From 1965 to 1997, water levels in the Great Lakes were at or above their long-term average. However, from 1998-2000 water levels dropped significantly to around 3 feet below their long-term average. While no longer dropping as sharply as they did from 1998-2000, water levels have continued to stay below their long-term averages. Presently 2006 water levels are below water levels of the year 2005 and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) long-range forecast for 2007 indicates more of the same. Specifically for the Great Lakes that border Wisconsin, Lake Michigan is 17 inches below its long-term average and Lake Superior is within 2 inches of its all time low.
Low water levels are not the only challenge facing the Great Lakes. Increased populations of invasive species such as Zebra mussels, Quagga mussels, Phragmites, and blooms of the nuisance algae Cladophora, have continued to plague the Great Lakes. Lower water levels contribute to a greater exposed beach area, and, as a result, mussel shells and large floating mats of algae often get deposited by wave action in large quantities along the lakeshore. The beached algal mats mixed with decaying zebra mussels and other invertebrates and fish result in unsightly, malodorous conditions. Piles of decaying Cladophora may affect tourism and recreation and owner property values, have been linked to taste and odor problems in drinking water, and may exacerbate levels of E. coli and other bacteria in beach sand and swimming waters, thus raising questions about beach safety. In Wisconsin, these nuisance conditions have been reported at many sites ranging from northeastern Green Bay and the tip of Door County to Kenosha. (UW Sea Grant 2005)
The biomass of Cladophora that washes ashore varies between years and locations. Mats of stranded algae two feet thick may collect in some areas– often embayments where waters are calmer and materials tend to collect (Whitman et al. 2003). In 2004, twenty five tons of Cladophora were removed from Milwaukee's lakeshore alone (Stauffer 2004). In other areas, accumulations are less where the decaying algae may remain offshore or confined to the swash zone (Harris 2004).
Lower water levels contributing to greater exposed beach area may also cause other challenges in addition to nuisance deposits. When water levels continue to stay low, the increased use of the exposed beach area and lakebed allows the disturbed area to become more susceptible to invasion by invasive plant species like Phragmites (Grime 2001). These invasive stands of Phragmites can become so dense that diverse wetland plant communities are eliminated. In addition,
nonnative plants do not provide valuable food and shelter for fish and wildlife that native plants provide (Davis et al. 2000; Hulme and Bremer 2006).
Policy Alternative
Waterfront property owners desire to remove unwanted
cathodic protection tester periodically inspect all cathodic protection systems for these tanks and piping. Section 12 of 40CFR280 establishes definitions for corrosion expert and cathodic protection tester. Those definitions require corrosion experts to be accredited professionals, and require cathodic protection testers to meet specified criteria for education and experience. The proposed rules are expected to incorporate these requirements and definitions into chapter Comm 5.
As the volume of public nuisance deposits and invasive plants vegetating exposed lakebed increases property owners can't realistically remove these unwanted deposits or invasive plants by hand. For nuisance deposits, the key to successful clean-up is vigilance in removing the algal mats as soon as they wash ashore. After only a few days in the warm sun, the algae begins to decay into an organic soup which makes it harder to remove. For invasive plants like Phragmites, whose plant colonies spread mainly by rhizomes (underground root extensions), the best time to cut and treat is late July, August, and early September when the plant is pulling sugars down into its roots.
The mechanical removal of large algal accumulations has been accomplished with front-end loaders, backhoes or beach grooming equipment. However, monitoring of indicator bacteria in beach sand has shown that heavy equipment may grind decaying algae into moist sand creating conditions that promote higher bacterial growth (Harris 2004). In most cases, the most efficient way to control Phragmites and to remove other unwanted vegetation growing on the exposed lakebed is with the aid of motor vehicles such as beach groomers and all terrain vehicles. To allow limited use of motor vehicles for these purposes, precautions must be taken to avoid damaging sensitive beach vegetation and near shore habitat for fish and wildlife. There are currently no state guidelines for Cladophora removal or use of motor vehicles for invasive species management. By promulgating three General Permits with standards for mechanized removal that include location standards (where on the shoreline can the activity take place), substrate restrictions (limits on the volume of sand vs. cobble that can be removed incidentally), area standards (how much material can be removed), types of mechanized methods allowed, and guidance on what to do with the removed material, among other things, we will be able to ensure that sensitive beach vegetation and near shore habitat impacts are avoided and that these activities are not inadvertently promoting bacterial growth.
