Scope statements
Commerce
Subject
Objective of the rule. The objective is to revise the Department's schedule of usual and customary costs. This revision is expected to include (1) adding tasks that have become commonly associated with PECFA claims, (2) establishing maximum reimbursement rates for those tasks, and (3) refining how the schedule addresses the tasks and corresponding rates that it currently includes.
Policy Analysis
The Department implemented chapter Comm 47 in 1993 as a means of controlling PECFA program costs and establishing necessary administrative and regulatory procedures. From its outset, this chapter has included monetary caps on site investigation activities, fostered price competition for site remediations, identified the services that consultants could provide, and delineated eligible and non-eligible costs.
The revisions to the usual and customary cost schedule will continue the technical and policy development of the PECFA program. The goals and objectives that formed the basis for the initial rule remain current, and the revisions to the schedule will concentrate on the same issues of remediation, cost control, and administrative process improvement. Clarifications may also be developed for making the schedule easier to understand and use.
Because section
101.143 (4) (cm) of the Statutes requires the department to use methods of data collection and analysis that enable the schedule to be revised to reflect changes in actual costs, the only feasible alternative to revising the schedule at this point in time would be a temporary delay in the revision. This delay would reduce the public benefits that will be achieved through revising the schedule now.
Statutory Authority
Staff Time Required
Approximately 100 hours will be needed to develop the revisions to the schedule. This time includes drafting the revisions and processing them through legislative review and adoption. The Department will assign existing staff to develop the revisions, and no other additional resources will be needed.
Entities Affected by the Rule
The revisions to the schedule may affect consultants and commodity service providers who perform the tasks that will be addressed by the revisions.
Comparison with Federal Regulations
The PECFA program was originally created in response to a requirement from the federal Environmental Protection Agency that all underground storage tank system owners have the financial means to clean up any contamination caused by a leak from those systems. However, the PECFA program 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.
Natural Resources
Subject
Objective of the rule. Amendments are being proposed to Wisconsin Administrative Code ch.
NR 140, Groundwater Quality to establish state groundwater quality standards for Alachlor ethane sulfonic acid (Alachlor-ESA). Chapter
NR 140, Wis. Adm. Code, establishes Wisconsin state groundwater quality standards for both substances of public health concern and for substances of public welfare concern. Alachlor-ESA is considered a substance of public health concern.
Alachlor-ESA is a degradation product of the broadleaf herbicide Alachlor. Alachlor has been used in Wisconsin on corn and soybeans. Alachlor-ESA has been detected extensively in Wisconsin groundwater. Sampling conducted by the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection indicates that Alachlor-ESA is present in approximately 28% of the private water supply wells in Wisconsin.
Background
The last Department ch.
NR 140 rulemaking effort originally included groundwater standards, developed by the Department of Health and Family Services (DHFS), for Alachlor-ESA. The Natural Resources Board approved, on three occasions, adoption of the Alachlor-ESA groundwater quality standards developed by DHFS, but those standards were objected to during Legislative rule review. The statutory time limit for completing rulemaking of those standards expired at the end of December, 2006. These proposed amendments to ch.
NR 140 start the standard setting process over.
Policy Analysis
Chapter
NR 140, Wis. Adm. Code, was adopted by the Natural Resources Board in 1985 to comply with Wisconsin Statute Chapter
160. Chapter
160, Stats., created as part of the
1983 Wisconsin Act 410 (The Groundwater Bill), requires the Department to develop groundwater quality standards for substances detected in, or having a reasonable probability of entering, the groundwater resources of the state.
Chapter
NR 140, Wis. Adm. Code, establishes groundwater quality standards at two levels: preventive action limit (PAL) and enforcement standard (ES). In accordance with ch.
160, Stats., ES groundwater quality standards for substances of public health concern are established based on recommendations received from the Department of Health and Family Services. PAL groundwater quality standards for substances of public health concern are set at either 20% of the concentration of the established ES, or at 10% of the concentration of the established ES if the substance has carcinogenic, mutagenic or teratogenic properties or interactive effects.
Statutory Authority
The Department's statutory authority to establish state groundwater quality standards is contained in ch.
160, Stats., and ss.
281.12 (1),
281.15,
281.19 (1) and
299.11, Stats.
Chapter
160, Stats., establishes an administrative process for developing numerical state groundwater quality standards to be used as criteria for the protection of public health and welfare by all state groundwater regulatory programs. Chapter
160, Stats., directs the Department to use this administrative process to establish numeric groundwater quality standards for substances of public health or welfare concern, found in, or having a reasonable probability of being detected in, the groundwater resources of the state.
Staff Time Required
The estimated staff time needed to develop these amendments to NR 140 is approximately 235 hours.
Entities Affected by the Rule
The proposed groundwater standards would apply to all regulated facilities, practices and activities which may impact groundwater quality. The Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) regulates pesticide use, handling and storage. DATCP may be affected by proposed Alachlor-ESA standards, as more monitoring for this substance may be warranted. Agricultural users of Alachlor might also potentially be affected by these rules as management practice or use restriction regulations could be adopted if Alachlor-ESA was found extensively in groundwater above proposed standards.
Comparison with Federal Regulations
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) establishes health based drinking water maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) and health advisory levels (HALs). Federal MCLs, applicable at public water supply systems, are established based on scientific risk assessments and, in some cases, economic and technological considerations. Federal HALs are developed based on established health risk assessment reference doses (RfDs). No federal MCL, HAL or RfD has yet been established for Alachlor-ESA. Alachlor-ESA is currently on the US EPA Contaminant Candidate List (CCL). The CCL is the US EPA's list of unregulated contaminants which may require national drinking water regulation in the future.
Agency Contact
William Phelps, DNR Bureau of Drinking Water and Groundwater, P.O. Box 7921, Madison, WI 53707,
William.Phelps@Wisconsin.gov; (608) 267-7619.
Podiatrists Affiliated Credentialing Board
Subject
Continuing podiatric medical education. Objective of the rule. To amend the list of acceptable continuing medical educational program approval organizations to include the Wisconsin Society of Podiatric Medicine.
Policy Analysis
Currently, the Podiatrists Affiliated Credentialing Board must accept an educational program approved at the time of attendance by the council on podiatric medical education of the American podiatric medical association, the council on medical education of the American medical association, the council on medical education of the American osteopathic association, and the accreditation council for continuing medical education. The rule amendment would add the Wisconsin Society of Podiatric Medicine as a program approval organization, providing podiatrists a local option when they seek continuing education program approval.
Comparison with Federal Regulations
There is no existing or proposed federal regulation for summary and comparison.
Statutory Authority
Entities Affected by the Rule
Podiatrists licensed in Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Society of Podiatric Medicine, and providers of continuing podiatric medical education.
Staff Time Required
100 hours.
Public Instruction
Subject
In TODD PALMER V. THE STATE OF WISCONSIN DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION, the Court instructed the department to promulgate a rule establishing guidelines for identifying gifted and talented pupils as required under s.
118.35 (2), Stats., because its current rule under s.
PI 8.01 (2) (t), is not sufficient.
Therefore, the department will modify s.
PI 8.01 (2) (t) to establish guidelines for the identification of gifted and talented pupils.
Policy Analysis
At this time it is not known what policies will be incorporated into the proposed rule.
Statutory Authority
