SB523: Bill Text

SB523,59,14 2. Nothing in this compact is intended to infringe nor shall be construed to infringe upon the treaty power of the United States of America, nor shall any term hereof be construed to alter or amend any treaty or term thereof that has been or may hereafter be executed by the United States of America.

SB523,59,17 3. Nothing in this compact is intended to affect nor shall be construed to affect the application of the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909 whose requirements continue to apply in addition to the requirements of this compact.

SB523,59,20 (c) Confidentiality. 1. Nothing in this compact requires a party to breach confidentiality obligations or requirements prohibiting disclosure or to compromise security of commercially sensitive or proprietary information.

SB523,59,25 2. A party may take measures, including but not limited to deletion and redaction, deemed necessary to protect any confidential, proprietary, or commercially sensitive information when distributing information to other parties. The party shall summarize or paraphrase any such information in a manner sufficient for the council to exercise its authorities contained in this compact.

SB523,60,4 (d) Additional laws. Nothing in this compact shall be construed to repeal, modify, or qualify the authority of any party to enact any legislation or enforce any additional conditions and restrictions regarding the management and regulation of waters within its jurisdiction.

SB523,60,8 (e) Amendments and supplements. The provisions of this compact shall remain in full force and effect until amended by action of the governing bodies of the parties and consented to and approved by any other necessary authority in the same manner as this compact is required to be ratified to become effective.

SB523,60,13 (f) Severability. Should a court of competent jurisdiction hold any part of this compact to be void or unenforceable, it shall be considered severable from those portions of the compact capable of continued implementation in the absence of the voided provisions. All other provisions capable of continued implementation shall continue in full force and effect.

SB523,60,15 (g) Duration of compact and termination. 1. Once effective, the compact shall continue in force and remain binding upon each and every party unless terminated.

SB523,60,18 2. This compact may be terminated at any time by a majority vote of the parties. In the event of such termination, all rights established under it shall continue unimpaired.

SB523,60,22 (9) Effectuation. (b) Effectuation by chief executive. The governor is authorized to take such action as may be necessary and proper in his or her discretion to effectuate the compact and the initial organization and operation thereunder, consistent with s. 281.346.

SB523,61,4 (c) Entire agreement. The parties consider this compact to be complete and an integral whole. Each provision of this compact is considered material to the entire compact, and failure to implement or adhere to any provision may be considered a material breach. Unless otherwise noted in this compact, any change or amendment made to the compact by any party in its implementing legislation or by the U.S. Congress when giving its consent to this compact is not considered effective unless concurred in by all parties.

SB523,61,8 (d) Effective date and execution. This compact shall become binding and effective when ratified through concurring legislation by the states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, and Wisconsin and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and consented to by the U.S. Congress.

SB523, s. 10 Section 10. 281.344 of the statutes is created to read:

SB523,61,11 281.344 Water conservation, reporting, and supply regulation; when compact is not in effect. (1) Definitions. In this section:

SB523,61,14 (d) "Community within a straddling county" means any city, village, or town that is not a straddling community and that is located outside the Great Lakes basin but wholly within a county that lies partly within the Great Lakes basin.

SB523,61,16 (dm) "Compact" means the Great Lakes—St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact under s. 281.343.

SB523,61,18 (dr) "Compact's effective date" means the effective date of the compact under s. 281.343 (9) (d).

SB523,61,21 (e) "Consumptive use" means a use of water that results in the loss of or failure to return some or all of the water to the basin from which the water is withdrawn due to evaporation, incorporation into products, or other processes.

SB523,62,4 (g) "Cumulative impacts" means the impacts on the Great Lakes basin ecosystem that result from incremental effects of all aspects of a withdrawal, interbasin transfer, or consumptive use in addition to other past, present, and reasonably foreseeable future withdrawals, interbasin transfers, and consumptive uses regardless of who undertakes the other withdrawals, interbasin transfers, and consumptive uses, including individually minor but collectively significant withdrawals, interbasin transfers, and consumptive uses taking place over a period of time.

SB523,62,10 (i) "Environmentally sound and economically feasible water conservation measures" means those measures, methods, or technologies for efficient water use and for reducing water loss and waste or for reducing the amount of a withdrawal, consumptive use, or interbasin transfer that are, taking into account environmental impact, the age and nature of equipment and facilities involved, the processes employed, the energy impacts, and other appropriate factors, all of the following:

SB523,62,11 1. Environmentally sound.

SB523,62,12 2. Reflective of best practices applicable to the water use sector.

