VPLE

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.

 

Hourly Fee Increase For VPLE

Posted on by Mick

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 $110, an increase from the $105 rate that has been in effect since 2014. The new fee took effect on July 1, 2021.

Continue reading “Hourly Fee Increase For VPLE” →

Environmental Liability Exemptions in the VPLE Program

Posted on by Mick

The cleanup and redevelopment of contaminated properties has become a critical land use issue for public and private entities across the country. These brownfields – abandoned or underused properties where redevelopment is hindered by real or perceived contamination – are often the key to a successful community redevelopment project.

Many developers, lenders and prospective purchasers of brownfields choose to enroll in the Voluntary Party Liability Exemption (VPLE) program versus a traditional cleanup path, since the VPLE provides certain liability assurances helpful to investors as well as future property owners.

Continue reading “Environmental Liability Exemptions in the VPLE Program” →

Updated VPLE Insurance Fees

Posted on by Mick

The Voluntary Party Liability Exemption (VPLE) Insurance fee schedule (RR-661) is now updated and available on the DNR website.

The VPLE program allows a party to conduct an assessment and remedial action of an entire property with DNR oversight to obtain a liability exemption. Insurance is required for VPLE sites where groundwater contamination levels are above enforcement standards and the DNR determines that natural attenuation will restore groundwater quality.

Continue reading “Updated VPLE Insurance Fees” →

No Changes to VPLE Review Fee for Fiscal Year 2020

Posted on by Mick

The Remediation and Redevelopment Program has calculated the hourly review fee for sites in the Voluntary Party Liability Exemption (VPLE) program.

The rate will not change for this upcoming fiscal year; it will continue to be $105 dollars an hour for state fiscal year 2020 which began on July 1, 2019 and ends on June 30, 2020. This has been the rate since July of 2014.

Continue reading “No Changes to VPLE Review Fee for Fiscal Year 2020” →

DNR and DHS Work Together to Improve Water Quality in Wisconsin

Posted on by Mick

The Department of Natural Resources announced two new water quality initiatives as part of Governor Evers’ Year of Clean Drinking Water declaration for 2019.

This week the DNR worked with Department of Health Services (DHS) to ask the health agency to review 40 contaminants for possible groundwater quality standards. This work comes on the heels of the department asking DHS last spring to review an initial 27 contaminants, including two per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). PFAS are a group of human-made chemicals that have been used for decades in numerous products, such as non-stick cookware, fast food wrappers, stain resistant sprays and firefighting foam.

Continue reading “DNR and DHS Work Together to Improve Water Quality in Wisconsin” →

Public Input Opportunity: Implementation of Wis. Admin. Code chs. NR 749 and NR 750 Fees

Posted on by Mick

The Remediation and Redevelopment (RR) Program seeks your input on a draft publication entitled “Implementation of Wis. Admin. Code Chs. NR 749 and NR 750 (RR-997)”.

The purpose of this document is to provide guidance for responsible parties, environmental consultants, and others who request technical assistance or oversight from the Department of Natural Resources’ RR Program. The guidance addresses fees for DNR oversight and assistance at sites regulated under Wis. Admin. Code chs. 700 – 754. Fees applicable to most cases are defined in Wis. Admin Code ch. NR 749. Fees for Voluntary Party Liability Exemption (VPLE) cases are defined in Wis. Admin. Code ch. NR 750.

The document can be reviewed at http://dnr.wi.gov/news/input/guidance.html and comments can be submitted through May 1, 2019 to the Fiscal and Information Technology Section Chief, Jenna Soyer, at Jenna.Soyer@wisconsin.gov.

NR 700–754 Rule Development Meeting on March 5, 2019

Posted on by Mick

On March 5, 2019, the Remediation and Redevelopment (RR) program will host a meeting to provide information and seek input on the development of revisions to select provisions of Wis. Admin. Code chs. NR 700–799, Environmental Protection – Investigation and Remediation of Environmental Contamination.

This meeting is part of a series of rule development meetings that the RR program will host as it develops proposed rule revisions. The March 5, 2019, meeting will include:

Continue reading “NR 700–754 Rule Development Meeting on March 5, 2019” →

DNR Interim Decision on Voluntary Party Liability Exemption (VPLE) Program and Emerging Contaminants

Posted on by barryashenfelter

Wisconsin’s Voluntary Party Liability Exemption (VPLE) program allows a person to clean up a property and receive an exemption from future liability for historic contamination. Once cleanup is complete, the VPLE Certificate of Completion (COC) provides liability protection for the owner of the property. It is also transferrable to future owners. Since 1995, the DNR has issued 186 COCs. Eighty-three voluntary parties are currently pursuing a VPLE COC.

Recent concerns over emerging contaminants, particularly per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (“PFAS”) chemicals in Wisconsin and nationally have prompted the DNR to evaluate the potential for historical discharges of PFAS and other emerging contaminants at properties enrolled in the VPLE program that are pursuing a COC.

Continue reading “DNR Interim Decision on Voluntary Party Liability Exemption (VPLE) Program and Emerging Contaminants” →

A Nod to the DNR’s VPLE Program in Coverage of Oak Creek’s New Lake Vista Park

Posted on by elisabethkuisis
Natural Resources Board tours Oak Creek

Oak Creek City Attorney Larry Haskin addresses the media and members of the Natural Resources Board during an August 2017 tour of Lake Vista Park in Oak Creek.

The city of Oak Creek plans to officially unveil its newest park this summer. It’s a prime location of nearly 100-acres that overlooks Lake Michigan and is the former site of a chemical plant that left a history of contamination when it closed.

The decades-long environmental cleanup was completed in 2014 using the DNR’s Voluntary Party Liability Exemption (VPLE) program. The VPLE program provided an incentive for the industrial owner to complete a cleanup that allowed the city to transform this former lakefront industrial site into a stunning new park with majestic views of the nearby lake.

You can listen to the story by Milwaukee Public Radio.

For more information about the DNR’s VPLE program, please contact Michael.Prager@wisconsin.gov.