LRB-3067/1
RCT:cmh:km
1999 - 2000 LEGISLATURE
May 17, 1999 - Introduced by Representative Kelso, cosponsored by Senator
George. Referred to Joint committee on Audit.
AB347,1,10 1An Act to repeal 101.143 (3) (g) 2.; to renumber and amend 101.143 (4) (cm);
2to consolidate, renumber and amend 101.143 (3) (g) (intro.) and 1.; to
3amend
101.143 (3) (c) 2., 101.143 (3) (cm), 101.143 (3) (d), 101.143 (4) (b) (intro.)
4and 101.143 (4) (d) 2. (intro.); and to create 101.143 (1) (bm), 101.143 (1) (cq),
5101.143 (2) (h), 101.143 (2) (i), 101.143 (2) (j), 101.143 (2e), 101.143 (3) (cg),
6101.143 (3) (cp), 101.143 (3) (cs), 101.143 (3) (cw), 101.143 (4) (c) 10., 101.143
7(4) (c) 11., 101.143 (4) (c) 12., 101.143 (4) (cm) 2. and 101.143 (11) of the statutes;
8relating to: the petroleum storage remedial action program, providing an
9exemption from emergency rule-making procedures and granting
10rule-making authority.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
Under current law, the department of commerce administers a program to
reimburse owners of certain petroleum product storage tanks for a portion of the
costs of cleaning up discharges from those tanks. This program is commonly known
as PECFA. This bill makes numerous changes concerning PECFA.
This bill requires the department of commerce, in consultation with the
department of natural resources (DNR), to promulgate rules specifying a method for

determining the risk to public health, safety and welfare and to the environment
posed by discharges of petroleum products. Under the bill, to be eligible for PECFA
reimbursement, the owner of a petroleum product storage tank may not begin a
cleanup without the approval of the department of commerce and DNR. The
department of commerce and DNR will jointly determine the appropriate date to
begin a cleanup based on the determination of the risk posed by a discharge and on
the availability of funds to make PECFA reimbursements. The requirement for
approval to begin a cleanup does not apply to emergency cleanups authorized by
DNR or to cleanups of discharges from home heating oil tanks, small farm tanks and
school district heating oil tanks.
Under current law, DNR generally may order a responsible person to conduct
a cleanup of a hazardous substance that has been discharged into the environment
and may oversee the cleanup. However, under current law, the department of
commerce may order and oversee cleanups of certain discharges from petroleum
product storage tanks. The department of commerce has authority over cleanups if
the site of the discharge is classified as low or medium priority based on the threat
that the discharge poses to public health, safety and welfare and to the environment
and if the site is not contaminated by nonpetroleum hazardous substances. Current
law requires DNR and the department of commerce to enter into a memorandum of
understanding that establishes procedures and standards for determining whether
a site is high, medium or low priority. Under this state's groundwater law, DNR and
the department of health and family services set enforcement standards which
represent a concentration of a pollutant in groundwater. If an activity or facility
causes the concentration of a pollutant in groundwater to reach or exceed the
enforcement standard, the state agency that regulates the activity or facility must,
generally, prohibit the activity or practice that uses or produces the pollutant and
implement remedial action.
This bill requires the department of commerce to determine the least costly
method of conducting a cleanup and achieving compliance with enforcement
standards for PECFA sites that are classified as low or medium priority. The bill
requires the department of commerce and DNR jointly to determine the least costly
method of conducting a cleanup and achieving compliance with enforcement
standards for PECFA sites that are classified as high priority. The bill limits the
amount of reimbursement under PECFA to the amount necessary to implement the
least costly method of conducting the cleanup and achieving compliance with
enforcement standards. The bill requires the departments to consider whether
natural attenuation can be used for each cleanup. Natural attenuation is the
naturally occurring reduction in the amount and concentration of a substance in the
environment.