SB523,62,13 3. Technically feasible and available.

SB523,62,15 4. Economically feasible and cost-effective based on an analysis that considers direct and avoided economic and environmental costs.

SB523,62,17 (je) "Great Lakes basin" means the watershed of the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River upstream from Trois—Rivieres, Quebec.

SB523,62,19 (ji) "Great Lakes basin ecosystem" means the interacting components of air, land, water, and living organisms, including humans, within the Great Lakes basin.

SB523,62,23 (k) "Interbasin transfer" means a transfer of water from the Great Lakes basin into a watershed outside of the Great Lakes basin or from the watershed of one of the Great Lakes into that of another, except that "interbasin transfer" does not include any of the following:

SB523,63,3 1. The transfer of a product produced in the Great Lakes basin or in the watershed of one of the Great Lakes, using waters of the Great Lakes basin, out of the Great Lakes basin or out of that watershed.

SB523,63,6 2. The transmission of water within a line that extends outside the Great Lakes basin as it conveys water from one point to another within the Great Lakes basin if no water is used outside the Great Lakes basin.

SB523,63,8 3. The transfer of bottled water from the Great Lakes basin in containers of 5.7 gallons or less.

SB523,63,10 (km) "Intrabasin transfer" means the transfer of water from the watershed of one of the Great Lakes into the watershed of another of the Great Lakes.

SB523,63,14 (o) "Product" means something produced by human or mechanical effort or through agricultural processes and used in manufacturing, commercial, or other processes or intended for intermediate or ultimate consumers, subject to all of the following:

SB523,63,15 1. Water used as part of the packaging of a product is part of the product.

SB523,63,18 2. Other than water used as part of the packaging of a product, water that is used primarily to transport materials in or out of the Great Lakes basin is not a product or part of a product.

SB523,63,20 3. Except as provided in subd. 1., water that is transferred as part of a public or private supply is not a product or part of a product.

SB523,63,22 4. Water in its natural state, such as in lakes, rivers, reservoirs, aquifers, or water basins, is not a product.

SB523,64,2 (pm) "Public water supply" means water distributed to the public through a physically connected system of treatment, storage, and distribution facilities that serve a group of largely residential customers and that may also serve industrial, commercial, and other institutional customers.

SB523,64,7 (q) "Regional body" means the body consisting of the governors of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin and the premiers of Ontario and Quebec, Canada, or their designees, as established by the Great Lakes—St. Lawrence River Basin Sustainable Water Resources Agreement.

SB523,64,14 (r) "Source watershed" means the watershed from which a withdrawal originates. If water is withdrawn directly from a Great Lake or from the St. Lawrence River, then the source watershed is the watershed of that Great Lake or the watershed of the St. Lawrence River, respectively. If water is withdrawn from the watershed of a stream that is a direct tributary to a Great Lake or a direct tributary to the St. Lawrence River, then the source watershed is the watershed of that Great Lake or the watershed of the St. Lawrence River, respectively.

SB523,64,18 (t) "Straddling community" means any city, village, or town that is partly within the Great Lakes basin or partly within the watersheds of 2 of the Great Lakes and that is wholly within any county that lies partly or completely within the Great Lakes basin.

SB523,64,20 (w) "Water dependent natural resources" means the interacting components of land, water, and living organisms affected by the waters of the Great Lakes basin.

SB523,64,23 (wm) "Water loss" means the amount of water that is withheld from or not returned to the basin from which it is withdrawn as a result of an interbasin transfer or consumptive use or both.

SB523,64,25 (wr) "Water utility" means a public utility, as defined in s. 196.01 (5), that furnishes water.

SB523,65,3 (x) "Waters of the Great Lakes basin" means the Great Lakes and all streams, rivers, lakes, connecting channels, and other bodies of water, including tributary groundwater, within the Great Lakes basin.

SB523,65,4 (y) "Withdraw" means to take water from surface water or groundwater.

SB523,65,7 (z) "Withdrawal" means the taking of water from surface water or groundwater, including the taking of surface water or groundwater for the purpose of bottling the water.

SB523,65,11 (2) Determinations concerning applicability of requirements. (a) Use of surface water divide. For the purposes of this section, the surface water divide is used to determine whether a withdrawal or transfer of surface water or groundwater is from the Great Lakes basin.

SB523,65,15 (b) Transfers and withdrawals from more than one source. For the purposes of this section, the interbasin transfer or withdrawal of water from more than one source within the Great Lakes basin to supply a common distribution system is considered one interbasin transfer or withdrawal.

