Citing data from the state of Illinois, the EPA has announced it intends to revise its proposed designation for Kenosha County, and recommend it be designated nonattainment for the 2008 8-hour ozone standard. This decision by the EPA is unwelcome, as nonattainment designations carry with them substantial regulatory and related economic burdens.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) this week denied a rulemaking petition by opponents of silica sand mining in western and northern Wisconsin. The same day it denied the rulemaking request, the DNR issued a comprehensive Silica Sand Mining Study.

The Wisconsin Natural Resources Board met January 24th and 25th in Madison. Important topics addressed by the Board included approval of an economic impact solicitation process, a reduction of the bear harvest quota for 2012, and discussions of EPA-identified deficiencies in the state’s water program and frac sand mining.

One of several bills targeted at reducing uncertainty and increasing flexibility in Wisconsin’s regulatory system is Assembly Bill 463/Senate Bill 368, known as “the wetlands bill.” The bill, sponsored by Senator Neal Kedzie (R-Elkhorn) and Representative Jeff Mursau (R-Crivitz), makes significant changes to Wisconsin’s wetlands permitting process.

Wisconsin wetlands are currently subject to a myriad of different regulations. For example, some wetlands are subject to both state and federal regulations, while others are regulated only by the state. For non-federal wetlands, the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) can issue an individual or general certification, and must take extra precautions if the wetland is or is near to an area of special natural resource interest (ASNRI). While the jurisdictional overlap is unavoidable, the multitude of permitting standards for non-federal wetlands results in an overly complex area of law.

The wetlands bill would require the DNR to follow specific procedures and timelines for issuing individual wetlands permits for the first time ever. The DNR will be able to focus on larger and more complex projects by increasing the use of general permits for smaller, less complex projects. The DNR would also be permitted to consider economic impacts and mitigation when making a permitting determination. Below is a discussion of the changes to Wisconsin’s wetland regulations contained in AB 463/SB368:

The Department of Natural Resources is currently accepting comments on Wisconsin's proposed list of waters that do not meet water quality standards and a group of plans for maintaining or improving water quality in 24 of 330 watersheds across the state. An online web presentation is scheduled for January 5, and public comments will be accepted through February 20, 2012.

The Wisconsin Natural Resources Board will meet at 8:30AM on December 14th at the DNR headquarters in Madison. The Board will consider several items related to Land Management, Recreation, and Fisheries/Wildlife, approve or disapprove a couple scope statements and the 2011-13 capital development budget, and hear informational reports on silica, the Oak Creek Bluff Collapse, and commercial fishing.

The long anticipated mining bill was released by Assembly Republicans on Thursday, Dec. 8. The 183-page bill would create new statutes to govern ferrous (iron) mining, which is currently regulated in the same manner as non-ferrous (non-iron minerals like gold or copper) mining.

This bill comes in response to Gogebic Taconite's proposal to build Wisconsin’s largest ever iron mine. Proponents of the bill point to the job creation potential of the mine, while opponents worry environmental standards will be sacrificed to gain those jobs. Proponents counter that the text of the bill is the best indication so far that it is possible to retain Wisconsin’s strong environmental standards while still taking advantage of the state’s rich natural resources.

The Environmental Protection Agency will develop and finalize multiple rules over the next several years that will dramatically impact the air, water, and energy regulatory climate. This unprecedented level of activity will be mirrored at the state level since each federal regulation will trigger the promulgation of state rules to implement the standards. Studies have shown these rules will have an impact on the overall economy, jobs, competitiveness, and energy costs.

Below is a brief summary of of the most recent action on the multitude of rules under promulgation as well as information on expected future actions.

Governor Walker issued Executive Order 50, Relating to Guidelines for the Promulgation of Administrative Rules, on November 2nd. The Governor’s executive order is an important step toward implementation and understanding of the new procedures adopted in 2011 Wisconsin Act 21, which passed during the January special session.

The Wisconsin Natural Resources Board met yesterday, October 26, for its October 2011 board meeting. Among other issues before the board was a request for authorization for public hearing on proposed rules affecting NR 404 and 484 pertaining to adopting the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2).

In order to implement the Great Lakes Compact in Wisconsin, large withdrawers in the Great Lakes basin will need a Water Use permit beginning on December 8, 2011. Comments on the proposed permitting documents are due by October 31, 2011 so that the DNR can finalize the permits before they are issued beginning on December 8, 2011.

