Scope statements
Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection
Subject
Pesticide Product Restrictions.
Objectives of the rule. Modify the rule to create restrictions on the use of pesticides applied as fumigants that contain Chloropicrin as an active ingredient.
Policy analysis
DATCP regulates distribution and use pesticides under s.
94.67-
94.71, Stats. Pesticides are substances or mixtures of substances labeled or intended for use in preventing, destroying, repelling or mitigating any pest, or as a plant regulator, defoliant or desiccant. Chloropicrin is a pesticide applied as fumigant.
Chlorpicrin is a highly toxic pesticide that has been registered for use as a fumigant by the US Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA approved label for this registration specifies use directions and precautions to be followed by persons applying the pesticide. The compound has been used to a limited extent in Wisconsin to treat fields on which potatoes will be grown. The compound has also been used on strawberries, nursery crops and seed beds. During 2003, several people became ill related to exposure to the fumigant following an application made to a potato field located across the road. The EPA approved label directions and precautions appear inadequate to fully protect the public from exposure under Wisconsin conditions. It is likely that use of Chlorpicrin will increase in Wisconsin due to pest problems.
The registration for Chlorpicrin will be reviewed again by EPA, but no timeline for this process has been established by EPA. No other restrictions, outside of the registered label, are in place or are being proposed by EPA.
DATCP has adopted rules under ch.
ATCP 30, Wis. Adm. Code, to regulate the use of specific pesticides to address product specific issues. Restrictions on the use of the fumigant Metam-sodium became effective on June 1, 1998 to address similar human exposure issues. The Metam-sodium related problems have not reoccurred.
DATCP proposes to revise the current rule to impose restrictions and other requirements including:
• Mandatory setbacks between treatment sites and residences, schools and similar areas to reduce the potential for human exposure.
• Modification of use and post-treatment practices.
• Clarification of weather and site related limitations on use.
• Clarification of posting and other pre-application notification requirements.
• Specification of application monitoring, response and reporting requirements.
• Specification of reporting requirements.
• Other appropriate requirements based on evaluation of stakeholder input.
Policy Alternatives
No change. Use of the fumigant in Wisconsin is expected to increase. Current label restrictions do not appear adequate to prevent human exposure. If DATCP takes no action, it is likely that human exposure to the fumigant and subsequent adverse effects will increase.
Summary and comparison of existing or proposed federal regulation
See policy analysis.
Statutory authority
DATCP proposes to revise chapter ATCP 30, Wis. Adm. Code, under authority of ss.
93.07 and 94.69, Stats.
Staff time required
DATCP estimates that it will use approximately 0.5 FTE staff to develop this rule. This includes time required for investigation and analysis, rule drafting, preparing related documents, coordinating advisory committee meetings, holding public hearings and communicating with affected persons and groups. DATCP will use existing staff to develop this rule.
Chiropractic Examining Board
Subject
Qualifications for instructors of continuing education for chiropractors and qualifications for instructors of unlicensed personnel.
Objective of the rule. The proposed rule requires that instructors providing continuing education to chiropractors and training to unlicensed personnel meet certain qualifications.
Policy analysis
To assure that the continuing education that is provided to chiropractors and the training to unlicensed personnel is taught by qualified and knowledgeable instructors in the areas that are being presented.
Summary and comparison of existing or proposed federal regulation
A search was made for existing or proposed federal regulation and none was located.
Statutory authority
Staff time required
100 hours.
Health and Family Services
Subject
To amend ch.
HFS 196, relating to restaurants, and the Appendix to HFS 196, known as the Wisconsin Food Code.
This is a revision to a Statement of Scope the Department originally published in the mid-December Wisconsin Administrative Register.
Policy analysis
The Department will propose to revising ch.
HFS 196, relating to restaurants, including its Appendix, known as the Wisconsin Food Code.
The vast majority of the proposed rule changes pertain to the Wisconsin Food Code Appendix to ch.
HFS 196. The Department, which regulates Wisconsin restaurants, and the Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection (DATCP), which regulates retail food establishments, such as grocery stores, both use the Food Code for their respective regulatory activities and jointly adopted the Wisconsin Food Code in 2001 for their respective regulatory activities. The existing Wisconsin Food Code is modeled after the 1999 Food and Drug Administration Model Food Code. The FDA last revised its Model Food Code in 2001. The Department proposes to update the Wisconsin Food Code to the 2001 FDA Model Food Code, which reflects the most currently available science and trends in food safety. In addition, the Department proposes to clarify or correct areas of the Wisconsin Food Code that do not reflect current Department policy. Revisions to the Wisconsin Food Code will also reflect modifications from both the Wisconsin Conference on Food Protection and the National Conference on Food Protection (NCFP), as well as mutually agreed upon suggestions derived from two years of field application by both the Department and DATCP.
The Department will also propose minor revisions to the body of HFS 196 for the purposes of:
- changing the use of the term “limited term restaurant" to “pre-packaged restaurant;"
- defining the terms “caterer," “contract cook" and “pre-packaged restaurant;"
- modifying table HFS 196.04 to eliminate reference to the term “limited;"
- clarify that caterers operating from their permitted restaurants need not obtain additional permits for locations where the caterer serves food; and
- specifying acceptable operating requirements for contract cooks and clarifying that contract cooks are not required to obtain restaurant permits.
The Department believes that periodic rule updates are necessary for Wisconsin's food industry to remain competitive on a nationwide basis. Failure to update the current rules may pose risks to Wisconsin's retail and restaurant industry by not providing a current and updated regulation. These changes, which both the Department and DATCP intend to promulgate simultaneously, will positively affect operators of food service operations, state and local health inspectors, and the general public throughout the state by simplifying and clarifying the language of the Code. In addition, the proposed changes will allow health inspectors to spend more time in complex or problematic food establishments, thereby promoting a safer public food supply.
Statutory authority
Comparison to federal regulations
The U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) publishes the Food Code, a model that assists food control jurisdictions at all levels of government by providing them with a scientifically sound technical and legally enforceable basis for regulating the retail and food service segment of the industry. Local, state, tribal, and federal regulators use the FDA Food Code as a model to develop or update their own food safety rules and to be consistent with national food regulatory policy. Wisconsin is one of 43 states that have adopted administrative rules patterned after a version of the federal Model Food Code. The Food Code also serves as a reference of best practices for the retail and food service industries (restaurants and grocery stores and institutions such as nursing homes) on how to prevent foodborne illness. Many of the over 1 million retail and food service establishments apply Food Code provisions to their own operations.
Staff time required
