• Each deer in an enrolled CWD herd status program must have at least two forms of identification attached to the animal.
The department developed the following policies relating to these federal requirements:
• Physical herd inventory: The first complete physical herd inventory by an APHIS employee, state representative or accredited veterinarian of farm-raised deer currently enrolled in the Wisconsin CWD herd status program must be completed by December 31, 2015, and no later than every third year thereafter.
• Currently enrolled herds: Deer in herds currently enrolled in the Wisconsin CWD herd status program must have two forms of identification applied as follows:
• By December 31, 2015, to all deer that are 12 months of age or older.
• Effective December 10, 2012, to any live deer, regardless of age, that is moved from the herd.
• Herds planning to enroll: Effective December 10, 2012, any herds planning to enroll in the Wisconsin CWD herd status program must have two forms of identification attached to each deer prior to enrollment.
• Deer added to an enrolled herd: Effective December 10, 2012, any deer added to a Wisconsin enrolled herd must have two forms of identification:
• For natural additions, by 12 months of age.
• For non-natural additions, by the date of entering the herd, regardless of age.
• Reporting deer identification: Effective December 10, 2012, once two forms of identification have been applied to a deer in the Wisconsin CWD herd status program, both forms of identification must be reported on the annual herd census submitted to the department.
Current rule waivers.
The department issued a waiver, effective November 1, 2012, from the prohibition of commingling turkey breeding flocks with other species of fowl or farm-raised game birds, and commingling turkey hatchery eggs with eggs of other species of fowl.
The policies and waiver described above will be reflected in the proposed rules.
Policy alternatives.
• Update rules to accommodate federal CWD regulations. If the department takes no action, current rules will remain in effect. Failure to update the rules may jeopardize Wisconsin's approval from USDA to implement its HCP which allows keepers of farm-raised deer enrolled in the CWD herd status program to move deer interstate.
• Update rules to implement the waiver from the prohibition of commingling turkey breeding flocks/eggs with other species of fowl. If the department takes no action, current rules will remain in effect. The current rule prohibits turkey breeding flocks/eggs from being commingled with other species of fowl. The waiver lifts this prohibition. If the waiver isn't codified in the rule, the rule language prohibiting the commingling of turkey breeding flocks/eggs will remain and conflict with the actual practice allowed under the waiver. The waiver benefits most small poultry farmers who do not have multiple hatchery buildings to meet the requirements of the commingling prohibition under the current rule.
Detailed Explanation of Statutory Authority for the Rule (Including the Statutory Citation and Language)
Section 93.07 Department duties. It shall be the duty of the department:
(1) REGULATIONS. To make and enforce such regulations, not inconsistent with law, as it may deem necessary for the exercise and discharge of all the powers and duties of the department, and to adopt such measures and make such regulations as are necessary and proper for the enforcement by the state of chs.
93 to
100, which regulations shall have the force of law.
(10) ANIMAL HEALTH; QUARANTINE. To protect the health of animals located in this state and of humans residing in this state and to determine and employ the most efficient and practical means for these purposes, the department may establish, maintain, enforce, and regulate such quarantine and such other measures relating to the importation movement, and care of animals and their products, the disinfection of suspected localities and articles, and the disposition of animals, as the department determines are necessary. The definition of “communicable disease" in s.
990.01 (5g) does not apply to this subsection.
Section 95.45 Certificates of veterinary inspection; tests for interstate shipment.
(4) (c) The department may promulgate rules to impose requirements on the form, issuance, and filing of certificates of veterinary inspection.
(5) Any certificate of veterinary inspection prepared under this chapter or ch.
169 shall comply with any rules that are promulgated by the department.
Section 95.55 Farm-raised deer.
(1) REGISTRATION. (c) The department shall register a person to keep farm-raised deer in a fenced area that is located in this state and another state without having the entire area in this state enclosed with a fence if all of the following apply:
3. The person complies with all of the rules promulgated under this section for the prevention of disease in farm-raised deer or all such laws of the adjoin state, whichever are more stringent, as determined by the department of agriculture, trade and consumer protection.
(6) RULES. (a) The department shall promulgate rules to regulate persons who keep farm-raised deer. The rules shall establish disease testing requirements for bovine tuberculosis and chronic wasting disease and may establish testing requirements for other diseases.
(b) The rules promulgated under this subsection may include any of the following:
1. Standards to be followed by persons keeping farm-raised deer to prevent the spread of disease.
2. Provisions requiring that registration under this section be on an annual basis.
Section 95.60 Importing fish; fish farms.
(2) (e) A person bringing fish or fish eggs from a fish farm in another state to a fish farm in this state is not required to have a permit under par. (a) if the person has a fish health certificate that covers the fish or fish eggs and that complies with the requirements for fish health certificates specified by the department by rule.