This bill generally requires the department of commerce to use a competitive
public bidding process to help to determine the least costly method of conducting a
cleanup if the estimated cost to complete an investigation, clean-up plan and
cleanup exceeds $60,000. The bill provides an exemption from the bidding
requirement for certain sites with groundwater contamination near wells and allows
DNR to waive the bidding requirement.

This bill requires the department of commerce to conduct an annual review of
ongoing PECFA cleanups at low and medium priority sites and the department of
commerce and DNR to conduct an annual review of ongoing PECFA cleanups at high
priority sites. As part of an annual review, the departments must determine the least
costly method of completing the cleanup and achieving compliance with enforcement
standards. The bill limits the amount of reimbursement under PECFA for costs
incurred after the annual review to the amount necessary to complete the cleanup
and achieve compliance with enforcement standards using the least costly method.
Current law authorizes the department of commerce to establish a schedule of
usual and customary costs for items eligible for PECFA reimbursement. If the
department of commerce establishes a usual and customary cost for an item, PECFA
reimbursement for that item is limited to the usual and customary cost. This bill
requires the department of commerce to establish a schedule of usual and customary
costs for items that are commonly included in PECFA claims. The bill requires the
department of commerce to use the schedule to determine eligible costs for cleanups
for which a public bidding process is not used. This requirement applies until June
30, 2001.
Under PECFA, the owner of a petroleum product storage tank may receive an
award for the amount by which the cost of the cleanup exceeds a deductible amount,
up to a specified maximum. Currently, the PECFA deductible for underground tanks
is generally $2,500 plus 5% of eligible costs, but not more than $7,500, except that
the deductible for heating oil tanks owned by school districts and technical college
districts is 25% of eligible costs.
This bill changes the PECFA deductible for certain underground petroleum
storage tanks. Under the bill, the deductible for underground tanks, other than
school district and technical college district heating oil tanks, is generally 100% of
the amount by which eligible costs exceed $18,750 but do not exceed $21,250, plus
10% of the amount by which eligible costs exceed $21,250 but do not exceed $40,000,
plus 5% of the amount by which eligible costs exceed $40,000, but the maximum
deductible remains $7,500.
This bill requires the department of commerce, in consultation with DNR, to
promulgate rules specifying the conditions under which the two departments must
issue approvals of cleanups under PECFA. The bill also requires the department of
commerce, in consultation with DNR, to promulgate rules specifying information
that must be submitted under PECFA, review procedures that must be followed by
employes of the department of commerce and DNR and training requirements for
those employes.
For further information see the state fiscal estimate, which will be printed as
an appendix to this bill.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do
enact as follows:
AB347, s. 1 1Section 1. 101.143 (1) (bm) of the statutes is created to read:
AB347,4,2
1101.143 (1) (bm) "Enforcement standard" has the meaning given in s. 160.01
2(2).
AB347, s. 2 3Section 2. 101.143 (1) (cq) of the statutes is created to read:
AB347,4,64 101.143 (1) (cq) "Natural attenuation" means the reduction in the
5concentration and mass of a substance, and the products into which the substance
6breaks down, due to naturally occurring physical, chemical and biological processes.
AB347, s. 3 7Section 3. 101.143 (2) (h) of the statutes is created to read:
AB347,4,118 101.143 (2) (h) The department of commerce, in consultation with the
9department of natural resources, shall promulgate rules designed to facilitate
10effective and cost-efficient administration of the program under this section that
11specify all of the following:
AB347,4,1412 1. Information that must be submitted under this section, including quarterly
13summaries of costs incurred with respect to a discharge for which a claim is intended
14to be submitted under sub. (3) but for which a final claim has not been submitted.
AB347,4,1515 2. Formats for submitting the information under subd. 1.
AB347,4,1816 3. Review procedures that must be followed by employes of the department of
17natural resources and the department of commerce in reviewing the information
18under subd. 1.