The Wisconsin Natural Resources Board, at an emergency meeting October 17th,  approved extending the commercial whitefish season to October 31st in Green Bay and Lake Michigan for 2011 in order to ensure Wisconsin’s commercial fishers are competitive with Michigan fishers.

The Wisconsin Natural Resources Board met September 27-28 in Kenosha. The Board held its business meeting on the 28th after spending the previous day on various educational tours. The majority of the agenda items concerned land and resource management, and concluded with presentations on blue-green algae and the development of biomass sustainability guidelines for the emerging bioenergy sector.

This morning the Assembly Committee on Natural Resources is holding a hearing on the proposed revision of the state's reasonably available control technology emission limitations for volatile organic compounds, invasive species, the composition of the Natural Resources Board, phosphorus regulations, and other issues.

The Department of Natural Resources will hold public hearings on the proposed Regional Haze SIP for the State of Wisconsin at 10 AM and the Milwaukee-Racine nonattainment area redesignation request and maintenance plan at 1PM on September 13, 2011.

The DNR has released a study describing what is currently known about the sources, emissions, and health effects from exposure to crystalline and amorphous forms of silica. Interest in this substance has grown as mining for sand in western Wisconsin, one source of silica dust, has increased.

At its August meeting, the Natural Resources Board heard a presentation on mineral deposits and mining in Wisconsin. Ann Coakley, the director of the DNR Bureau of Waste and Materials Management, discusses the location and type of mineral deposits in Wisconsin and provides some information on companies interested in mining those deposits.

In Wisconsin the DNR has the primary responsibility for regulating environmental aspects of metallic mining activities in the state, while nonmetallic mine reclamation is administered at the county or local level with Department oversight and auditing authority.

DNR Secretary Cathy Stepp also provided some comments on mining in a recent interview with Wisconsin Eye, calling the current laws outdated.
 

In an effort to increase services and decrease costs, the Department of Natural Resources has been designated Wisconsin’s first ever “enterprise agency.” The DNR and the Department of Administration will negotiate a memorandum of understanding covering the 2011-13 Biennium that governs the proposed changes.

The agreement will give the DNR more authority to manage its vehicles and small construction and repair projects on DNR properties. The Agreement establishes a vehicle procurement plan with a maximum of $3.5 million for each year of the 2011-13 biennium. This would yield a savings in capital expenditures (vehicle purchases and operational costs) of $4.7 million for FY12 and an additional $830,000 in FY13 over four-year average costs under the current system. For the 2011-13 Biennium, facilities management costs would be reduced by more than $1,125,000.

In exchange for these flexibilities, the DNR has committed to:

• Improve processes to reduce permit times by 5% for major air and water permits while upholding environmental standards;
• Improve communication and interaction with the regulated community to assure environmental permitting requirements are widely understandable and are issued in a timely way through creation of a new Office of Business Support and Sustainability;
• Develop Internet-based tools to streamline and more effectively transmit and track permit applications;
• Increase over-the-counter service at DNR facilities by 40% over 2010;
• Improve cost-effectiveness by prioritizing work and eliminating duplicative systems for fleet and facilities construction and repair; and,
• Reduce costs by 2.5% over 2010 for basic operations, and organize itself into a line authority organization to assure DNR is making consistent decisions across the state.

This post was authored by GLLF staff attorney Emily Kelchen.

The DNR will hold a public hearing on Tuesday, September 13, 2011 to hear comments on the state’s 1997 8-hour ozone standard redesignation request. Despite having met the 1997 8-hour ozone standard on a statewide basis since 2008, Kenosha, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Racine, Sheboygan, Washington and Waukesha counties cannot be redesignated to attainment until the EPA approves the state's SIP, and verifies the state's SIP is complete.

The DNR sent updated VOC RACT rules to the EPA for approval in 2009, but the EPA deemed those rules incomplete. Last Wednesday the Wisconsin Natural Resources Board approved modifications to the state’s VOC RACT (volatile organic compounds, reasonable available control technology) rules which should allow the EPA to approve Wisconsin’s State Implementation Plan (SIP). The EPA is expected to review and approve the rules some time in 2012. 

The public hearing will be held on September 13, at 1:00 p.m. in Room 713 of the GEF 2 Building, 101 S. Webster Street, Madison.  Written comments may be submitted until September 16, 2011.

GLLF is monitoring the progress of the VOC RACT revisions on the VOC RACT Regulatory Watch webpage.

This post was authored by GLLF staff attorney Emily Kelchen.