(3) The department may promulgate rules, applicable to persons who operate fish farms, that require any evidence of fish health that the department determines is necessary.
(4) (c) Except as provided in par. (d), a person who operates a fish farm shall keep records on purchases, sales and production of fish and fish eggs and any other records required by the department by rule. The department may inspect these records upon request.
Estimate of Amount of Time that State Employees Will Spend Developing the Rule and of Other Resources Necessary to Develop the Rule
The department estimates that it will use approximately 0.80 FTE staff to develop this rule. That 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. The department will use existing staff to develop this rule.
List with Description of all Entities that may be Affected by the Proposed Rule
The proposed rule will have a direct impact on owners of bovines moved interstate (including rodeo and exhibition cattle), keepers of farm-raised deer, fish farmers, poultry farmers, military veterans and persons who import animals.
Summary and Preliminary Comparison with any Existing or Proposed Federal Regulation that Is Intended to Address the Activities to be Regulated by the Proposed Rule
• Effective December 10, 2012, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) rules, under
9 CFR ss. 55.23 (b) (4) and
55.25, established requirements for a Herd Certification Program (HCP) for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in farm-raised or captive cervids in the United States. Wisconsin received contingent approval to implement the HCP for CWD in farmed or captive deer. This approval will allow owners of cervids who choose to participate in the CWD HCP to move deer interstate, provided the following requirements are met:
(1)
Any enrolled deer that is 12, rather than 16, months of age or older must be tested for CWD upon death.
(2) A complete physical herd inventory must be performed for all enrolled herds, the first of which must be completed by December 31, 2015.
(3) Each deer in an enrolled herd must have at least two forms of identification unique to the animal and securely attached by December 31, 2015 or as soon as a new deer is added to the herd from an outside source.
Wisconsin's program approval is contingent on aligning administrative rules with these requirements.
• On December 20, 2012, USDA announced a final rule establishing general regulations for improving the traceability of U.S. livestock moving interstate. Under the final rule, unless specifically exempted, livestock moved interstate must be officially identified and accompanied by an interstate certification of veterinary inspection or other documentation, such as owner-shipper statements of brand certificates.
The definition of “official individual identification" in Wisconsin's administrative rules must be amended to align to the new federal traceability regulations.
Anticipated Economic Impact of Implementing the Rule (Note if the Rule Is Likely to Have a Significant Economic Impact on Small Businesses)
The majority of these rule modifications will ease program requirements or are technical and will have no fiscal effect.
Modifications required to align with federal USDA regulations may have an economic impact on small business and include:
• Owners of rodeo and exhibition cattle must apply eartags to their cattle to improve traceability. However, because these eartags are free, the fiscal impact will be minimal.
• Keepers of farm-raised deer enrolled in the CWD herd status program will have to apply two forms of identification to each deer that is 12 months of age or older and provide a complete herd inventory every three years. This rule will have a greater fiscal impact on keepers of farm-raised deer that do not currently have facilities to catch deer, in order to apply the required identification to deer or to complete a herd inventory.
If these rule modifications are not promulgated, Wisconsin may jeopardize its approval from USDA to implement its HCP which allows keepers of farm-raised deer enrolled in the CWD herd status program to move deer interstate.
The rule may also establish training requirements for individuals approved by the department to collect CWD test samples. This will allow individuals, other than certified veterinarians, to collect CWD test samples and could save keepers of farm-raised deer a significant amount of money in collecting CWD test samples.
Contact Person
Paul McGraw, DVM, Assistant State Veterinarian, DATCP, (608) 224-4884.
Natural Resources
Environmental Protection—General, Chs.
NR 100— and Environmental Protection—Water Supply, Chs.
NR 800—
This statement of scope was approved by the governor on February 4, 2013.
Rule No.
Relating to
Geothermal licensing.
Rule Type
Permanent.
Finding/Nature of Emergency (Emergency Rule Only)
These will be permanent rules.
Detailed Description of the Objective of the Proposed Rule
The proposed rule would create the specific requirement for heat exchange drilling to help protect sources of drinking water as well as consumers while enhancing the availability of alternate sources of energy for heating and cooling. Rules are necessary to interpret the provisions regarding heat exchange drilling, which is now regulated as a result of passage of
2011 Wisconsin Act 150.
Wisconsin Act 150 will become effective 36 months after publication, or April 1, 2015, at which time heat exchange drilling cannot be done without a license.
The Department proposes to issue a single drilling license with authorizations available for either water well or heat exchange drilling or both. Construction requirements for heat exchange drilling will be proposed in the rule.