The operation of motor vehicles and the removal or disturbance of materials on the beds of navigable waterways (also know as dredging) is regulated by Wis. Stats. Chapter
30 and Wisconsin Administrative Code Chapter
NR 345. The statutes and current rule allows lakefront property owners to apply for an individual permit to use mechanized methods to remove nuisance deposits, or other invasive or unwanted vegetation. However, individual permits require a $500 application fee and a 30 day public comment period before the permit can be issued.
Considering the changing lakeshore due to decreased water levels and the abundance of invasive species, the Department proposes to revise ch.
NR 345 to create three new general permits. The general permits would permit lakefront property owners on the beds of “outlying" navigable waters (as defined in s.
29.001 (63), Stats.) to remove public nuisance deposits (
Cladophora, Zebra mussels, dead fish, etc.) and invasive vegetation on exposed lakebed more efficiently while complying with general permit conditions created to protect the public interest in the lakebed. The general permit has a $50 application fee and is processed in 30 days.
Statutory Authority
Entities Affected by the Rule
Affected parties include riparian owners along the shores of “outlying waters" (as defined in s.
29.001 (63), Stats.), aquatic invasive species managers, NRCS and other agencies or contractors who remove invasive and unwanted aquatic plants and dead animals from shoreline areas.
Comparison with Federal Regulations
There are no federal regulations on this particular issue. However, the Army Corp of Engineers (ACOE) regulates dredging in the Great Lakes under the federal general permit (GP-001 WI). The ACOE grants the federal general permit for activities that have received a state permit under section
30.20, Stats.
Estimate of Time Needed to Develop the Rule
Department staff will need approximately 250 hours to complete the permanent rule process.
Agency Contact Person
Martin (Martye) Griffin
Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources
101 S. Webster Street, WT/4
Madison, WI 53707
(608) 266-2997 or fax (608) 266-2244
Transportation
Subject
The rules affect ch.
Trans 131, relating to the vehicle emission inspection program.
Objective of the Rule
The 2007-09 Biennial Budget (
2007 Wis. Act 20) makes major programmatic changes to ch.
Trans 131, relating to the vehicle emission inspection program, reflecting more cost-efficient emission testing methods available because of advanced technology available on recently-manufactured motor vehicles. Under the new law, all testing will be via second-generation On-Board Diagnostic (OBD II) system scanning. This eliminates the transient and idle tailpipe testing necessary for older vehicles. This proposed rule change conforms the rule to the statute and details how the new program will work, including electronic transmission of testing data to DMV, elimination of repair cost waiver, changes in model years tested, and changes in vehicle types and weights subject to testing. The changes would also eliminate testing of 1968 to 1995 model year vehicles, and add on-board diagnostics equipped diesel vehicles and heavier vehicles to those needing to be tested.
In addition, this proposed rule change eliminates the evaporative emission (“gas cap") test, which is no longer needed with testing under the OBD II protocol.
Finally, this proposed rule change establishes specific criteria to determine whether a vehicle is “customarily kept in" the non-attainment area and therefore subject to emission testing. This will assist the Department in enforcing the law.
Policy Analysis
Technological changes in vehicle manufacture, and changes in the mix of vehicles in the fleet, necessitate this program change. The Department of Transportation and the Department of Natural Resources have studied a wide variety of options for improving cost-effectiveness and cost-efficiency of the vehicle emission inspection program, while meeting the requirements of the federal US Clean Air Act. DOT and DNR have found that most vehicles in the fleet are now equipped with OBD II technology, that few older vehicles remain which must be tested with transient and idle tailpipe testing methods, that newly-manufactured diesel vehicles are equipped with OBD II technology, and that alternative methods are available for capturing data from On-Board Diagnostic Computers and transmitting it to DOT. The proposed rule making reflects DNR and DOT analysis of these options.
Statutory Authority
Entities Affected by the Rule
DOT, DNR, and USEPA are involved in establishing a program that conforms to federal requirements. DOT's current contractor and other potential vendors are available to perform OBD II testing. Some motor vehicle owners in the non-attainment area will be affected by these changes: older vehicles of 1968 to 1995 model year vehicles would no longer be tested, and on-board diagnostics equipped diesel vehicles and heavier vehicles will be added to those needing to be tested. Contractors involved with highway construction projects can also be affected, as adequate pollution control measures must be maintained in the non-attainment area, in order for construction projects to proceed.
Comparison with Federal Regulations
The vehicle emission inspection program is administered by DOT, in consultation with DNR, to conform with federal Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) regulations and guidelines, and the US Clean Air Act. All components of the proposed rule-making conform with federal regulations.
Estimate of Time Needed to Develop the Rule
Estimated 400 hours total state employees time to develop the rule.
