Register February 2012 No. 674
Chapter NR 746
RISK SCREENING AND CLOSURE CRITERIA FOR PETROLEUM PRODUCT CONTAMINATED SITES, AND AGENCY ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
NR 746.04 Site authority.
NR 746.05 Site investigation.
NR 746.06 Risk screening criteria.
NR 746.07 Site closure decisions at the completion of a site investigation.
NR 746.08 Site closure decisions after remedial action to address one or more of the risk screening criteria.
NR 746.09 Remediation and remediation funding for conditionally closed sites.
NR 746.10 Tracking of remediation progress.
NR 746.11 Classification and transfer of sites.
NR 746.12 Interagency staff training.
NR 746.13 Dispute resolution.
Ch. NR 746 Note
Note: Ch.
NR 746 was created as an emergency rule eff. 5-18-00.
NR 746.01
NR 746.01
Purpose. One purpose of this chapter is to identify the roles, processes and procedures that guide the departments of safety and professional services and natural resources in the administration of their respective responsibilities under ss.
101.143,
101.144,
292.11 and
292.31, Stats., and
ch. 160, Stats., for oversight and supervision of high, medium and low risk sites where petroleum products have discharged from petroleum storage tanks. This chapter codifies a memorandum of understanding that is required by s.
101.144 (3m), Stats. Another purpose of this chapter is to establish standards to be applied by both agencies for determining when sites can be closed because it can be documented during either the investigation or remediation phase that the risk screening criteria in
s. NR 746.06 and the closure criteria in
s. NR 746.07 or
746.08 have been satisfied. The risk screening and closure criteria in this chapter, when used to make closure decisions, define on a site-specific basis when natural attenuation will achieve groundwater enforcement standards within a reasonable time. Nothing in this chapter is intended to limit the independent authority of either agency to carry out responsibilities not specifically described in this chapter, including, without limitation, the authority of the department of safety and professional services to apply
ch. SPS 347.
NR 746.01 Note
Note: This rule, adopted jointly by the Department of Commerce and the Department of Natural Resources, also appears in the Wisconsin Administrative Code as ch.
SPS 346.
NR 746.01 History
History: Cr.
Register, January, 2001, No. 541, eff. 2-1-01; correction made under s.
13.92 (4) (b) 6.,
7., Stats.,
Register January 2012 No. 673.
NR 746.02
NR 746.02
Applicability. This chapter only applies to sites where petroleum products have discharged from petroleum storage tanks.
NR 746.02 History
History: Cr.
Register, January, 2001, No. 541, eff. 2-1-01.
NR 746.03
NR 746.03
Definitions. In this chapter:
NR 746.03 Note
Note: Under s.
292.01 (3), Stats., "discharge" means, but is not limited to, "spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring, emitting, emptying or dumping."
NR 746.03(2)
(2) "DNR" means the department of natural resources.
NR 746.03 Note
Note: Section
160.01 (2), Stats., defines "enforcement standard" to mean "a numerical value expressing the concentration of a substance in groundwater which is adopted under ss.
160.07 and
160.09."
NR 746.03(4)
(4) "Free product" means petroleum product that is not in dissolved phase, and is present with a thickness of 0.01 feet or more as verified by more than one sampling event.
NR 746.03 Note
Note: Section
160.01 (4), Stats., defines "groundwater" to mean "any water of the state, as defined in s.
281.01 (18), occurring in a saturated subsurface geological formation of rock or soil." Section
281.01 (18), Stats., defines "waters of the state" to include "those portions of Lake Michigan and Lake Superior within the boundaries of this state, and all lakes, bays, rivers, streams, springs, ponds, wells, impounding reservoirs, marshes, watercourses, drainage systems and other surface water or groundwater, natural or artificial, public or private, within this state or its jurisdiction."
NR 746.03 Note
Note: Section
101.144 (1)(aq), Stats., defines "high-risk site" to mean "the site of a discharge of a petroleum product from a petroleum storage tank if at least one of the following applies:
NR 746.03 Note
1. Repeated tests show that the discharge has resulted in a concentration of contaminants in a well used to provide water for human consumption that exceeds a preventive action limit, as defined in s.
160.01 (6), Stats.
NR 746.03 Note
2. Petroleum product that is not in dissolved phase is present with a thickness of 0.01 feet or more, as shown by repeated measurements.
