Rule-making notices
Notice of Hearing
Commerce
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to sections
101.143,
101.144, and
227.11 (2) (a) of the statutes, interpreting sections
101.143 and 101.144 of the statutes, the Department of Commerce will hold a public hearing on proposed rules for chapters Comm 5 and 47,
relating to Petroleum Environmental Cleanup Fund awards and associated credentials.
The public hearing will be held as follows:
Date and Time:
Thursday
July 15, 2004
Commencing at 10:30 a.m.
Location:
Thompson Commerce Center, Third Floor, Room 3B
201 West Washington Avenue
Madison, Wisconsin
Interested persons are invited to appear at the hearing and present comments on the proposed rules. Persons making oral presentations are requested to submit their comments in writing, via e-mail. Persons submitting comments will not receive individual responses. The hearing record on this proposed rulemaking will remain open until July 19, 2004, to permit submittal of written comments from persons who are unable to attend the hearing or who wish to supplement testimony offered at the hearing. E-mail comments should be sent to
srockweiler@commerce.state.wi.us. If e-mail submittal is not possible, written comments may be submitted to Sam Rockweiler, Department of Commerce, Division of Environmental and Regulatory Services, P.O. Box 14427, Madison, WI 53708-0427.
This hearing will be held in an accessible facility. If you have special needs or circumstances that may make communication or accessibility difficult at the hearing, please call Renee Dickey at (608) 266-8765 or (608) 264-8777 (TTY) at least 10 days prior to the hearing date. Accommodations such as interpreters, English translators, or materials in audio tape format will, to the fullest extent possible, be made available upon a request from a person with a disability.
Analysis of Proposed Rules
Statutory Authority and Statutes Interpreted
Summary
Under sections 101.143, 101.144, and 227.11 (2) (a) of the Wisconsin Statutes, the Department protects public health, safety, and welfare by promulgating rules for and administering the Petroleum Environmental Cleanup Fund (PECFA fund). The purpose of the PECFA fund is to reimburse property owners for eligible costs incurred because of a petroleum product discharge from a storage system or home oil tank system. Under section
9110 (3yu) (c) of
1999 Wisconsin Act 9, the Department is required to promulgate new rules that implement a usual-and-customary-cost schedule for items which are commonly associated with claims for reimbursement from the fund.
The Department's current rules for the PECFA fund are contained in chapter Comm 47. The proposed changes to Comm 47 would primarily (1) update the Department's criteria for reimbursing costs for cleanup of properties contaminated by petroleum product discharges, to be consistent with several statutory changes that have occurred after corresponding portions of this chapter were either established or revised; and (2) implement various improvements to the PECFA administrative and regulatory processes.
The major elements of these changes consist of (1) establishing Certified PECFA Program Managers, who would be responsible for managing the financial aspects of all PECFA projects; (2) codifying the Department's competitive public bidding process, and applying it to both existing and newly reported sites, in a prioritized manner that addresses the highest and most costly threats to human health and the environment first; and (3) establishing a usual and customary cost schedule, which would control costs for most of the work not covered by the public bidding process, such as for low-cost sites.
Federal Programs
The PECFA program was originally created in response to the federal Environmental Protection Agency's requirement that all underground storage tank system owners have the financial means to clean up any contamination caused by a leak from those systems. However, PECFA no longer provides that financial protection for newly installed tank systems, and therefore there are no existing federal regulations which impact on how the PECFA program operates. No proposed federal regulations are known that would likewise impact the PECFA program.
Programs in Adjacent States
Of the four adjacent states, only Minnesota and Illinois are operating programs similar to the PECFA program. Some of the information the Department used in drafting the proposed rules for usual and customary costs and for public bidding was obtained from the current rules in place in Minnesota. Due to a financial shortfall, Illinois is only in the early stages of restarting their program, after years of little to no activity.
Data Sources and Fiscal Impacts
A variety of sources were used to gather data to establish the new rules and corresponding cost schedule for usual and customary costs, and the proposed rules for public bidding. The Department contacted other states with similar programs and was provided with feedback on experiences in similar circumstances. The Department also surveyed stakeholders in the current program, asking for feedback; and consulted with an external advisory committee to assist in drafting the proposed rules.
Data collected to determine what costs are usual and customary indicates that the businesses which are participating in the PECFA program are able to provide the necessary services at the levels proposed in the corresponding cost schedule. Among the sources that were used to gather this data were the Department's current bidding process, current invoices for these services, a survey of the participating firms and commodity service providers, staff with consulting experience, and RSMeans Environmental Cost Data.
Environmental Analysis
Notice is hereby given that the Department has considered the environmental impact of the proposed rules. In accordance with chapter Comm 1, the proposed rules are a Type III action. A Type III action normally does not have the potential to cause significant environmental effects and normally does not involve unresolved conflicts in the use of available resources. The Department has reviewed these rules and finds no reason to believe that any unusual conditions exist. At this time, the Department has issued this notice to serve as a finding of no significant impact.
Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
1. Types of small businesses that will be affected by the rules.
The rules will impact small businesses that are or will be conducting remediations of petroleum product contaminations, if reimbursement from the PECFA fund is intended.
2. Reporting, bookkeeping and other procedures required for compliance with the rules.
The rules will require submittal of standardized forms for (1) classifying PECFA occurrences that have been reported to the Department of Natural Resources but have not been closed, as of the effective date of the rule; (2) requesting reimbursement for usual and customary costs; (3) periodically reporting progress for site investigations; (4) submitting bids for performing remediations or investigations; and (5) periodically reporting progress in completing work covered by bidding.
3. Types of professional skills necessary for compliance with the rules.
The rules will not require any new or additional professional skills for compliance.
Fiscal Estimate
There is no effect on state or local government.
The proposed rules and an analysis of the rules are available on the Internet at the Web site for petroleum products and PECFA at commerce.wi.gov. Paper copies may be obtained without cost from Renee Dickey at the Department of Commerce, Bureau of PECFA, P.O. Box 7837, Madison, WI 53707-7837, or at
rdickey@commerce.state.wi.us, or at telephone (608) 264-8765 or (608) 264-8777 (TTY). Copies will also be available at the public hearing.
Notice of Hearing
Health and Family Services
(Management, Technology, etc., Chs.
HFS 1—)
(Community Services, Chs.
HFS 30—)
(Health, Chs.
HFS 110—)
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to sections
46.286 (4) to
(7),
46.287 (2) (a) 1. (intro.),
46.288,
48.67,
49.797 (7),
50.02 (2) and
(3),
50.36 (1) and
(2),
50.95,
51.61 (5) and
(9),
146.40 (4g) and
(4r),
157.01,
227.11 (2),
250.04 (7), and
254.13, Stats., the Department of Health and Family Services will hold a public hearing to consider the proposed order to revise several HFS codes, relating to family care; reporting and investigation of caregiver misconduct; residential care centers for children and youth; child-placing agencies; day camps for children and day care programs established by school boards; group foster care; shelter care for children; community-based residential care facilities; patient rights and resolution of grievances; hospitals; hospices; embalming standards; reporting blood test results; and electronic benefits transfer.
Hearing Information
Date and Time
|
Location
|
July 12, 2004
Monday
10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
|
Dept. of Health and Family
Services
Wilson Street State Office
Building
1 W. Wilson St., Rm. B272
Madison, WI
|
The hearing site is fully accessible to people with disabilities. If you are hearing or visually impaired, do not speak English, or have circumstances that might make communication at a hearing difficult and if you, therefore, require an interpreter or a non-English, large print or taped version of the hearing document, contact the person at the address or phone number given above at least 10 days before the hearing. With less than 10 days notice, an interpreter may not be available.
Written comments may be submitted at the public hearing, or in lieu of attending a public hearing written comments can be submitted by regular mail or email to the contact person listed below. Written comments may also be submitted to the Department using the Wisconsin Administrative Rules Internet website at the web address listed below. The deadline for submitting comments is 4:30 p.m., on July 20, 2004.
Analysis Prepared by the Department of Health and Family Services
The proposed rulemaking order contains a variety of minor and technical changes relating to chs.
HFS 10
, family care; HFS 13, reporting and investigation of caregiver misconduct; HFS 52, residential care centers for children and youth, HFS 54, child-placing agencies; HFS 55, day camps for children and day care programs established by school boards; HFS 57 group foster care; HFS 59, shelter care for children; HFS 83, community-based residential care facilities; HFS 94, patient rights and resolution of grievances; HFS 124, hospitals; HFS 131, hospices; HFS 136, embalming standards; HFS 181, reporting blood test results; and HFS 252, electronic benefits transfer.
In order to keep the Department's body of the administrative code updated, the Department proposes to make a variety of minor and technical changes to a number of its administrative rules. The Department is issuing these changes in a single order to conserve limited agency resources.
Summary of Proposed Changes
HFS 10, Family Care - The Department proposes to revise HFS 10 to create a definition of “action" and “appeal" in reference to acts taken by an aging and disability resource center or county economic support unit; to create a definition of “frail elder"; to revise the definition of “requires ongoing care, assistance or supervision"; to simplify the description of a “family care target group"; to correct the usage of the term “screen" versus “screening" relating to eligibility; to change the reference concerning the council on long-term care; to replace the word “complaints" with the word “appeals" and to make miscellaneous word changes; to update notes and internal cross-references; to expand the circumstances for notification of due process and hearing rights; to clarify when a fair hearing may be had; and to include an additional provision on client rights.
