General Program Announcements

Update on Lawsuit RE: Regulation of PFAS Under Spills Law

Posted on by Jodie Thistle

On April 12, 2022, Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge Bohren issued a decision regarding the DNR’s authority to regulate “emerging contaminants” (including PFAS compounds) as hazardous substances under the Spills Law. The DNR has appealed the decision.

On June 7, 2022, Judge Bohren granted the DNR’s request for a stay of his decision for the duration of the appeal process. The stay allows the department to continue under the Spills Law to work with responsible parties whose sites are contaminated by PFAS. The stay also means that Wisconsinites with private wells contaminated with PFAS who are currently receiving emergency bottled water may continue to receive a source of safe drinking water while the department appeals the order.

Given that the case remains pending in litigation, the DNR has no further comment.

Public Input Opportunity – Publications RR-502, Guidance: Selecting A Qualified Environmental Consultant And Form 4400-328, Cover Page – Transfer Of Responsibility For Continuing Obligations

Posted on by Jodie Thistle

The Remediation and Redevelopment (RR) Program is now seeking input on two publications: RR-502, Guidance: Selecting a Qualified Environmental Consultant and Form 4400-328, Cover Page – Transfer of Responsibility for Continuing Obligations.

RR-502

The purpose of RR-502 is to help responsible parties and others understand how to select a qualified environmental consultant to investigate and clean up soil, groundwater, sediment and other contaminated environmental media per Wisconsin Statute chapter (Wis. Stat. ch.) 292 and Wisconsin Administrative (Wis. Admin.) Code chs. NR 700-799. Hiring a qualified environmental consultant is needed to investigate and remediate your property in accordance with local, state and federal rules.

The document can be found at the RR Program’s Public Notices & Guidance webpage under the “Program Guidance” tab. Comments may be submitted through April 6, 2022 to Barry Ashenfelter at Barry.Ashenfelter@wisconsin.gov or DNRRRGuidance@wisconsin.gov.

Form 4400-328

Form 4400-328 is a cover sheet template for submittal of legally enforceable agreements between parties transferring responsibility of continuing obligations under Wis. Stat. § 292.12(5)(c) or 292.12(5m)(am).

The document can be found at the RR Program’s Public Notices & Guidance webpage under the “Program Guidance” tab. Comments may be submitted through April 6, 2022 to Jenna Soyer at Jenna.Soyer@wisconsin.gov or DNRRRGuidance@wisconsin.gov.

Best Practices For Finding RR Program Publications and Guidance Documents

Posted on by Jodie Thistle

The DNR’s Remediation and Redevelopment (RR) Program will be moving all publications and guidance documents to a new server location in March 2022. This will result in a new URL to access these files. The migration will also affect the search results when looking for publications using the magnifying glass search tool found at the top of the DNR website through approximately June 2022.

During this transitional period, the DNR recommends using the search tools found on the publications and forms webpage when looking for an RR publication.

Using the Keyword Search Tool, users can locate a publication by searching for the publication number (beginning with “RR-”) or a word or phrase from the document title or description. A dropdown menu is also available to search by topic.

The Full-Text Search Tool searches documents’ content; you can type a general term or short phrase to find all RR guidance documents containing those words.

Please direct any questions regarding the use of the RR Program’s publications, forms and guidance search web tools to Peggy Frain at margaret.frain@wisconsin.gov.

Reminder – Correct Fee Amounts For NR 700 Submittals

Posted on by Jodie Thistle

The Remediation and Redevelopment (RR) Program reminds responsible parties, consultants and others requesting services to submit correct fee amounts for technical assistance and liability clarification requests.

Wisconsin Administrative (Wis. Admin.) Code ch. NR 749 requires fees for technical review of documents (when required under code or when a response is requested from the DNR) and for clarification of environmental liability.

More information on fees is available on the RR Program’s fee webpage, in RR-966, Remediation and Redevelopment Program Fee Schedule and in RR-997, Guidance: Implementation of Wis. Admin. Code chs. NR 749 & NR 750 Fees.

If you need help identifying the required fees for your submittal, please contact the environmental program associate (EPA) in the appropriate regional office (see the EPA tab at dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/Brownfields/Contact.html).

Fees may be paid by check, electronic funds transfer (EFT/ACH) or credit card.

  • To pay by check, make your check payable to “Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.” Submit your documentation through the RR Submittal Portal and mail the confirmation page generated by the Submittal Portal with your check to the appropriate regional EPA.
  • To pay by EFT/ACH, contact the appropriate regional EPA office before submitting the fee to let them know you are paying by this method to help the EPA match funds to the proper documentation and speed up processing. Follow these instructions to set up the EFT/ACH or wire transfer payment.
  • To pay by credit card, please get in touch with the appropriate regional EPA.

 

RR Program Makes Website Changes To Enhance Customer Service

Posted on by Jodie Thistle

The Remediation and Redevelopment (RR) Program has reconfigured its main landing pages and added redevelopment resources to the RR Sites Map to better serve our customers.

New And Improved Landing Pages

The RR Program oversees the investigation and cleanup of environmental contamination throughout the state and provides technical guidance and assistance to responsible parties and environmental professionals.

