292.41(3)(a)(a) After consultation with other affected federal, state and local agencies and private organizations, the department shall establish by rule criteria and procedures for the development, establishment and amendment of a contingency plan for the taking of emergency actions in relation to abandoned containers.
292.41(3)(b)
(b) The contingency plan shall establish procedures and techniques for locating, identifying, removing and disposing of abandoned containers.
292.41(4)
(4) Removal or other emergency action. The department or its authorized representative may contain, remove or dispose of abandoned containers or take any other emergency action which it deems appropriate under the circumstances.
292.41(5)
(5) Access to property and records. Any officer, employe or authorized representative of the department, upon notice to the owner or occupant, may enter onto any property, premises or place at any time for the purposes of
sub. (3) if the entry is necessary to prevent increased damage to the air, land or waters of the state, or may inspect any record relating to abandoned container management for the purpose of ascertaining the state of compliance with this section and the rules promulgated under this section. Notice to the owner or occupant is not required if the delay in providing the notice is likely to result in imminent risk to public health or welfare or the environment.
292.41(6)
(6) Abandoned containers; appropriations. 292.41(6)(a)(a) The department may utilize moneys appropriated under
s. 20.370 (2) (dv) and
(my) in taking action under
sub. (4). The department shall utilize these moneys to provide for the procurement, maintenance and storage of necessary equipment and supplies, personnel training and expenses incurred in locating, identifying, removing and disposing of abandoned containers.
292.41(6)(b)
(b) No more than 25% of the total of all moneys available under the appropriation under
s. 20.370 (2) (dv) and
(my) may be used annually for the procurement and maintenance of necessary equipment during that fiscal year.
292.41(6)(c)
(c) The department is entitled to recover moneys expended under this section from any person who caused the containers to be abandoned or is responsible for the containers. The funds recovered under this paragraph shall be deposited into the environmental fund for environmental management.
292.51
292.51
Cooperative remedial action. 292.51(1)
(1) In this section, "costs of remedying environmental contamination" means costs determined by the department to be necessary to reduce or eliminate environmental contamination and restore the environment, including costs of investigation and of providing public information and education related to reducing or eliminating environmental contamination and restoring the environment.
292.51(2)
(2) The department may seek and receive voluntary contributions of funds from a municipality or any other public or private source for all or part of the costs of remedying environmental contamination if the activities being funded are part of a cooperative effort, by the department and the person providing the funds, to remedy that environmental contamination. All contributions received under this subsection shall be deposited in the environmental fund.
292.51(2m)
(2m) Any person engaged in a cooperative effort with the department that is described in
sub. (2) may seek and receive voluntary contributions of funds on behalf of the effort.
292.51(3)
(3) Provision of funding under
sub. (2) or
(2m) is not evidence of liability or an admission of liability for any environmental contamination.
292.51(4)
(4) In carrying out its regulatory and enforcement duties, the department may not base its treatment of a person on whether the person did or did not provide funding under
sub. (2).
292.51 History
History: 1995 a. 27;
1995 a. 227 s.
824; Stats. 1995 s. 292.51;
1997 a. 27.
292.55
292.55
Requests for liability clarification and technical assistance. 292.55(1)(a)(a) The department may, upon request, assist a person to determine whether the person is or may become liable for the environmental pollution of a property.
292.55(1)(b)
(b) The department may, upon request, assist in, or provide comments on, the planning and implementation of an environmental investigation of a property or the environmental cleanup of a property.
292.55(1)(c)
(c) The department may determine whether further action is necessary to remedy environmental pollution of a property.
292.55(1)(d)
(d) The department may issue a letter to a person seeking assistance under this subsection concerning any of the following:
292.55(1)(d)1.
1. The liability of a person owning or leasing a property for environmental pollution of the property.
292.55(1)(d)2.
2. The type and extent of environmental pollution of a property.
292.55(1)(d)4.
4. Any other matter related to the request for assistance under this subsection.
292.55(2)
(2) The department may assess and collect fees from a person to offset the costs of providing assistance under
sub. (1). The department shall promulgate rules for the assessment and collection of fees under this subsection. Fees collected under this subsection shall be credited to the appropriation account under
s. 20.370 (2) (dh).
292.55 History
History: 1997 a. 27.
292.65
292.65
Dry cleaner environmental response program. 292.65(1)(b)
(b) "Case closure letter" means a letter provided by the department that states that, based on information available to the department, no further remedial action is necessary with respect to a dry cleaning solvent discharge.
