s prospects are unclear. Asked about the measure’s chances, Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald’s spokeswoman, Myranda Tanck, said a number of GOP senators have been working on high-capacity well legislation and Fitzgerald hopes “to address the issue” before the end of the legislative session next spring.