2015 Wisconsin Act 204

204,21 Section 21. 292.15 (2) (am) of the statutes is renumbered 292.15 (2) (am) 1m., and 292.15 (2) (am) 1m. (intro.), as renumbered, is amended to read:

292.15 (2) (am) 1m. (intro.) The Except as provided in subd. 2m., the department may approve a partial cleanup and issue a certificate of completion as provided in par. (a), (ae), (af), or (ag) that states that not all of the property has been satisfactorily restored or that not all of the harmful effects from a discharge of a hazardous substance have been minimized. Approval of a partial cleanup exempts a voluntary party from ss. 291.37 (2) and 292.11 (3), (4) and (7) (b) and (c) with respect to the portion of the property or hazardous substances cleaned up under this paragraph. In addition to meeting the requirements of par. (a), (ae), (af), or (ag), a certificate for a partial cleanup under this paragraph may be issued only if:

204,22 Section 22. 292.15 (2) (am) 2m. of the statutes is created to read:

292.15 (2) (am) 2m. If there exists contaminated sediment in addition to a hazardous substance in soil or soil and groundwater on a property from a release of a hazardous substance on or originating from a property, the department may only approve a partial cleanup of the property or discharge with respect to the soil or soil and groundwater. The department may approve the partial cleanup only if, in addition to the requirements under subd. 1m., all of the following apply:

a. An environmental investigation of the property or discharges is conducted in a manner approved by the department.

b. The voluntary party, or a person who has entered into a legally enforceable agreement with the department, agrees to restore the environment to the extent practicable and minimize the harmful effects from the contaminated sediment on the property or the discharges resulting in contaminated sediment.

c. The voluntary party or the person who has entered into a legally enforceable agreement under subd. 2m. b. provides financial assurance to the department, in the manner required by the department, in the event that the voluntary party or the person who has entered into a legally enforceable agreement under subd. 2m. b. fails to restore the environment to the extent practicable and minimize the harmful effects from the contaminated sediment on the property or the discharges resulting in contaminated sediment.

204,23 Section 23. 292.15 (2) (b) (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:

292.15 (2) (b) Extent of exemptions. (intro.) The exemptions provided in pars. (a), (ae), (af), (ag) and (am) continue to apply after the date of certification by the department under par. (a) 3., (ae) 3., (af) 3., or (ag) 2., or approval by the department under par. (am), notwithstanding the occurrence of any of the following:

204,24 Section 24. 292.15 (2) (b) 1. of the statutes is amended to read:

292.15 (2) (b) 1. Statutes, rules or regulations are created or amended that would impose greater responsibilities on the voluntary party than those imposed under par. (a) 2., (ae) 2., (af) 2., or (ag) 1.

204,25 Section 25. 292.15 (2) (b) 2. of the statutes is amended to read:

292.15 (2) (b) 2. The voluntary party fully complies with the rules promulgated by the department and any contract entered into under those rules under par. (a) 2., (ae) 2. or (ag) 1., or fully complies with the requirements imposed by the department and any contract entered into with the department's approval under par. (af) 2., but it is discovered that the cleanup fails to fully restore the environment and minimize the effects from a discharge of a hazardous substance.

204,26 Section 26. 292.15 (2) (b) 3. of the statutes is amended to read:

292.15 (2) (b) 3. The contamination from a hazardous substance that is the subject of the cleanup under par. (a) 2., (ae) 2., (af) 2., or (ag) 1. is discovered to be more extensive than anticipated by the voluntary party and the department.

204,27 Section 27. 292.15 (2) (b) 5. of the statutes is amended to read:

292.15 (2) (b) 5. If the voluntary party does not own or control the property, the person who owns or controls the property fails to allow the department, any authorized representative of the department, any representative of a company that has issued insurance required under par. (ae) 3m. or (af) 3m., any party that possessed or controlled the hazardous substance or caused the discharge of the hazardous substance, or any consultant or contractor of any of those persons to enter the property to determine whether natural attenuation has failed and to take action to respond to the discharge if natural attenuation has failed, or to determine whether additional remedial action is necessary and to take the necessary remedial action, unless additional action is not required under this paragraph.

204,28 Section 28. 292.15 (2) (c) of the statutes is amended to read:

292.15 (2) (c) Prohibition on action. The department of justice may not commence an action under 42 USC 9607, against any voluntary party meeting the criteria of this subsection, under 42 USC 9607 to recover costs for which the voluntary party is exempt or under 43 CFR Part 11 to recover damages to natural resources resulting from a discharge for which the party is exempt under pars. (a), (ae), (af), (ag), (am), and (b).

204,29 Section 29. 292.15 (2) (d) of the statutes is created to read:

292.15 (2) (d) Prohibition on requiring additional action to comply with a total maximum daily load. If a voluntary party is exempt from liability under par. (af), the department may not require the voluntary party to take additional action in relation to the discharge for which the voluntary party is exempt under par. (af) for the purpose of complying with a federally approved total maximum daily load under 33 USC 1313 (d) (1) (C), unless otherwise required under this section or s. 292.12.

204,30 Section 30. 292.15 (2) (e) of the statutes is amended to read:

292.15 (2) (e) Contract with insurer. If the department requires insurance under par. (ae) 3m. or (af) 3m., the department may contract with an insurer to provide insurance required under par. (ae) 3m. or (af) 3m. and may require voluntary parties to obtain coverage under the contract.

204,31 Section 31. 292.15 (6m) of the statutes is created to read:

292.15 (6m) Limitation on eligibility. A voluntary party is not eligible for the exemption provided in sub. (2) (af) if the remedial action taken by the voluntary party relating to contaminated sediment includes an engineering control.

204,32 Section 32. 292.15 (7) (f) of the statutes is created to read:

292.15 (7) (f) A property that is listed or proposed to be listed on the national priorities list under 42 USC 9605 (a) (8) (B).

204,33 Section 33. 292.25 (1) (e) of the statutes is amended to read:

292.25 (1) (e) The number of sites for which a claim was made against an insurance policy required under s. 292.15 (2) (ae).

204,34 Section 34. 292.25 (1) (f) of the statutes is created to read:

292.25 (1) (f) The number of sites for which a claim was made against an insurance policy required under s. 292.15 (2) (af).

204,35 Section 35. 292.68 (1) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:

292.68 (1) (b) "PCB contaminated sediment" means sediment that contains polychlorinated biphenyls in a concentration of 50 parts per million or greater and that is dredged from the bed or bank of a navigable water in this state.

204,36 Section 36. Nonstatutory provisions.

(1) Using the procedure under section 227.24 of the statutes, the department of natural resources shall promulgate rules required under sections 292.12 (2) (d) 2. and 292.15 (2) (af) 3m. of the statutes, as created by this act, for the period before the effective date of the permanent rules promulgated under sections 292.12 (2) (d) 2. and 292.15 (2) (af) 3m. of the statutes, as created by this act, but not to exceed the period authorized under section 227.24 (1) (c) of the statutes, subject to extension under section 227.24 (2) of the statutes. Notwithstanding section 227.24 (1) (a), (2) (b), and (3) of the statutes, the department is not required to provide evidence that promulgating a rule under this subsection as an emergency rule is necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health, safety, or welfare and is not required to provide a finding of emergency for a rule promulgated under this subsection.