Scope Statements
Natural Resources
Environmental Protection - Wis. Pollutant Discharge Elimination System, Chs.
NR 200—
Subject
Revises ch.
NR 207, relating to implementation of the state's antidegredation policy.
Objective of the Rule
The antidegredation policy is found at section
NR 102.05 (1) (a), Wis. Adm. Code, and establishes that no waters shall be lowered in water quality unless it has been demonstrated that the change is justified as a result of necessary economic and social development. In no case however, can water quality be lowered to the point where it becomes injurious to any assigned uses (or uses presently possible) to the receiving water. Chapter
NR 207, Wis. Adm. Code, establishes procedures to implement the antidegredation policy including when proposed new or increased discharges are significant enough to invoke antidegredation procedures, what procedures must be followed and how the antidegredation analysis will be evaluated.
Policy Analysis
Chapter
NR 207 was originally developed to address point source pollution discharges from industrial processes or from municipal wastewater treatment facilities. Since the rule was first promulgated in 1989, changes to federal regulations, and concomitant changes to state regulations require municipal storm water discharges to be permitted through the Clean Water Act, and therefore subject to antidegredation requirements. However, the nature of these discharges are similar to nonpoint source discharges and the definitions and implementation procedures currently in ch.
NR 207 do not apply well. The department proposes to add a section in ch.
NR 207 to establish implementation procedures and to add or revise certain definitions to allow for application of the state antidegredation policy to municipal storm water discharges. In addition, the public participation process for antidegredation review is not established in ch.
NR 207, and the department proposes to add a section to clarify when and how the public may have input into the antidegredation process.
Statutory Authority
Entities Affected by the Rule
Municipalities that must obtain Wisconsin Pollution Discharge Elimination System (WPDES) storm water discharge permits (approximately 240) will be required to conform to the revised antidegredation implementation procedures. Builders and developers and environmental organizations may also be affected.
Comparison with Federal Regulations
The counterpart federal regulation is
40 CFR 131.12. This regulation requires antidegredation review for all discharges that have the potential to lower water quality. It imposes a necessity test and an important social and economic development test before the discharge can be approved. When NR 207 was first promulgated in 1989, municipal storm water discharges were not regulated under federal law, so the rule did not address them. Federal regulations now require permits for municipal storm water discharges, so antidegredation requirements need to be updated to include them. The proposed revision will address this issue as well as to define public participation opportunities required by the Federal Clean Water Act.
Estimate of Time Needed to Develop the Rule
Approximately 600 hrs of staff time, primarily within the Bureau of Watershed Management
Contact Information
Russell Rasmussen, Director
Bureau of Watershed Management
Phone: 608-267-7651
Pharmacy Examining Board
Subject
Amends s.
Phar 6.08, relating to pharmacy alarms.
Objective of the Rule
Amend the current rule to require pharmacies located inside another structure to have a separate alarm system for the pharmacy.
Policy Analysis
The current rule does not require pharmacies located inside another structure to be separately alarmed. This presents a security concern in the event a security breach occurs directly to the pharmacy.
Statutory Authority
Entities Affected by the Rule
Pharmacies licensed in Wisconsin within a larger structure that are not alarmed separate from the larger structure.
Comparison with Federal Regulations
None.
Estimate of Time Needed to Develop the Rule
100 hours.
Pharmacy Examining Board
Subject
Objective of the Rule
Policy Analysis
The current rule refers to drug initialization review. It should read, drug utilization review.
Statutory Authority
Entities Affected by the Rule
Wisconsin pharmacies and pharmacists.
Comparison with Federal Regulations
None.
Estimate of Time Needed to Develop the Rule
35 hours.
Public Defender
Subject
Revises ch.
PD 1 regarding the certification criteria for private attorneys and the process by which private attorneys are certified.
Objective of the Rule
The objectives of these rules are to permit the State Public Defender (SPD) to consider an attorney's prior disciplinary record, other conduct as an attorney and other behaviors, in addition to experience and education, when making certification, recertification and decertification decisions, to permit discretion in recertifying an attorney who had been excluded from a certification list and to permit the SPD to suspend an attorney pending investigation. Also, the objective of these rules is to permit the SPD to disclose comments made during investigations if those comments are already public.
