No/Low Impact Activity Definitions

Transformers, pedestals, switch fuse boxes, hand holes, pumping or valve stations or huts.

Consists of cropland and farmstead land use (see below).

Consists of manmade materials, examples include synthetic grass, turf or track.

Work that is conducted by hand with mechanized or non-mechanized equipment.

A roadside area that is required to be free of woody plant growth over 4-inch caliper or that would impair highway safety.

Includes both cultivated and non-cultivated cropland, currently active or active within the previous year (see below).

Annually cultivated land planted to row crops such as corn and soybeans; close-grown crops such as oats and wheat; and potatoes and other vegetable crops.

Limited to alfalfa when grass does not constitute greater than 20% of the stand; does not include pasture (see below).

Includes stone with diameters up to 1 inch. Larger diameters would be considered decorative rock, which would be considered an artificial surface for the purposes of this permit.

An actual or imminent threat of significant harm to the environment or to public health or safety exists for all or a portion of a project. Also includes a customer power or gas outage, or probable equipment failure leading to a customer power or gas outage.

Also known as erosion control blankets, erosion mats or erosion mesh netting used to prevent erosion during the establishment of vegetation can have detrimental effects on the local snake and other wildlife populations. Plastic netting without independent movement of strands can easily entrap animals moving through the area, leading to dehydration, desiccation and eventually mortality. Netting that contains biodegradable thread with the “leno” or “gauze” weave (contains strands that are able to move independently) appears to have the least impact on animals and should be used in areas adjacent to or near any waterbody. Avoid the use of fine mesh matting that is tied or bonded at the mesh intersections such that the openings in the mesh are fixed in size.

Use the following matting (or something similar): American Excelsior “FibreNet” or “NetFree” products; East Coast Erosion biodegradable jute products; Erosion Tech biodegradable jute products; ErosionControlBlanket.com biodegradable leno weave products; North American Green S75BN, S150BN, SC150BN or C125BN; Western Excelsior “All Natural” products or DOT Class I Type A Urban, Class I Type B Urban, or Class II Type C.

An agricultural production site that may contain any of the following: livestock production buildings and associated lots, manure and feed storage structures, machine storage/repair facilities, residences and the site is routinely disturbed by human and/or domestic animal activity.

Includes stone with diameters up to 1 inch. Larger diameter stone would be considered decorative rock, which would be considered an artificial surface for the purposes of this permit.

The landscape is mowed, the height of vegetation is less than 6 inches between mowings, consistent grass coverage with no areas of exposed sandy soil. Typically includes flowerbeds, landscaped areas, residential lawns, golf courses and parks in urban or residential areas.

Trench width from 12 to 24 inches, only covered by the no/low BITP in agricultural, urban/residential and manicured ROW/UC land uses. An excavation method where the trench is cut into the ground from the surface using traditional excavation equipment.

Land (and the vegetation growing on it) devoted to the production of introduced or indigenous forage for harvest by grazing, cutting or both, currently or within the previous year.

A primitive trail shall be a minimally developed single-file trail with a maximum sustained cleared width normally not exceeding 8 feet and a minimum tread width for the intended use, plus have a rough, ungraded bed where large rocks, stumps and downed logs may be present. It primarily follows the natural topography, has no or few shallow cuts and fills, and is surfaced with primitive or native materials, except for limited distances where environmental conditions require the use of other materials. Modifications to the natural trail surface are limited to that which is minimally necessary to provide essential environmental protection. (NR44.07(3)e)

Work to complete a task within a contiguous area and set a time frame. A large project may be broken up into smaller projects if there are naturally occurring breaks due to the project schedule, mobilizations/demobilizations or based on mileage markers (as in the case of long linear projects). Requests to break up a large project should be approved by the ERRP.

The area comprised of the driving surface (roadway), roadside shoulders and ditch, public utilities, sidewalks and traffic signals/signs.

Open-cut trenching through rock using specialized equipment.

May occur multiple times per season to maintain clear vision areas at intersections or along curves.

Treatments applied through the use of backpack sprayers, spotguns or injectors. In general, this type of application is used to individually treat woody stems; herbicide use is targeted to specific species and drift is controlled.

Land that is not maintained or mowed, examples include fallow fields (inactive one year or more), natural/remnant areas, brownfields, conservation reserve program (CRP) fields, wetlands and waterbodies.

Any non-wetland areas (see below).

Ground cover consists of impermeable surfaces, landscaped areas and manicured lawns (see above).

Includes the production, transmission, delivery or furnishing of electrical power, light, heat, water, natural gas, sewer or telecommunication services.

A strip of land that a utility or telecommunication company uses to construct, maintain or repair an overhead or underground power line, communication cable or gas pipeline. Includes space for the line itself along with additional space buffering the line from nearby buildings and tall vegetation.

The repair, replacement or reconstruction of a previously authorized utility facility within an existing right-of-way or utility corridor (see above), but does not result in an increase of capacity or volume.

Utility corridor vegetation removal activities are conducted on a two- to five-year cycle, depending on the condition of the vegetation along each individual line. Methods include:

• Non-selective mechanical mowing;
• Broadcast foliar application;
• Broadcast soil-active application;
• Side trimming — work is typically completed through the use of bucket trucks, side-trimmers or tree-climbers; and
• Aerial saw — similar to side trimming but involves the use of a helicopter-mounted saw.

Trench widths range from 3 to 12 inches; uses a vibratory drive unit and blade attachment to produce a slice in the soil. The vibrator rapidly oscillates, moving the blade a short distance vertically. This vibrating action creates a fracture in the ground in front of the blade, substantially reducing the draft force required for the blade to cut through the ground, as well as reducing resistance on the sides of the blade.

An area where water is at, near or above the land surface long enough to be capable of supporting aquatic or hydrophytic vegetation and that has soils indicative of wetland conditions. View Wisconsin Wetland Inventory maps.