General Program Announcements

Matt Thompson Named RR Program West Central Region Team Supervisor

Posted on by Christine Sieger
Matt Thompson and partner taking a selfie outside on a grassy area.

Matt Thompson and family.

Matt Thompson will take on a management role with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR)’s Remediation and Redevelopment (RR) Program.

Thompson recently accepted a new position as the Team Supervisor in the West Central Region (WCR) stationed in the Eau Claire office.

Thompson joined the RR Program in 2015 as a limited-term employee and is currently the WCR hydrogeologist program coordinator. Prior to the DNR, Thompson worked in the non-metallic mining industry.

He replaces Dave Rozeboom, who took a new position as the WCR Field Integration Leader earlier this year. Thompson will begin his new role Oct. 23, 2023.

Updates To The Bureau Of Remediation And Redevelopment Tracking System (BRRTS) On The Web (BOTW)

Posted on by Christine Sieger

The Bureau of Remediation and Redevelopment Tracking System (BRRTS) on the Web (BOTW) has undergone updates to its Search webpage and added Great Lakes Area of Concern (AOC) information.

Search Page

The BOTW Search webpage has been redesigned to eliminate scrolling. No content has been changed.

Great Lakes Area of Concern (AOC)

“Great Lakes AOC” is now a search criterion on the BOTW Search webpage. Great Lakes AOCs are geographic areas designated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) where significant impairment of beneficial uses has occurred as a result of human activities at the local level. Clicking the “Great Lakes AOC” search criteria on BOTW will limit search results to those BRRTS sites within the designated AOCs. AOC information has been added to BOTW Supplemental webpage (provides a list of all BRRTS sites within the designated AOCs in Wisconsin), AOC Detail webpage (defines AOC and provides details for each Wisconsin AOC), and an AOC activity banner has been added to relevant sites.

Please contact Sonya Rowe at Sonya.Rowe@wisconsin.gov if you experience any technical issues.

Hourly Fee Increase For VPLE Program

Posted on by Christine Sieger

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) increased the hourly fee for the review of technical documents submitted through the Voluntary Party Liability Exemption (VPLE) program. Wis. Admin. Code § NR 750.07(2) requires the DNR to calculate the hourly billing rate each year.

The new hourly rate is $115, an increase from the previous rate of $110 per hour. The new fee took effect on July 1, 2023.

Many developers, lenders and prospective purchasers of brownfields choose to enroll in the VPLE program versus a traditional cleanup path since the program provides certain liability assurances helpful to investors and future property owners. Additional information regarding the VPLE program is available on the VPLE program webpage.

 

Updates To Remediation And Redevelopment Program Guidance And Publications Search Tool

Posted on by Christine Sieger

The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Remediation And Redevelopment (RR) Program Guidance And Publication Search Tool is currently undergoing maintenance that will result in a new look and web address, https://widnr.widencollective.com/portals/n3gjtfty/RRDocumentSearchPortal.

Starting June 30, 2023, the former web address will no longer be accessible and will result in a ‘page not found’ error. During the transition, both links will be active. Please update your bookmarks as soon as possible.

The update to the search tool includes a visual interface featuring publications, templates and forms as searchable collections. Multiple documents can be selected and downloaded at once and documents can be viewed in the web browser. Traditional search tools (i.e., general search and by subject/keyword) are available in the upper left-hand corner of each collection.

Links to other RR Program webpages, publications and documents should be unaffected. Contact DNRRRWebRequests@wisconsin.gov if you experience any issues.

NR 700 Reporting Due July 30, 2023

Posted on by Christine Sieger

Semi-annual reporting for the period of Jan. 1, 2023, to June 30, 2023, is due by July 30, 2023. Semi-annual reporting is required of responsible parties for all open sites, including those sites the DNR formerly classified as “conditionally closed” in the Bureau for Remediation and Redevelopment Tracking System (BRRTS) online database. Consultants may submit these reports on behalf of responsible parties.

The DNR sent an email with a unique Report Identification (ID) number to contacts of sites listed in the database during early January 2023. If you do not receive an email by June 30, 2023, you can request a Report ID number by submitting the Report ID Request Form.

The Report ID number uniquely identifies the activity you can report, the reporting period and verifies the person using the Report ID is authorized to submit the report. If you have any questions, please contact Tim Zeichert at Timothy.Zeichert@wisconsin.gov or 608-219-2240.

