283.41 Notice to other government agencies.
283.43 Public access to information.
283.47 Requests for information by permittee.
283.53 Permit duration, modification, revocation and reissuance.
283.55 Monitoring and reporting; access to premises.
283.57 Waste treatment service charges.
283.59 Reporting of new discharges.
283.61 Exemption for certain alcohol fuel production systems.
283.62 Exemption for certain fruit and vegetable washing facilities.
283.63 Review of permits, decisions, terms and conditions.
SUBCHAPTER V
GENERAL PROVISIONS; ENFORCEMENT
283.83 Continuing planning process.
283.84 Trading of water pollution credits.
283.85 Design of publicly owned treatment facilities.
283.87 Liability for water pollution.
283.91 Civil and criminal remedies.
283.93 Environmental pollution.
Ch. 283 Note
Note: 1995 Wis. Act 227 renumbered the provisions of chs. 144, 147, 159 and 162, Stats. 1993-94, to be chs. 280-299, Stats. 1995-96. For a table tracing former section numbers see the Addenda & Errata at the end of Volume 5.
POLICY AND PURPOSE
283.001
283.001
Statement of policy and purpose. 283.001(1)
(1) Although in recent years intensive efforts have been made toward the abatement of pollution of the waters of this state, pollution of these waters continues. Unabated pollution of the waters of this state continues to arouse widespread public concern. It continues to endanger public health; to threaten fish and aquatic life, scenic and ecological values; and to limit the domestic, municipal, recreational, industrial, agricultural and other uses of water. It is the policy of this state to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of its waters to protect public health, safeguard fish and aquatic life and scenic and ecological values, and to enhance the domestic, municipal, recreational, industrial, agricultural, and other uses of water. In order to achieve this policy, the legislature declares that:
283.001(1)(a)
(a) It is the goal of the state of Wisconsin to eliminate the discharge of pollutants into the waters of the state by 1985;
283.001(1)(b)
(b) It is also the goal of the state of Wisconsin that, wherever attainable, an interim goal of water quality which provides for the protection and propagation of fish, shellfish, and wildlife and provides for recreation in and on the water be achieved by 1983;
283.001(1)(c)
(c) It is also the policy of the state of Wisconsin that the discharge of toxic pollutants in toxic amounts be prohibited.
283.001(2)
(2) The purpose of this chapter is to grant to the department of natural resources all authority necessary to establish, administer and maintain a state pollutant discharge elimination system to effectuate the policy set forth under
sub. (1) and consistent with all the requirements of the federal water pollution control act amendments of 1972,
P.L. 92-500; 86 Stat. 816.
283.001 History
History: 1973 c. 74;
1995 a. 227 s.
846; Stats. 1995 s. 283.001.
DEFINITIONS
283.01
283.01
Definitions. In this chapter:
283.01(1)
(1) "Biological monitoring" means the determination of the effects on aquatic life, including accumulation of pollutants in tissue, in receiving waters due to the discharge of pollutants by techniques and procedures, including sampling of organisms representative of appropriate levels of the food chain appropriate to the volume and the physical, chemical and biological characteristic of the effluent and at appropriate frequencies and locations.
283.01(2)
(2) "Construction" means any placement, assembly or installation of facilities or equipment, including contractual obligations to purchase such facilities or equipment, at the premises where such equipment will be used, including preparation work at such premises.
283.01(3)
(3) "Department" means the department of natural resources.
283.01(4)
(4) "Discharge" when used without qualification includes a discharge of any pollutant.
283.01(5)
(5) "Discharge of pollutant" or "discharge of pollutants" means any addition of any pollutant to the waters of this state from any point source.
283.01(6)
(6) "Effluent limitation" means any restriction established by the department, including schedules of compliance, on quantities, rates, and concentrations of chemical, physical, biological, and other constituents which are discharged from point sources into waters of this state.
283.01(6m)
(6m) "Environmental pollution" means the contaminating or rendering unclean or impure the air, land or waters of the state, or making the same injurious to public health, harmful for commercial or recreational use, or deleterious to fish, bird, animal or plant life.
