Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul has switched sides from the position taken by Wisconsin’s previous Republican attorney general in a pair of high-profile environmental cases involving the powers of state agencies that will come before the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

Kaul's Department of Justice filed motions with the high court Thursday that follow last week's announcement that Republican lawmakers would try to intervene in the same cases.

The GOP lawmakers, who are hiring private lawyers paid by taxpayers, are taking the opposite position of Kaul, who is representing the Department of Natural Resources.

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The move by lawmakers was seen as a sign that they believed Kaul would not be representing their interests in the case.

“Yet again, Attorney General Kaul is refusing to do his job and is siding with liberal special interest groups attempting to reverse existing state law," said a statement from Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald of Juneau.

Both cases involve a 2011 law pushed by Republicans that sought to limit what they saw as an overreach by state agencies. The law prohibited agencies from putting conditions on those they regulate that went beyond what is explicitly written in state laws and state rules.

In one case, the issue centers on the types of requirements the DNR can impose on a wastewater permit that a large-scale dairy farm needed to expand operations.

The Kinnard dairy farm, one of the largest dairy farms in Wisconsin, is located in Kewaunee County, in northeastern Wisconsin, where pollution problems tied to farms have generated sharp controversy.

The second case in central Wisconsin focuses on whether the DNR must take into account the cumulative effects on local water bodies as it reviews applications for multiple high-capacity wells that could negatively harm other water resources.

Kaul said in his motions he was seeking to file briefs that are opposite from the position of former Attorney General Brad Schimel's office.

In both, lower courts said the DNR had the authority to impose requirements designed to protect the environment. Kaul said his briefs on behalf of the DNR would support the findings of the lower courts.

RELATED:Judge throws out well permits while ordering Wisconsin DNR to consider impacts of heavy water use

The Supreme Court recently agreed to hear both cases. Arguments are expected in the fall.

The 4-3 conservative majority on the high court will grow to 5-2 in August, when incoming Justice Brian Hagedorn will replace retiring Justice Shirley Abrahamson.

Clean Wisconsin, an environmental group, said it was pleased with Thursday's developments.

"But our ultimate focus has been on protecting the environment and public health in both of these cases, and that will continue to be our focus as we go before the Supreme Court," attorney Evan Feinauer of Clean Wisconsin said in a statement.

Journal Sentinel reporter Patrick Marley contributed to this report from Madison.