Eurasian Watermilfoil Decision - Notes from Hearing
Margaret’s (Meg) notes…
In today’s hearing, the judge expressed significant concern that the WDNR did not independently evaluate the 2026 Half Moon Lake permit application. Instead, the judge indicated that the agency appeared to deny the application based on its perceived similarity to the denied 2025 application.
The judge referenced an email exchange among Tyler Mesalk, Brandon Thill, and James Yach, the Secretary’s Director of the Northern Region. In that exchange, the parties discussed how similar the 2026 application was to the 2025 application. One participant commented that the decision should be quick because the two applications were so similar and the 2025 application had been denied. The permit denial followed shortly after that exchange.
The judge stated that he is substantially concerned the 2026 application was not reviewed on its own merits. If that is the case, he indicated that the WDNR failed to follow the law and made an arbitrary and capricious decision that was not based on the 2026 application and was unfair to the Half Moon Lake Protection and Rehabilitation District.
The judge also highlighted key differences between the applications, including a document prepared by Meg Rattei of Barr Engineering Co. for the 2026 permit application. The document detailed the WDNR’s reasons for denying the 2025 application and presented substantial evidence challenging those reasons.
He noted that the 2025 and 2026 denial letters were similar and that there was no evidence the WDNR had considered the new information in the 2026 permit application.
As a result, the judge remanded the 2026 permit application to the WDNR and ordered the agency to review the application independently and make a permitting decision based solely on the 2026 application.
The judge ordered the WDNR to issue its permitting decision within 30 days. Legal counsel for our client then asked whether the judge would retain jurisdiction while the WDNR conducted its review. The judge clarified that he will retain jurisdiction over the case.
Margaret Rattei
Senior Biologist
Barr Engineering