283.01(7)
(7) "Municipality" means any city, town, village, county, county utility district, town sanitary district, town utility district, school district or metropolitan sewage district or any other public entity created pursuant to law and having authority to collect, treat or dispose of sewage, industrial wastes or other wastes.
283.01(8)
(8) "New source" means any point source the construction of which commenced after the effective date of applicable effluent limitations or standards of performance.
283.01(9)
(9) "Owner or operator" means any person owning or operating a point source of pollution.
283.01(10)
(10) "Permit" means a permit for the discharge of pollutants issued by the department under this chapter.
283.01(11)
(11) "Person" means an individual, owner, operator, corporation, limited liability company, partnership, association, municipality, interstate agency, state agency or federal agency.
283.01(12)
(12) "Point source" means either of the following:
283.01(12)(a)
(a) A discernible, confined and discrete conveyance, including but not limited to any pipe, ditch, channel, tunnel, conduit, well, discrete fissure, container, rolling stock, concentrated animal feeding operation or vessel or other floating craft from which pollutants may be discharged either into the waters of the state or into a publicly owned treatment works except for a conveyance that conveys only storm water.
283.01(12)(b)
(b) A discernible, confined and discrete conveyance of storm water for which a permit is required under
s. 283.33 (1).
283.01(13)
(13) "Pollutant" means any dredged spoil, solid waste, incinerator residue, sewage, garbage, refuse, oil, sewage sludge, munitions, chemical wastes, biological materials, radioactive substance, heat, wrecked or discarded equipment, rock, sand, cellar dirt and industrial, municipal and agricultural waste discharged into water.
283.01(14)
(14) "Pollution" means man-made or man-induced alteration of the chemical, physical, biological or radiological integrity of water.
283.01(15)
(15) "Schedule of compliance" means a schedule of remedial measures including an enforceable sequence of actions or operations leading to compliance with an effluent limitation or other limitation, prohibition or standard.
283.01(16)
(16) "Secretary" means the secretary of natural resources or his or her designee.
283.01(17)
(17) "Toxic pollutants" means those pollutants or combinations of pollutants, including disease-causing agents, which after discharge and upon exposure, ingestion, inhalation or assimilation into any organism, either directly from the environment or indirectly by ingestion through food chains, will, on the basis of information available to the department, cause death, disease, behavioral abnormalities, cancer, genetic mutations, physiological malfunctions, including malfunctions in reproduction or physical deformations, in such organisms or their offspring.
283.01(18)
(18) "Treatment work" means any devices and systems used in the storage, treatment, recycling, and reclamation of municipal sewage or industrial waste of a liquid nature or necessary to recycle or reuse water at the most economical cost over the estimated life of the work, including intercepting sewers, outfall sewers, sewage collection systems, cooling towers and ponds, pumping, power and other equipment, and their appurtenances; extensions, improvements, remodeling, additions, and alterations thereof; elements essential to provide a reliable recycled supply such as standby treatment units and clear well facilities; and any works, including site acquisition of the land that will be an integral part of the treatment process or is used for ultimate disposal of residues resulting from such treatment. Additionally, "treatment work" means any other method or system for preventing, abating, reducing, storing, treating, separating or disposing of municipal waste, including storm water runoff, or industrial waste, including waste in combined storm water and sanitary sewer systems.
283.01(19)
(19) "Vessel" means any watercraft or other artificial contrivance used or capable of being used as a means of transportation on water.
283.01(20)
(20) "Waters of the state" means those portions of Lake Michigan and Lake Superior within the boundaries of Wisconsin, all lakes, bays, rivers, streams, springs, ponds, wells, impounding reservoirs, marshes, water courses, drainage systems and other surface water or groundwater, natural or artificial, public or private within the state or under its jurisdiction, except those waters which are entirely confined and retained completely upon the property of a person.
STANDARDS; EFFLUENT LIMITATIONS
283.11
283.11
State and federal standards. 283.11(1)
(1)
Department to establish standards. The department shall promulgate by rule effluent limitations, standards of performance for new sources, toxic effluent standards or prohibitions and pretreatment standards for any category or class of point sources established by the U.S. environmental protection agency and for which that agency has promulgated any effluent limitations, toxic effluent standards or prohibitions or pretreatment standards for any pollutant.