Construction of drillholes creates a connection from the land surface through layers of soil and rock to groundwater. Improper heat exchange drillhole construction can potentially result not only in contamination of groundwater used for drinking water supply but also in reduced energy efficiency and unnecessary business and consumer costs.
Description of Existing Policies Relevant to the Rule and of New Policies Proposed to be Included in the Rule and an Analysis of Policy Alternatives; the History, Background and Justification for the Proposed Rule
Existing rules set license and construction requirements for water well drilling. New rules will set license and construction requirements for heat exchange drillhole drilling.
Current rules include:
Chapter
280 – Pure Drinking Water, provides definitions for terms, defines the powers of the department, and lays out well drilling registration, licensing and qualification requirements and fees for such. It also defines certain prohibitions and exceptions, local authority and defines penalties and citations.
Chapter
NR 146 – Well Driller and Pump Installer Registration, provides definitions, registration requirements, defines the requirements for the initial application and registration conditions. It also defines requirements for out-of-state drillers, renewals and the registrant responsibilities, as well as license suspension and revocation criteria.
Chapter
NR 812 – Well Construction and Pump Installation, provides a general section covering purpose, applicability, cooperation with the department, contracts for noncomplying installations, disposal of pollutants and injection prohibition, drinking water standards, definitions and location criteria, and additional sections on new well construction and reconstruction requirements, requirements of new pump installations and water treatment, standards for existing installations, and variance conditions.
2011 Wisconsin Act 150 was prompted by concerns in the drilling industry that current regulation and licensing did not adequately cover the installation of heat-exchange drillholes and that inexperienced or even unqualified drillers were doing installations in Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Water Well Association took the lead in working with the legislature, other industry representatives, and the department, to promote passage of Wisconsin Act 150.
2011 Wisconsin Act 150 created new definitions in Chapter
280, Stats., for heat exchange drillhole and heat exchange drilling, and modified the individual and business license for drillers to create a more generic drilling license, with specific authorization to do well drilling or heat exchange drilling. Wisconsin Act 150 requires that the department establish new criteria and requirements for evaluating existing heat exchange drilling experience, and establish training and continuing education requirements for attaining and maintaining a heat exchange drilling license under the new definitions. As a part of implementing the requirements for the new category of heat exchange driller, ch.
NR 146 - license registration, and ch.
NR 812 - construction requirements - will need to be amended to address heat exchange drilling.
Currently drilling-related aspects of all vertical heat exchange systems must receive department approval. Development of construction standards for vertical heat exchange systems will allow the department to streamline the approval process. Establishing construction standards for heat exchange drillholes by rule will allow the typical low-risk systems to proceed with installation more quickly by no longer requiring the owners to wait for DNR approval.
The new licensing requirement continues the state policy to protect groundwater and ensure safe drinking water as well as protect consumers and enhance the availability of alternate sources of energy for heating and cooling by proper construction of heat exchange drillholes by licensed and trained professionals.
Statutory Authority tor the Rule (Including the Statutory Citation and Language)
Section
280.11(1), Stats.: “The department shall, after a public hearing, prescribe, publish and enforce minimum reasonable standards and rules and regulations for methods to be pursued in the obtaining of pure drinking water for human consumption and the establishing of all safeguards deemed necessary in protecting the public health against the hazards of polluted sources of impure water supplies intended or used for human consumption, including minimum reasonable standards for the construction of well pits. It shall have general supervision and control of all methods of obtaining groundwater for human consumption including sanitary conditions surrounding the same, the construction or reconstruction of wells and generally to prescribe, amend, modify or repeal any rule or regulation theretofore prescribed and shall do and perform any act deemed necessary for the safeguarding of public health."
Section
280.13 (1) (intro.) states: “The department may exercise such powers as are reasonably necessary to carry out and enforce the provisions of this chapter. It may, among other things:"
Section
227.11 (2) (a) states: “Each agency may promulgate rules interpreting the provisions of any statute enforced or administered by the agency, if the agency considers it necessary to effectuate the purpose of the statute, but a rule is not valid if the rule exceeds the bounds of correct interpretation. All of the following apply to the promulgation of a rule interpreting the provisions of a statute enforced or administered by an agency:"
Section
280.15 (2m) (b) 2. States: “In order to retain his or her license as a well driller or pump installer an individual shall comply with requirements for continuing education promulgated by the department by rule and shall apply for license renewal and pay the required license fees under par. (c) annually on or before January 1."
Section
280.15 (2m) (f) 2m. b. states: “Except as provided in par. (g), the applicant has been a registered drilling rig operator for at least 2 years within the 5 years before applying, has complied with training and continuing education requirements under sub. (3g), and has the heat exchange drilling experience required by the department by rule."
Estimate of the Amount of Time that State Employees Will Spend to Develop the Rule and Other Resources Necessary to Develop the Rule