292.65(1)(d)
(d) "Dry cleaning facility" means a facility for dry cleaning apparel or household fabrics for the general public other than a facility that is one of the following:
292.65(1)(d)2.
2. A facility that is located on a U.S. military installation.
292.65(1)(d)6.
6. A facility that is located at a prison or other penal institution.
292.65(1)(d)7.
7. A facility that is located at a nonprofit hospital or at another nonprofit health care institution.
292.65(1)(d)8.
8. A facility that is located on property that is owned by the federal government or by this state or that is located on property that was owned by the federal government or by this state when the facility was operating.
292.65(1)(e)
(e) "Dry cleaning solvent" means a chlorine-based or hydrocarbon-based formulation or product that is used as a primary cleaning agent in dry cleaning facilities.
292.65(1)(gm)
(gm) "Immediate action" means a remedial action that is taken within a short time after a discharge of dry cleaning solvent occurs, or after the discovery of a discharge of dry cleaning solvent, to halt the discharge, contain or remove discharged dry cleaning solvent or remove contaminated soil or water in order to restore the environment to the extent practicable and to minimize the harmful effects of the discharge to air, lands and waters of the state and to eliminate any imminent threat to public health, safety or welfare.
292.65(1)(h)2.
2. A subsidiary or parent corporation of the person specified under
subd. 1.
292.65(1)(i)1.
1. A person who owns, or has possession or control of, a dry cleaning facility, or who receives direct or indirect consideration from the operation of a dry cleaning facility regardless of whether the dry cleaning facility remains in operation and regardless of whether the person owns or receives consideration at the time that environmental pollution occurs.
292.65(1)(i)2.
2. A subsidiary or parent corporation of the person specified under
subd. 1.
292.65(1)(j)
(j) "Program year" means the period beginning on July 1, and ending on the following June 30.
292.65(1)(L)
(L) "Service provider" means a consultant, testing laboratory, monitoring well installer, soil boring contractor, other contractor, lender or any other person who provides a product or service for which an application for reimbursement has been or will be filed under this section, or a subcontractor of such a person.
292.65(1)(m)
(m) "Subsidiary or parent corporation" means a business entity, including a subsidiary, parent corporation or other business arrangement, that has elements of common ownership or control or that uses a long-term contractual arrangement with a person to avoid direct responsibility for conditions at a dry cleaning facility.
292.65(3)(a)(a) The department shall promulgate rules for the administration of the program under this section.
292.65(3)(am)1.1. The department shall establish a method for determining the order in which it pays awards under this section. Except as provided in
subds. 2. and
3., the method shall be based on environmental factors and on the order in which applications are received.
292.65(3)(am)2.
2. The department shall pay an award for immediate action activities. For the purposes of this subdivision, removal of contaminated soils and recovery of free dry cleaning solvent are not considered immediate action activities.
292.65(3)(am)3.
3. After awards for immediate action activities, the department shall give highest priority to paying awards for eligible costs incurred before October 14, 1997.
292.65(3)(b)
(b) The department shall promote the program under this section to persons who may be eligible for awards.
292.65(3)(c)
(c) The department shall allocate 9.7% of the funds appropriated under
s. 20.370 (6) (eq) in each fiscal year for awards for immediate action activities and applications that exceed the amount anticipated.
292.65(3)(d)
(d) The department shall keep records and statistics on the program under this section and shall periodically evaluate the effectiveness of the program.
292.65(3)(e)
(e) No later than January 1, 2002, the department shall complete a review of the program under this section and shall submit a report on the results of the review to the joint committee on finance and to the appropriate standing committees of the legislature, as determined by the speaker of the house and the president of the senate, under
s. 13.172 (3). The report shall include the department's recommendations for changes to the program. The review shall include consideration of whether the program should be expanded or ended, whether the program should be incorporated into a broader program of financial assistance for the remediation of environmental contamination and whether private insurance coverage should be required for any dry cleaning facilities.
292.65(4)(a)(a)
General requirements. To be eligible for an award under this section, the owner or operator of a dry cleaning facility shall comply with
pars. (b),
(c),
(e),
(f) and
(j) and the other requirements of this section applicable to the owner or operator.
292.65(4)(b)
(b)
Report. An owner or operator shall report a dry cleaning solvent discharge to the department in a timely manner, as provided in
s. 292.11.
292.65(4)(c)1.1. An owner or operator shall notify the department, before conducting a site investigation or any remedial action activity, of the potential for submitting an application for an award under this section, except as provided in
subd. 2.
292.65(4)(c)2.
2. Subdivision 1. does not apply to an owner or operator who began a site investigation or remedial action activity before October 14, 1997.
292.65(4)(d)
(d)
Information from department. When an owner or operator notifies the department under
par. (c) 1., the department shall provide the owner or operator with information on the program under this section and the department's estimate of the eligibility of the owner or operator for an award under this section.
292.65(4)(e)
(e)
Investigation. After notifying the department under
par. (c) 1., if applicable, and before conducting remedial action activities, an owner or operator shall complete an investigation to determine the extent of environmental impact of the dry cleaning solvent discharge, except as provided in
pars. (g) and
(h).
292.65(4)(f)
(f)
Remedial action plan. After completing the investigation under
par. (e) and before conducting remedial action activities, an owner or operator shall prepare a remedial action plan, based on the investigation under
par. (e), that identifies specific remedial action activities proposed to be conducted, except as provided in
pars. (g) and
(h).
292.65(4)(g)
(g)
Immediate action. An owner or operator is not required to complete an investigation or prepare a remedial action plan before conducting an immediate action activity if the department determines that an immediate action is necessary.
292.65(4)(h)
(h)
Interim remedial equipment. An owner or operator may install interim remedial equipment for which the owner or operator would be eligible for reimbursement under
s. 292.66 before completing a site investigation or remedial action plan.
292.65(4)(i)
(i)
Review of site investigation and remedial action plan. The department shall, at the request of an owner or operator, review the site investigation results and the remedial action plan and advise the owner or operator on the adequacy of the proposed remedial action activities in meeting the requirements of this section. The department shall complete the review of the site investigation and remedial action plan within 45 days. The department shall also provide an estimate of when funding will be available to pay an award for remedial action conducted in response to the dry cleaning solvent discharge.
292.65(4)(j)
(j)
Remedial action. The owner or operator shall conduct all remedial action activities that are required under this section in response to the dry cleaning solvent discharge, including all of the following:
292.65(4)(j)1.
1. Recovering any recoverable dry cleaning solvent from the environment.
292.65(4)(j)2.
2. Managing any residual solid or hazardous waste in a manner consistent with local, state and federal law.
292.65(4)(k)
(k)
Agents. An owner or operator may enter into a written agreement with another person under which that other person acts as an agent for the owner or operator in conducting the activities required under
par. (j). The owner or operator and the agent shall jointly submit the application for an award under this section.
292.65(4)(L)
(L)
Awards for dry cleaning facilities on tribal trust lands. The owner or operator of a dry cleaning facility located on trust lands of an American Indian tribe may be eligible for an award under this section if the owner or operator otherwise satisfies the requirements of this subsection and complies with the rules promulgated under this section and any other rules promulgated by the department concerning dry cleaning facilities.
292.65(5)
(5) Enhanced pollution prevention measures. 292.65(5)(a)1.1. The owner or operator of a dry cleaning facility on which construction begins after October 14, 1997, is not eligible for an award under this section unless the owner or operator has implemented the enhanced pollution prevention measures described in
par. (b).
292.65(5)(a)2.
2. The owner or operator of a dry cleaning facility on which construction began on or before October 14, 1997, is ineligible for an award under this section with respect to a discharge that occurs on or after the 91st day after the day on which the department issues a case closure letter with respect to an earlier discharge of dry cleaning solvent from the dry cleaning facility, unless the owner or operator has implemented the enhanced pollution prevention measures described in
par. (b).
292.65(5)(b)
(b) An owner or operator who is required to implement enhanced pollution prevention measures shall demonstrate all of the following:
292.65(5)(b)1.
1. That the owner or operator manages all wastes that are generated at the dry cleaning facility and that contain dry cleaning solvent as hazardous wastes in compliance with
ch. 291 and
42 USC 6901 to
6991i.
292.65(5)(b)2.
2. That the dry cleaning facility does not discharge dry cleaning solvent or wastewater from dry cleaning machines into any sanitary sewer or septic tank or into the waters of this state.
292.65(5)(b)3.
3. That each machine or other piece of equipment in which dry cleaning solvent is used, or the entire area in which those machines or pieces of equipment are located, is surrounded by a containment dike or other containment structure that is able to contain any leak, spill or other release of dry cleaning solvent from the machines or other pieces of equipment.