SB523,65,17 (c) Water loss. The department shall promulgate rules for determining the amount of water loss from consumptive uses.

SB523,65,20 (d) County boundaries. For the purposes of sub. (1) (d) and (t), a county's boundaries as of December 13, 2005, shall be used to determine whether a county lies partly within the Great Lakes basin.

SB523,66,3 (3) Statewide registration and reporting. (a) 1. Any person who, on the first day of the 36th month beginning after the effective date of this subdivision .... [revisor inserts date], or, for a withdrawal from the Great Lakes basin, on the compact's effective date if that is sooner, has a water supply system with the capacity to make a withdrawal from the waters of the state averaging 100,000 gallons per day or more in any 30-day period or is making any interbasin transfer shall register the withdrawal or interbasin transfer with the department by the deadline specified by the department by rule.

SB523,66,15 2. Any person who, after the first day of the 36th month beginning after the effective date of this subdivision .... [revisor inserts date], or, if the withdrawal is from the Great Lakes basin, on the compact's effective date if that is sooner, proposes to begin a withdrawal from the waters of the state using a water supply system that will have the capacity to withdraw an average of 100,000 gallons per day or more in any 30-day period, to increase the capacity of a water supply system that existed on the first day of the 36th month beginning after the effective date of this subdivision .... [revisor inserts date], or, if the withdrawal is from the Great Lakes basin, on the compact's effective date if that is sooner, so that it will have the capacity to withdraw an average of 100,000 gallons per day or more in any 30-day period, or to begin an interbasin transfer shall register the withdrawal or interbasin transfer with the department.

SB523,66,17 (b) A person to whom par. (a) applies shall register on a form prescribed by the department and provide all of the following information:

SB523,66,18 1. The name and address of the registrant and the date of registration.

SB523,66,19 2. The locations and sources of the withdrawal or interbasin transfer.

SB523,66,21 3. The daily capacity of the withdrawal or interbasin transfer and the daily capacity to withdraw or transfer from each source.

SB523,66,23 4. An estimate of the volume of the withdrawal or interbasin transfer in terms of gallons per day average in any 30-day period.

SB523,66,24 5. The uses made of the water.

SB523,66,25 6. The places at which the water is used.

SB523,67,1 7. The places at which any of the water is discharged.

SB523,67,2 8. Whether the water use is continuous or intermittent.

SB523,67,3 9. Whether the person holds a permit under s. 283.31.

SB523,67,4 10. Other information required by the department by rule.

SB523,67,6 (c) The department shall maintain a registry containing the information provided under par. (b).

SB523,67,9 (cm) The department may consider domestic security concerns when determining whether information regarding locations of withdrawals and interbasin transfers contained in the registry under par. (c) may be released to the public.

SB523,67,16 (e) 1. Each person who makes a withdrawal from the waters of the state that averages 100,000 gallons per day or more in any 30-day period or transfers from the Great Lakes basin any amount and who has registered the withdrawal or interbasin transfer under par. (a) shall annually report to the department the monthly volumes of withdrawal, whether the person ever withdraws at least 1,000,000 gallons per day for 30 consecutive days, and, if applicable, the volumes of interbasin transfer and, subject to par. (em), water loss from consumptive use.

SB523,67,20 2. In addition to the information required under subd. 1., the department may, by rule, create different reporting frequencies or require additional information from a person who registers a withdrawal, or interbasin transfer under par. (a) based upon the type or category of water use.

SB523,68,2 (em) 1. Except as provided in subd. 2., if a person to whom par. (e) 1. applies provides any of the water that the person withdraws to a public water supply system, the person who operates the public water supply system, rather than the person who withdraws the water, shall annually report to the department the volume of water loss from the consumptive use of the water provided to the public water supply system.

SB523,68,7 2. A person who operates a wastewater treatment system, rather than the person who withdraws the water or who operates a public water supply system, shall annually report to the department the volume of water loss from a consumptive use of water that occurs after the treatment of the wastewater by the person who operates the wastewater treatment system.

SB523,68,9 (f) The department may require additional information under par. (b) 10. or (e) 2. only if the information is necessary to effectuate this section.

SB523,68,13 (3e) Determining initial interbasin transfer amounts. (a) Before issuing an automatic approval under sub. (3m) for an interbasin transfer to a person operating a public water supply system, the department shall determine the initial interbasin transfer amount for the interbasin transfer under this subsection.