283.11(2)
(2) Compliance with federal standards. 283.11(2)(a)(a) Except for rules concerning storm water discharges for which permits are issued under
s. 283.33, all rules promulgated by the department under this chapter as they relate to point source discharges, effluent limitations, municipal monitoring requirements, standards of performance for new sources, toxic effluent standards or prohibitions and pretreatment standards shall comply with and not exceed the requirements of the federal water pollution control act,
33 USC 1251 to
1387, and regulations adopted under that act.
283.11(2)(b)
(b) Rules concerning storm water discharges may be no more stringent than the requirements under the federal water pollution control act,
33 USC 1251 to
1387, and regulations adopted under that act.
283.11(3)
(3) Standards for nitrogen, phosphorous and disinfection in the absence of federal standards. 283.11(3)(a)(a)
Standards for nitrogen and disinfection. Notwithstanding
sub. (1) or
(2), the department may promulgate by rule effluent limitations representing the best available demonstrated control technology, processes, operating methods or other alternatives concerning the discharge of nitrogen compounds and concerning the disinfection of sanitary wastewaters if the U.S. environmental protection agency has not promulgated an effluent limitation, effluent standard or prohibition concerning this type of discharge or disinfection.
283.11(3)(am)
(am)
Standards for phosphorous. Notwithstanding
sub. (1) or
(2), the department shall promulgate by rule effluent limitations representing the best available demonstrated control technology, processes, operating methods or other alternatives concerning the discharge of phosphorous if the U.S. environmental protection agency has not promulgated an effluent limitation, effluent standard or prohibition concerning this type of discharge.
283.11(3)(b)
(b)
Exemptions. The department may exempt by rule specified types of discharges from the effluent limitations concerning the discharge of phosphorous or nitrogen compounds established under
par. (a) or
(am) based upon:
283.11(3)(b)2.
2. The impact of nonpoint sources on the waters affected by the discharge;
283.11(3)(b)3.
3. The additional cost of treatment per unit of phosphorous or nitrogen removed;
283.11(3)(b)5.
5. The impact of the discharge on the maintenance or achievement of water quality standards.
283.11(3)(c)
(c)
Advisory committee. In promulgating rules under
pars. (a),
(am) and
(b), the department shall establish an advisory committee under
s. 227.13 composed of representatives of municipal dischargers, industrial point sources, farm groups, environmental groups, nonpoint sources and the public to assist in drafting the rules, evaluating technical studies and advising the department.
283.11(3)(d)
(d)
Impact of subsequent federal standards. If the U.S. environmental protection agency promulgates an effluent limitation, effluent standard or prohibition concerning a type of discharge or disinfection specified under
par. (a) or
(am) for a category or class of point sources which is applicable to a permit holder, the department may modify, and at the request of the permit holder shall modify, the effluent limitation specified in the permit to conform with the effluent limitation, effluent standard or prohibition promulgated by the U.S. environmental protection agency.
283.11(3)(e)
(e)
Compliance dates. A publicly owned treatment works shall comply with effluent limitations established under
par. (a) by July 1, 1983. Any point source other than a publicly owned treatment works shall comply with effluent limitations established under
par. (a) by July 1, 1984.
283.11(4)
(4) Standards for toxic pollutants in the absence of federal standards. 283.11(4)(a)(a)
Authorization. Notwithstanding
sub. (1) or
(2), the department may promulgate by rule, under
s. 283.21, a toxic effluent standard or prohibition applicable to a category or class of point sources for the discharge of an identified toxic pollutant, if the U.S. environmental protection agency has not done either of the following for that identified toxic pollutant:
283.11(4)(a)1.
1. Promulgated, under
33 USC 1311 (b) (2), an effluent limitation applicable to the specified category or class of point sources.
283.11(4)(a)2.
2. Promulgated, under
33 USC 1317, an effluent standard or prohibition applicable to the specified category or class of point sources.
283.11(4)(b)
(b)
Identification. An identified toxic pollutant is:
