The department’s authority for revising the rule is explicitly granted by the Legislature in s. 254.41, Stats., which reads: Radiation monitoring of nuclear power plants. The department shall take environmental samples to test for radiation emission in any area of the state within 20 miles of a nuclear power plant. The department shall charge the owners of each nuclear power plant in the state an annual fee of $30,000 per plant, commencing in fiscal year 1983-84, to finance radiation monitoring under this section. The department may change this annual fee by rule.
5. Estimate of amount of time that state employees will spend developing the rule and of other resources necessary to develop the rule:
The department will require approximately 400 hours of staff time to promulgate the rule. The department will form an ad hoc advisory group consisting of representatives of the three utilities that own nuclear power plants in Wisconsin.
6. List with description of all entities that may be affected by the proposed rule:
The three utility companies that own nuclear power plants in Wisconsin, as follows:
- Dairyland Power (La Crosse Boiling Water Reactor)
- Dominion Energy (Kewaunee nuclear plant)
- Next Era Energy (Point Beach nuclear plant)
7. Summary and preliminary comparison with any existing or proposed federal regulation that is intended to address the activities to be regulated by the proposed rule:
Chapter DHS 158 has no corollary in federal regulation. 8. Anticipated economic impact of implementing the rule:
The proposed rule is anticipated to have little to no economic impact if promulgated. The new fee structure will be based on projected program costs over the next three fiscal years to conduct an environmental radiation monitoring program around the nuclear power plants impacting Wisconsin. Although there may be a fee increase for some types of facilities, fees for the different categories of plants (operating, shut down, decommissioning) are not expected to differ by more than 25% from the mandated or voluntary fees currently paid by the plants.
Contact Person:
Paul Schmidt
Division of Public health
Bureau of Environmental and Occupational Health
608 267-4792
