LRB-2379/1
RCT:bjk:ph
2009 - 2010 LEGISLATURE
April 2, 2009 - Introduced by Representatives Clark, Tauchen, Berceau, Bernard
Schaber, Hebl, Jorgensen, Lothian, Molepske Jr., A. Ott, Parisi,
Pope-Roberts, Richards, Ripp, Roys, Sinicki, Smith
and Townsend,
cosponsored by Senators Miller, Kedzie, Cowles, Erpenbach, Harsdorf,
Holperin, Lassa, Lehman, Olsen, Plale, Risser, Schultz
and Taylor.
Referred to Committee on Natural Resources.
AB180,2,2 1An Act to repeal 299.80 (16) (b), 299.83 (3) (d) 1. b., 299.83 (5) (c) 1. b., 299.83
2(11) and 299.85 (11); to renumber and amend 299.80 (16) (a) and 299.85 (2)
3(f); to consolidate, renumber and amend 299.83 (3) (d) 1. (intro.) and a. and
4299.83 (5) (c) 1. (intro.) and a.; to amend 299.83 (title), 299.83 (1) (dg.) (intro.),
5299.83 (1) (dg.) 1., 299.83 (1) (dg.) 3., 299.83 (1) (dg.) 7., 299.83 (1) (f), 299.83 (3)
6(e), 299.83 (4) (c), 299.83 (4m) (d), 299.83 (5) (e), 299.83 (6) (a) 1., 299.83 (6) (j),
7299.83 (6) (k), 299.83 (6m) (b) 1., 299.83 (6m) (b) 2. (intro.), 299.83 (6m) (c),
8299.83 (6m) (d) 1. a., 299.83 (6m) (d) 2. b., 299.83 (7e) (a), 299.83 (7m), 299.83
9(8) (h), 299.85 (title), 299.85 (2) (intro.), 299.85 (3) (intro.), 299.85 (4), 299.85 (6)
10(b) (intro.), 299.85 (7) (a) 1. and 2., 299.85 (8) (intro.) and 299.85 (9m) (intro.);
11and to create 299.83 (1) (dg.) 5m., 299.83 (1) (dg.) 10g., 299.83 (1) (dg.) 10r.,
12299.83 (6) (L) and 299.83 (6m) (am) of the statutes; relating to: changes to and
13extension of the Environmental Results Program, extension of the
14Environmental Improvement Program and the length of a compliance schedule

1under that program, and reporting requirements for certain environmental
2programs.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
Environmental Results Program
Under current law, the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) administers
the Environmental Results Program (ERP, also called Green Tier) under which
qualified participants agree to improve their environmental performance and
implement environmental management systems in return for incentives provided by
DNR. There are two tiers of participation in ERP. A participant in tier II enters into
a participation contract with DNR that sets forth the commitments of the participant
and the incentives that DNR will provide. This bill makes various changes in ERP.
Under current law, DNR may not approve any application for participation in
ERP after July 1, 2009. This bill eliminates that restriction.
Under current law, certain environmental enforcement actions taken against
an entity disqualify the entity from acceptance into ERP for a specified period. The
act that created ERP, in 2004, gave the secretary of natural resources temporary
authority to waive the provisions concerning an entity's environmental enforcement
record if the secretary determined that the waiver was consistent with the purposes
of ERP and that the waiver would not erode public confidence in the integrity of ERP.
The waiver authority expired at the end of 2006. This bill allows the secretary of
natural resources to waive the provisions concerning an entity's environmental
enforcement record based on the same criteria as under former law. The bill does not
contain a termination date for the waiver authority.
Current law requires participants in ERP to conduct annual audits of their
environmental management systems and, for participants in tier II, annual audits
of their compliance with environmental laws and to report the results of those audits
to DNR. Under the law, if an audit reveals a violation of an environmental law, the
participant must provide information about the violation to DNR. If a participant
complies with these requirements and corrects the violation within a specified
period, the participant is generally exempt from paying a forfeiture (civil monetary
penalty) for the violation.
This bill authorizes a participant in ERP to report to DNR a violation of an
environmental law that it discovers, other than through an annual audit. If the
participant reports within 30 days of discovering the violation, provides required
information about the violation, and corrects the violation within a specified period,
the participant is generally exempt from paying a forfeiture (civil monetary penalty)
for the violation.
Currently under ERP, a participant is required to correct a violation within 90
days unless DNR approves a longer compliance schedule. The law prohibits DNR
from approving a compliance schedule that is more than 12 months long. This bill
authorizes DNR to approve a longer compliance schedule if the secretary of natural
resources determines that a longer schedule is necessary.