SB523,68,18 (b) The department shall determine the initial interbasin transfer amount under this subsection for a public water supply system to be the amount of water necessary to provide water for public water supply purposes in the area in at least part of which the public water supply system delivers water to customers before the compact's effective date that is all of the following:

SB523,68,19 1. Outside of the Great Lakes basin.

SB523,68,23 2. Within a sewer service territory that provides for return of wastewater to the Great Lakes basin and that is specified in the sewer service area provisions of an areawide water quality management plan under s. 283.83 approved by the department before December 31, 2007.

SB523,69,3 (c) The department shall use the population and related service projections in the sewer service area provisions described in par. (b) 2. in making the determination under par. (b).

SB523,69,16 (3m) Automatic approval for existing interbasin transfers. Before the compact's effective date, the department shall automatically issue an approval for an interbasin transfer that begins before the compact's effective date, to a person who operates a public water supply system that receives water from the interbasin transfer and that delivers water to customers in an area that is outside of the Great Lakes basin and that is within a sewer service territory that provides for return of wastewater to the Great Lakes basin as specified in the sewer service area provisions of an areawide water quality management plan under s. 283.83 approved by the department before December 31, 2007. The department may not issue an automatic approval before the interbasin transfer begins. In the automatic approval, the department shall specify an interbasin transfer amount equal to the amount determined under sub. (3e) and an interbasin transfer area that is the area described in sub. (3e) (b).

SB523,69,18 (4) New or increased interbasin transfers. (a) Prohibition. Beginning on the effective date of this paragraph .... [revisor inserts date], all of the following apply:

SB523,69,22 1. No person may begin an interbasin transfer, other than an interbasin transfer for which the department is required to issue an automatic permit under sub. (3m), unless the interbasin transfer is covered by an approval under par. (c), (d), or (e).

SB523,69,25 2. No person may increase an interbasin transfer over the interbasin transfer amount in an approval issued under this subsection unless the department modifies the approval under par. (c), (d), or (e) to increase the interbasin transfer amount.

SB523,70,5 3. No person may increase an interbasin transfer over the interbasin transfer amount in an approval issued under sub. (3m) or expand the interbasin transfer area beyond the area specified in an approval under sub. (3m) unless the department modifies the approval under par. (c), (d), or (e) to increase the interbasin transfer amount or to expand the interbasin transfer area.

SB523,70,9 (b) Application. 1. A person who proposes to begin an interbasin transfer, increase the amount of an interbasin transfer, or expand the interbasin transfer area of an interbasin transfer covered by an approval issued under sub. (3m) shall apply to the department for approval.

SB523,70,13 2. A person may apply under subd. 1. for approval of a new, increased, or expanded interbasin transfer under par. (c) or (e) only if the person operates a public water supply system that receives or would receive water from the new, increased, or expanded interbasin transfer.

SB523,70,16 3. Operators of 2 or more public water supply systems may submit a joint application under subd. 1. for a new, increased, or expanded interbasin transfer under par. (c) or (e).

SB523,70,20 4. A person who applies under subd. 1. shall provide information about the potential impacts of the interbasin transfer on the waters of the Great Lakes basin and water dependent natural resources and any other information required by the department by rule.

SB523,70,24 4m. If a person who applies under subd. 1. will not directly withdraw the water proposed to be transferred, the person shall identify the entity that will withdraw the water and provide evidence of any agreement necessary to obtain water from that entity.

SB523,71,4 4p. If the person who applies under subd. 1. will not directly return the water to the Great Lakes basin, the person shall identify the entity that will return the water and provide evidence of any agreement necessary to have that entity return the water.

SB523,71,12 4s. If the proposal for which a person applies under subd. 1. is subject to the exception standard under par. (f), the person shall provide documentation of how the physical, chemical, and biological integrity of the receiving water under par. (f) 3. will be protected and sustained as required under ss. 30.12, 281.15, and 283.31, considering the state of the receiving water before the proposal is implemented. If the receiving water is a surface water body that is tributary to one of the Great Lakes, the person shall include a description of the flow of the receiving water before the proposal is implemented, considering both low and high flow conditions.

SB523,71,16 5. If the proposal for which a person applies under subd. 1. is subject to the exception standard under par. (f), the person shall provide an assessment of the individual impacts of the proposal for the purposes of par. (f) 5. The person may also include a cumulative impact assessment.

SB523,71,18 (bg) Determinations. 1. The department shall determine whether a proposal under par. (b) is subject to par. (c) or (e) as follows: