(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.
(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:
1. A coin-operated facility.
2. A facility that is located on a U.S. military installation.
3. An industrial laundry.
4. A commercial laundry.
5. A linen supply facility.
6. A facility that is located at a prison or other penal institution.
7. A facility that is located at a nonprofit hospital or at another nonprofit health care institution.
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.
(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.
(g) “Groundwater" has the meaning given in s. 281.75 (1) (c).
(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.
(h) “Operator" means any of the following:
1. A person who holds the license under s. 77.9961 (2) for a dry cleaning facility.
2. A subsidiary or parent corporation of the person specified under subd. 1.
(i) “Owner" means any of the following:
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.
2. A subsidiary or parent corporation of the person specified under subd. 1.
(j) “Program year" means the period beginning on July 1, and ending on the following June 30.
(k) “Property damage" does not include those liabilities that are excluded from coverage in liability insurance policies for property damage, other than liability for remedial action associated with dry cleaning solvent discharges from affected dry cleaning facilities. “Property damage" does not include the loss of fair market value resulting from a discharge.
(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.
(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.
(2) Rules concerning 3rd-party compensation. The commissioner of insurance shall promulgate rules defining “liabilities that are excluded from coverage in liability insurance policies for bodily injury" and “liabilities that are excluded from coverage in liability insurance policies for property damage" for the purposes of sub. (1) (a) and (k). The definitions shall be consistent with standard insurance industry practices.
(3) Duties of the department. (a) The department shall promulgate rules for the administration of the program under this section.
(am) 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.
2. The department shall pay an award for immediate action activities
within 2 working days of receipt of the application. For the purposes of this subdivision, removal of contaminated soils and recovery of free dry cleaning solvent are not considered immediate action activities.
3. After awards for immediate action activities, the department shall give highest priority to paying awards for eligible costs incurred before the effective date of this subdivision .... [revisor inserts date].
(b) The department shall promote the program under this section to persons who may be eligible for awards.
(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.
(cm) 1. If the department determines that immediate action is necessary in response to a discharge of dry cleaning solvent, the owner or operator of the dry cleaning facility conducts the immediate action and is eligible
for an award under this section and the amounts appropriated under s. 20.370 (6) (eq) are not sufficient to pay the award, the department shall pay the award using funds under s. 20.370 (2) (dv). Awards under this subdivision have priority over other payments under s. 20.370 (2) (dv) except for payments under s. 292.31 (4) and (5).
2. Whenever the department of natural resources pays an award under subd. 1., it shall provide a notice to the department of revenue stating the amount of the award.
(d) The department shall keep records and statistics on the program under this section and shall periodically evaluate the effectiveness of the program.
(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.
(4) Process; eligibility. (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.
(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.
(c) Notification of potential claim. 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.
2. Subdivision 1. does not apply to an owner or operator who began a site investigation or remedial action activity before the effective date of this subdivision .... [revisor inserts date].
(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.
(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).
(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).
(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.
(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.
(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.
(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:
1. Recovering any recoverable dry cleaning solvent from the environment.
2. Managing any residual solid or hazardous waste in a manner consistent with local, state and federal law.
3. Restoring groundwater according to the standards promulgated by the department under ss. 160.07 and 160.09.
(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.
(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.
(5) Enhanced pollution prevention measures. (a) 1. The owner or operator of a dry cleaning facility on which construction begins after the effective date of this subdivision .... [revisor inserts date], 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).
2. The owner or operator of a dry cleaning facility on which construction began on or before the effective date of this subdivision .... [revisor inserts date], 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).
(b) An owner or operator who is required to implement enhanced pollution prevention measures shall demonstrate all of the following:
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.
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.
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.
4. That the floor within any area surrounded by a dike or other containment structure under subd. 3. is sealed or is otherwise impervious to dry cleaning solvent.
5. That all dry cleaning solvent is delivered to the dry cleaning facility by means of a closed, direct-coupled delivery system.
(6) Additional requirement for closed facilities. (a) To be eligible for an award under this section, the owner or operator of a dry cleaning facility that has ceased operating at the time that the owner or operator applies under sub. (8) (a) shall agree to pay all of the following each year for 30 years after the department issues the award:
1. An amount equal to the average annual license fee paid under s. 77.9961 (1) for that year.
2. An amount equal to the total amount collected under s. 77.9962 for that year divided by the number of dry cleaning facilities in operation during that year.
(b) An owner or operator to whom par. (a) applies shall guarantee payment under par. (a) by executing a note and mortgage on the site of the dry cleaning facility and a payment bond acceptable to the department.
(c) All funds paid under this subsection shall be deposited in the dry cleaner environmental response fund.
(7) Eligible costs. (a) General. Subject to pars. (c), (ce), (cm) and (d), eligible costs for an award under this section include reasonable and necessary costs paid for the following items only:
1. Removal of dry cleaning solvents from surface waters, groundwater or soil.
2. Investigation and assessment of contamination caused by a dry cleaning solvent discharge from a dry cleaning facility.
3. Preparation of remedial action plans.
4. Removal of contaminated soils.
5. Soil and groundwater treatment and disposal.
6. Environmental monitoring.
7. Laboratory services.
8. Maintenance of equipment for dry cleaning solvent recovery performed as part of remedial action activities.
9. Restoration or replacement of a private or public potable water supply.
10. Restoration of environmental quality.
11. Contractor costs for remedial action activities.
12. Inspection and supervision.
13. Those costs of purchase and installation of interim remedial equipment that qualify for reimbursement under s. 292.66 for which reimbursement was not received under s. 292.66.
14. Other costs identified by the department as reasonable and necessary for proper investigation, remedial action planning and remedial action activities to meet the requirements of s. 292.11.
15. Compensation to 3rd parties for bodily injury and property damage caused by a dry cleaning solvent discharge from a dry cleaning facility.
16. Financing for eligible activities under this paragraph as provided in par. (b).
(b) Financing costs.
1. Except as provided in subd. 2., eligible costs for an award under this section include the following costs of financing activities eligible for reimbursement under par. (a):
a. Loan origination fees of up to 1% of the loan principal.
b. Interest on a loan at no more than the prime rate as determined under rules promulgated by the department.
2. Costs of financing activities that are undertaken after the effective date of this subdivision .... [revisor inserts date], and that are undertaken without the department's advance written approval are not eligible costs.
(c) Exclusions from eligible costs. Eligible costs for an award under this section do not include the following:
1. Costs incurred before January 1, 1991.
2. Costs of retrofitting or replacing dry cleaning equipment.
3. Other costs that the department determines to be associated with, but not integral to, the investigation and remediation of a dry cleaning solvent discharge from a dry cleaning facility.
4. Costs
, other than costs for compensating 3rd parties for bodily injury and property damage, that the department determines to be unreasonable or unnecessary to carry out the remedial action activities as specified in the remedial action plan.