NR 746.03 Note
3. An enforcement standard is exceeded in groundwater within 1,000 feet of a well operated by a public utility, as defined in s.
196.01 (5), Stats., or within 100 feet of any other well used to provide water for human consumption.
NR 746.03 Note
4. An enforcement standard is exceeded in fractured bedrock."
NR 746.03(7)
(7) "Low permeability material" means subsurface material above bedrock, as defined in
s. NR 141.05 (5), that is at or below the water table and has a hydraulic conductivity less than or equal to 1 x 10 –5 centimeters per second that has been determined as required in
s. NR 746.05.
NR 746.03 Note
Note: Section
NR 141.05 (5) defines "bedrock" to mean " the solid rock underlying any loose surficial material such as soil, alluvium or glacial drift. Bedrock includes but is not limited to limestone, dolomite, sandstone, shale and igneous and metamorphic rock." In the absence of evidence to the contrary, the agencies consider all bedrock in Wisconsin to be fractured.
NR 746.03(8)
(8) "Low risk site" means the site of a discharge of a petroleum product from a petroleum storage tank where contaminants are contained only within the soil on the source property and there is no confirmed contamination in the groundwater.
NR 746.03(9)
(9) "Medium risk site" means the site of a discharge of a petroleum product from a petroleum storage tank where contaminants have extended beyond the boundary of the source property, or there is confirmed contamination in the groundwater, but the site does not meet the definition of a high-risk site.
NR 746.03(10)
(10) "Monitoring well" means a groundwater monitoring well designed, installed, constructed and developed in accordance with the requirements of
ch. NR 141, for the purpose of monitoring groundwater or obtaining geologic or groundwater related data. The term "monitoring well" includes piezometers and water table observation wells.
NR 746.03 Note
Note: Section
101.143 (1)(cq), Stats., defines "natural attenuation" to mean "the reduction in the concentration and mass of a substance, and the products into which the substance breaks down, due to naturally occurring physical, chemical and biological processes." These processes occur without human intervention or enhancement, and include, but are not limited to, dispersion, diffusion, sorption and retardation, and degradation processes such as biodegradation, abiotic degradation and radioactive decay.
NR 746.03(12)
(12) "Permeable material" means a subsurface material that is at or below the water table and that is not a low permeability material.
NR 746.03 Note
Note: Section
101.143 (1)(f), Stats., defines "petroleum product" to mean "gasoline, gasoline alcohol fuel blends, kerosene, fuel oil, burner oil, diesel fuel or used motor oil." The term "petroleum product" includes substances that are, or once were, constituents of a petroleum product, including petroleum product additives.
NR 746.03 Note
Note: Section
101.144 (1)(bm), Stats., defines "petroleum storage tank" to mean "a storage tank that is used to store petroleum products together with any on-site integral piping or dispensing system." The term "petroleum storage tank" does not include a pipeline facility.
NR 746.03 Note
Note: Section
160.01 (6), Stats., defines "preventive action limit" to mean "a numerical value expressing the concentration of a substance in groundwater which is adopted under s.
160.15."
NR 746.03 Note
Note: Section
160.01(6m), Stats., defines "property boundary" to mean "the boundary of the total contiguous parcel of land owned by a common owner, regardless of whether public or private roads run through the parcel."
NR 746.03(17)
(17) "Release" means the discharge to the environment from a petroleum storage tank.
NR 746.03(18)
(18) "Remedial action" means a response action taken to control, minimize or eliminate the discharge of petroleum products so that they do not present an actual or potential threat to public health, safety or welfare or the environment. The term "remedial action" includes actions taken to restore the environment to the extent practicable and to meet applicable environmental standards, and includes natural attenuation. Examples include containment, treatment, excavation, disposal, recycling or reuse, and any monitoring required to assure that such actions protect public health, safety and welfare and the environment.
NR 746.03(19)
(19) "Remediation target" means a goal that may be set for a site, to clearly establish the contaminant concentration in groundwater or soil, or both, that when achieved will result in the granting of site closure.
NR 746.03 Note
Note: Section
101.144(1)(d), Stats., defines "responsible person" to mean "a person who owns or operates a petroleum storage tank, a person who causes a discharge from a petroleum storage tank or a person on whose property a petroleum storage tank is located."