Currently, DNR administers the Environmental Cooperation Pilot Program
under which DNR was authorized, before October 1, 2002, to enter into not more than
ten cooperative agreements with persons subject to environmental laws. The term
of an agreement is five years with the possibility of one renewal for five years. In a
cooperative agreement, a participant in the program is required to implement an
environmental management system and to improve its environmental performance.
In return, DNR may grant operational flexibility and, under specified circumstances,
provide variances from requirements under environmental laws.
This bill provides a process under which a participant in the Environmental
Cooperation Pilot Program may become a participant in tier II of ERP, using the
cooperative agreement under the pilot program as a basis for a participation contract
under ERP.
Currently, under ERP, DNR may issue an environmental results charter to an
association of entities to assist the entities to participate in tier I or tier II and to
achieve improvements in the quality of the air, water, or other natural resources
beyond that achieved through compliance with environmental laws (superior
environmental performance). Under this bill, DNR may issue a charter to an
association of entities to assist the entities to participate in tier I or tier II or to take
actions that may lead to superior environmental performance.
The bill makes some changes in the required characteristics of an
environmental management system and gives an applicant for tier I of ERP one year
from the date that DNR approves its application, rather than one year from the date
of application, to implement an environmental management system that complies
with the law's requirements. The bill also changes the name of ERP to the Green Tier
Program.
Environmental Improvement Program
The Environmental Improvement Program (EIP), administered by DNR, limits
to $500 the amount of a forfeiture (civil monetary penalty) that a qualifying entity
can be required to pay because of a violation of an environmental law if the entity
discovers the violation through an environmental compliance audit, reports the
violation to DNR, and corrects the violation within a specified time. Current law
sunsets the EIP on July 1, 2009.
This bill eliminates the sunset of EIP.
Currently, an entity does not qualify for EIP if within two years before it
submits the environmental compliance audit the Department of Justice (DOJ) filed
suit against the entity to enforce an environmental requirement or DNR or a local
government issued a citation to the entity to enforce an environmental requirement.
This bill eliminates the automatic disqualification provision. Instead, under
the bill, DNR must consider whether DOJ filed a suit against an entity to enforce an
environmental requirement within two years before the entity notifies DNR that it
will conduct an environmental compliance audit. If DNR determines that, because
of the nature of the violation involved in a suit, the entity's participation would
damage the integrity of EIP, DNR must notify the entity that it is not eligible for
participation.

Currently under EIP, a qualifying entity is required to correct a violation within
90 days unless DNR approves a longer compliance schedule. The law prohibits DNR
from approving a compliance schedule that is more than 12 months long. This bill
authorizes DNR to approve a longer compliance schedule if the secretary of natural
resources determines that a longer schedule is necessary. The bill also changes the
name of EIP to the Environmental Compliance Audit Program.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do
enact as follows:
AB180, s. 1 1Section 1. 299.80 (16) (a) of the statutes is renumbered 299.80 (16) and
2amended to read:
AB180,4,83 299.80 (16) Beginning not later than November 1, 1998, the secretary of
4natural resources
Every even-numbered year, no later than December 15, the
5department
shall submit an annual a progress report on the program under this
6section to the governor and, under s. 13.172 (3), the standing committees of the
7legislature with jurisdiction over environmental matters. This subsection does not
8apply after December 31, 2012.
AB180, s. 2 9Section 2. 299.80 (16) (b) of the statutes is repealed.
AB180, s. 3 10Section 3. 299.83 (title) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB180,4,11 11299.83 (title) Environmental Results Green Tier Program.
AB180, s. 4 12Section 4. 299.83 (1) (dg.) (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB180,4,1813 299.83 (1) (dg.) (intro.) "Functionally equivalent environmental management
14system" means an environmental management system that is appropriate to the
15nature, scale, and environmental impacts of an entity's activities, products, and
16services and
that includes all of the following elements and any other elements that
17the department determines are essential elements of International Organization for
18Standardization standard 14001:
AB180, s. 5 19Section 5. 299.83 (1) (dg.) 1. of the statutes is amended to read:
AB180,5,4
1299.83 (1) (dg.) 1. Adoption of an environmental policy that includes a
2commitment to compliance with environmental requirements, pollution prevention,
3and continual improvement in environmental performance and that is available to
4the public
.
AB180, s. 6 5Section 6. 299.83 (1) (dg.) 3. of the statutes is amended to read:
AB180,5,86 299.83 (1) (dg.) 3. Plans Establishment and implementation of plans and
7procedures to achieve compliance with environmental requirements and to maintain
8that compliance.
AB180, s. 7 9Section 7. 299.83 (1) (dg.) 5m. of the statutes is created to read:
AB180,5,1210 299.83 (1) (dg.) 5m. Establishment, implementation, and maintenance of
11resources, roles, and responsibilities for establishing, implementing, maintaining,
12and improving the environmental management system.
AB180, s. 8 13Section 8. 299.83 (1) (dg.) 7. of the statutes is amended to read:
AB180,5,1614 299.83 (1) (dg.) 7. An Establishment, implementation, and maintenance of an
15employee training program to develop awareness of and competence to manage
16environmental issues.
AB180, s. 9 17Section 9. 299.83 (1) (dg.) 10g. of the statutes is created to read:
AB180,5,2018 299.83 (1) (dg.) 10g. Establishment, implementation, and maintenance of
19procedures to monitor and measure, on a regular basis, key characteristics of an
20entity's operations that can have a significant environmental impact.
AB180, s. 10 21Section 10. 299.83 (1) (dg.) 10r. of the statutes is created to read:
AB180,5,2422 299.83 (1) (dg.) 10r. Establishment, implementation, and maintenance of
23procedures for periodically evaluating compliance with applicable environmental
24requirements.
AB180, s. 11 25Section 11. 299.83 (1) (f) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB180,6,2
1299.83 (1) (f) "Program" means the Environmental Results Green Tier
2Program under this section.
AB180, s. 12 3Section 12. 299.83 (3) (d) 1. (intro.) and a. of the statutes are consolidated,
4renumbered 299.83 (3) (d) 1. and amended to read:
AB180,6,115 299.83 (3) (d) 1. Demonstrate that it has implemented, or commit itself to
6implementing within one year of the department's approval of its application, an
7environmental management system, for each covered facility or activity, that is all
8of the following: a. In
in compliance with the standards for environmental
9management systems issued by the International Organization for Standardization
10or determined by the department to be a functionally equivalent environmental
11management system.
AB180, s. 13 12Section 13. 299.83 (3) (d) 1. b. of the statutes is repealed.
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