AB347, s. 4 19Section 4. 101.143 (2) (i) of the statutes is created to read:
AB347,4,2520 101.143 (2) (i) The department of commerce, in consultation with the
21department of natural resources, shall promulgate rules specifying procedures for
22evaluating remedial actions under sub. (3) (c) 3. to be used by employes of the
23department of commerce and the department of natural resources while remedial
24actions are being conducted. The department of commerce shall specify procedures
25that include all of the following for ongoing remedial actions:
AB347,5,2
11. Annual reviews that include application of the method under sub. (2e) (a) to
2determine the risk posed by discharges that are the subject of the remedial actions.
AB347,5,43 2. Annual reports by consultants estimating the additional costs that must be
4incurred to comply with sub. (3) (c) 3. and with enforcement standards.
AB347, s. 5 5Section 5. 101.143 (2) (j) of the statutes is created to read:
AB347,5,86 101.143 (2) (j) The department of commerce, in consultation with the
7department of natural resources, shall promulgate rules specifying all of the
8following:
AB347,5,109 1. The conditions under which employes of the department of commerce and
10the department of natural resources must issue approvals under sub. (3) (c) 4.
AB347,5,1211 2. Training and management procedures to ensure that employes comply with
12the requirements under subd. 1.
AB347, s. 6 13Section 6. 101.143 (2e) of the statutes is created to read:
AB347,5,1914 101.143 (2e) Risk-based analysis. (a) The department of commerce, in
15consultation with the department of natural resources, shall promulgate rules
16specifying a method, which shall include consideration of the routes for migration of
17petroleum product contamination, for determining the risk to public health, safety
18and welfare and to the environment posed by discharges for which the department
19of commerce receives notification under sub. (3) (a) 3.
AB347,5,2320 (b) The department of natural resources or, if the discharge is covered under
21s. 101.144 (2) (b), the department of commerce shall apply the method under par. (a)
22to determine the risk posed by a discharge for which the department of commerce
23receives notification under sub. (3) (a) 3.
AB347, s. 7 24Section 7. 101.143 (3) (c) 2. of the statutes is amended to read:
AB347,6,3
1101.143 (3) (c) 2. Prepare a remedial action plan that identifies specific
2remedial action activities proposed to be conducted under subd. 3. and submit the
3remedial action plan to the department.
AB347, s. 8 4Section 8. 101.143 (3) (cg) of the statutes is created to read:
AB347,6,125 101.143 (3) (cg) Approval to begin remedial action. 1. Except as provided in
6subds. 2. and 3., to be eligible for an award under sub. (4) an owner or operator may
7not begin remedial action under par. (c) 3. with respect to a discharge without the
8approval of the department of commerce and the department of natural resources.
9The department of commerce and the department of natural resources shall jointly
10determine when it is appropriate to begin remedial action with respect to a discharge
11based on the determination of risk under sub. (2e) (b) for the discharge and the
12availability of funds to pay awards under sub. (4).
AB347,6,1613 2. Subdivision 1. does not apply if the discharge is from a home oil tank system,
14a petroleum product storage system that is described in sub. (4) (ei) 1. or a petroleum
15product storage system that is owned by a school district and that is used for storing
16heating oil for consumptive use on the premises where stored.
AB347,6,1817 3. Subdivision 1. does not apply to remedial action in response to an emergency
18if par. (g) applies.
AB347,6,2119 4. Notwithstanding s. 292.11 (3) and (7) (c), an owner or operator to whom subd.
201. applies is not required to begin remedial action under par. (c) 3. until the owner
21or operator receives approval under subd. 1.
AB347, s. 9 22Section 9. 101.143 (3) (cm) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB347,7,323 101.143 (3) (cm) Monitoring as remedial action. An owner or operator or person
24owning a home oil tank system may, with the approval of the department of natural
25resources or, if the discharge is covered under s. 101.144 (2) (b), the department of

1commerce, satisfy the requirements of par. (c) 2. and 3. by proposing and
2implementing monitoring to ensure the effectiveness of the natural process of
3degradation
attenuation of petroleum product contamination.
AB347, s. 10 4Section 10. 101.143 (3) (cp) of the statutes is created to read:
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