State law requires semi-annual reports from people who meet the definition of a responsible party in Wisconsin Administrative Code ch. NR 700. Property owners, such as local governments, that have an exemption under Wisconsin Statutes §§ 292.11(9)(e) or 292.23 and lenders that have an exemption under Wisconsin Statute § 292.21 for specific properties are not required to submit a semi-annual report for those exempt properties under state law.

Sites formerly classified by the DNR as “conditionally closed” are open sites that have not been granted case closure and, by definition, have remaining action(s) needed (e.g., properly abandoning monitoring wells or investigative waste needing to be removed).

Semi-annual reporting for sites formerly classified as “conditionally closed” should indicate what actions are being taken to complete the remaining actions.
The next reporting period is from July 1, 2023, to Dec. 31, 2023.

New Web Address For The Bureau Of Remediation And Redevelopment Tracking System (BRRTS) On The Web (BOTW)

Posted on by Christine Sieger

The Bureau of Remediation and Redevelopment Tracking System (BRRTS) on the Web (BOTW) is currently undergoing maintenance that will result in a new web address: https://apps.dnr.wi.gov/botw.

During the transition, both web addresses will be active. Please update your bookmarks as soon as possible.

Links to other RR Program webpages, publications and documents should be unaffected. Contact Sonya Rowe at Sonya.Rowe@wisconsin.gov if you experience any issues.

Updates To The RR Sites Map And Polygon Layers

Posted on by Christine Sieger

RR Sites Map (RRSM) is undergoing updates that will include the removal of some of the polygon area layers. Polygon layers show site or property boundaries on RRSM and may include outdated or inconsistent spatial information.

Polygon layers will remain for Voluntary Party Liability Exemption (VPLE), Facility-wide and Green Space grant site boundaries. Users can generally find more detailed information related to the layout of the specific activities in reports available on the Bureau of Remediation and Redevelopment Tracking System (BRRTS) on the Web (BOTW).

Please contact Sonya.Rowe@wisconsin.gov with technical issues during this transition process.

NEW EPA Resources For All Appropriate Inquiries (AAI)

Posted on by Christine Sieger

In Feb. 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) published a final rule to amend the EPA’s Standards and Practices for All Appropriate Inquiries (AAI). The new rule allows the use of ASTM International Designation E1527–21, Standard Practice for Environmental Site Assessments: Phase I Environmental Site Assessment Process, to satisfy AAI requirements.

The EPA recently published several new resources that address the new ASTM standard for Phase I Environmental Site Assessments (E1527-21):

AAI is a process of evaluating the environmental conditions and assessing potential liability for contamination at a property and is completed prior to a property transaction. Satisfying AAI is one of the requirements for the innocent landowner, contiguous property owner, or bona fide prospective purchaser limitations on Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) liability.

The amended AAI rule allows parties acquiring properties to use the most up-to-date industry standard practice for Phase I Environmental Site Assessments to comply with the AAI Rule requirements. It also allows the previous standard practice, ASTM Designation E1527-13, to be used for one year after publication of the rule.

Reminder To Use Updated Case Closure Request Form (4400-202)

Posted on by Christine Sieger

The Remediation and Redevelopment (RR) Program reminds anyone submitting a case closure request that the most up to date Case Closure Request Form (4400-202) must be used per Wis. Admin. Code § NR 726.09(1). This form was last updated in October 2022 to clarify database fees and provide information on electronic submittals.

The current form can be found online, or by visiting dnr.wi.gov, search “4400-202.” Please avoid using any desktop versions that you may have saved. A case closure request may be considered incomplete if submitted on an obsolete form.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources suspended the requirement to submit a paper copy of the closure request form and supporting documentation. Customers are strongly encouraged to submit documents via the online Submittal Portal. Please refer to Guidance for Submitting Documents (RR-690) for additional information on the format and procedures for submitting documents to the RR Program.

Best Practices for Electronic Payments to the DNR

Posted on by Christine Sieger

Make your payments to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) count!

The DNR accepts electronic payments for Remediation and Redevelopment (RR) Program assistance requests; please always include “DNR” in the comment description of the payment.

To ensure timely and appropriate credit for your payment, please send an email to the DNR upon payment submittal and include the following information:

  • Critical! BRRTS Number
  • Activity Name
  • Submittal type (e.g., technical assistance request, case closure request)
  • Total payment amount (if multiple fees are being submitted, include the fee per type of assistance in the comments)

Emails informing the DNR about payment submittal should be sent to Margaret Hooper and the regional environmental program associate. Additional instructions available in the Instructions for Paying DNR Feeds by Electronic Funds Transfer (ACH-Credit).

More information on RR Program services and fees is available online RR Services and Fees webpage.