Equally, the RR Program helps local governments, prospective purchasers, lenders, developers and property owners understand and navigate the redevelopment and revitalization of brownfields, which are properties that are contaminated or suspected to be contaminated.

RR Program has reorganized its website using three separate topic-specific landing pages:

The new Environmental Contamination and Cleanup landing page is geared towards environmental professionals and includes direct links to numerous technical topics and links to the guidance and forms index, the RR Sites Map and the Bureau for Remediation and Redevelopment Tracking System (BRRTS). Environmental professionals should bookmark this new page designed specifically to provide links to the most-sought technical resources.

The Brownfields landing page serves as a toolbox for local governments, prospective purchasers, lenders, developers and property owners. It provides information on the basics of cleaning up and redeveloping a contaminated site and information regarding liability, financial resources, how to schedule Green Team meetings with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and success stories of brownfields redevelopment projects throughout the state.

The Spills landing page provides instruction on reporting hazardous substance spills and discharges in Wisconsin.

Further improvements include prominent links to the RR Submittal Portal and the RR Report newsfeed on each landing page. Users will also now find quick access to public input opportunities and a link to a new external advisory groups page.

Saved or bookmarked pages will continue to work seamlessly; these upgrades only affect the RR Program’s landing pages.

RR Sites Map

RR Sites Map is the RR Program’s GIS mapping application that provides information about remediation and redevelopment activities in Wisconsin. Recently, redevelopment resources were added to help users evaluate sites in relation to socioeconomic data, including links to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Superfund Redevelopment Mapper, the U.S. EPA Environmental Justice Screening and Mapping Tool and the Center for Disease Control/Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (CDC/ATSDR) Social Vulnerability Index. In addition, layers from the CDC/ATSDR Social Vulnerability Index are now available on the map (in the map and data tasks tab, select the layer catalog, then choose Non-DNR Data and Social/Cultural/Economic Information).

The RR Program welcomes your feedback on these improvements. Send your thoughts and suggestions to Jodie Peotter at jodie.peotter@wisconsin.gov.

Natural Resources Board To Consider Proposed Rules For PFAS Standards In Water

Posted on by Jodie Thistle

The Natural Resources Board (NRB) will consider the adoption of proposed standards for PFAS in drinking water, surface water and groundwater at their meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2022.

Members of the public are invited to share their opinion about these proposed rules by either submitting written comments or speaking at the NRB meeting. All written comments and requests to testify at the meeting must be received by the Board Liaison by 11 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 16.

PFAS are a group of human-made chemicals used for decades in numerous products, including non-stick cookware, fast food wrappers, stain-resistant sprays and certain types of firefighting foam. These legacy contaminants have made their way into the environment in a variety of ways, including spills of PFAS-containing materials, discharges of PFAS-containing wastewater to treatment plants, and use of certain types of firefighting foams.

The NRB sets policy for the DNR and has the authority to approve or reject these rule proposals. Rules that do not receive approval from NRB are no longer considered for adoption. If approved by the NRB, proposed rules are sent to the Governor and State Legislature for final approval and promulgation into Administrative Code. The NRB approval of the statement of scope launched the rulemaking process in October 2019.

Visit the Wisconsin DNR website to learn more about the Natural Resources Board and PFAS.

NR 700 Reporting Due Jan. 31

Posted on by Jessica

Semi-annual reporting for the period of July 1, 2021, to Dec. 31, 2021, is due by Jan. 31, 2022. Semi-annual reporting is required of responsible parties (RPs) 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 RPs.

The DNR will send an email with a unique Report Identification (ID) number to contacts of sites listed in the database during the first week of January 2022. If you do not receive an email by Jan. 7, 2022, 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 NR 700. Property owners, such as local governments that have an exemption under Wis. Stats. §§ 292.11(9)(e) or 292.23, and lenders that have an exemption under Wis. Stats. § 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 Jan. 1, 2022, to June 30, 2022.

DNR’s RR Program Seeks Vapor Intrusion Expert In Southeast Region

Posted on by Mick

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR)’s Remediation and Redevelopment (RR) Program is recruiting a Vapor Intrusion Specialist in the DNR’s Southeast Region.

This position will serve as the RR Program’s regional coordinator for assessment of vapor intrusion of volatile compounds, mitigation and development of statewide policy related to vapor intrusion. This person will develop and interpret administrative rules, guidance documents and technical documents related to the assessment, mitigation and remediation of vapor phase contamination.

This position reports to the Complex Projects and Technical Resources Section Chief and will be located in the DNR’s Milwaukee office. The deadline to apply for this position is Jan. 2, 2022.

A full position description, including necessary qualifications, is available online at the Wisc.jobs website (Job ID number 3921).

DNR Awards Brownfields Grant To City Of Beaver Dam

Posted on by Mick

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has awarded a Brownfields Grant to the City of Beaver Dam to assist with the investigation of potential environmental contamination at the site of a former auto dealership and repair shop.

The grant is from the DNR’s Wisconsin Assessment Monies program, which provides contractor services worth up to $35,000 for the environmental assessment of eligible brownfields sites.

Continue reading “DNR Awards Brownfields Grant To City Of Beaver Dam” →