Updating Motor Fuel Allocation Will Help Protect State Waters
 
2/8/01

Many of the conservation programs that protect water quality, recreational opportunities, water safety, and scenic beauty in Wisconsin are funded by the State tax on motorboat fuel.  This "water resources account" provides grants for local lake, river, and wetland protection efforts and funds, State lake, river, and wetland management efforts.
Lake Wisconsin in late June
Since boat fuel comes from the same pumps as other motor fuels, a formula is used to estimate the motorboat fuel tax.  This formula was set 15 years ago and has not kept pace with changing motorboat fuel consumption.

Boating is on the rise and Wisconsin's waters are feeling the pressure.  Over the past 15 years the Wisconsin fleet has been transformed.  Motorboat horsepower has increased across the board.  Today, may of the smaller horsepower engines are fuel-consuming personal watercraft.

Boat sizes have also increased.  Today, more than 40% of the boats registered in Wisconsin are between 18 and 39 feet in length.  That's more than double the number twenty years ago.  Under the current state formula, these changes have been ignored.

The result?  Motorboat fuel taxes are being used for road improvement and maintenance.

This is not a new tax.  This will not increase the price you pay for motor fuel at the pump.

Motorboat fuel taxes are instead being used for highway
improvements and road maintenance.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources proposes to change the estimate to recognize the increased fuel consumption of motorboats in the state.  The current formula is based on average consumption of 50 gallons of fuel annually.  DNR proposes to increase that estimate to 80 gallons per year.

This is at the low end of recent surveys of motorboat fuel usage, but does reflect the changed fleet not operating on Wisconsin lakes and rivers.  This estimate is conservative when compared with other Midwestern states:  a 1995 Ohio study estimated that boaters used 299 gallons per year and a 1999 Minnesota study estimated over 100 gallons.

Wisconsin's lakes and rivers anchor the state's $10 billion tourism industry.  The Wisconsin Association of Lakes regards increasing the motorboat gas tax allocation as a fair way to keep Wisconsin's waters safe and enjoyable for all citizens and visitors, while protecting the economic value of these resources through lake and river grants to

Legislators will have to make this revision.  They must decide if $6.4 million (less than 1% of the Wisconsin motor fuel tax collected in fiscal year 2000) is better spent on protecting our 15,000 lakes, 43,000 miles of rivers and 5 million acres of wetlands, or converting less than two miles of a two-lane highway into four lanes.

If you have comments regarding the fair allocation of the motorboat fuel tax to water resource programs, please contact your local legislator.  For more information contact the Wisconsin Association of Lakes.

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