Wisconsin Statutes 160.25 – Implementation of responses for specific sites; enforcement standards
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Terms Used In Wisconsin Statutes 160.25
- Department: when used without qualification, means the department of natural resources. See Wisconsin Statutes 160.01
- Enforcement standard: means a numerical value expressing the concentration of a substance in groundwater which is adopted under ss. See Wisconsin Statutes 160.01
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Following: when used by way of reference to any statute section, means the section next following that in which the reference is made. See Wisconsin Statutes 990.01
- Groundwater: means any of the waters of the state, as defined in…. See Wisconsin Statutes 160.01
- Point of standards application: means the specific location, depth or distance from a facility, activity or practice at which the concentration of a substance in groundwater is measured for purposes of determining whether a preventive action limit or an enforcement standard has been attained or exceeded. See Wisconsin Statutes 160.01
- Preventive action limit: means a numerical value expressing the concentration of a substance in groundwater which is adopted under…. See Wisconsin Statutes 160.01
- Regulatory agency: means the department of agriculture, trade and consumer protection, the department of safety and professional services, the department of transportation, the department of natural resources and other state agencies which regulate activities, facilities or practices which are related to substances which have been detected in or have a reasonable probability of entering the groundwater resources of the state. See Wisconsin Statutes 160.01
- State: when applied to states of the United States, includes the District of Columbia, the commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the several territories organized by Congress. See Wisconsin Statutes 990.01
- Substance: means any solid, liquid, semisolid, dissolved solid or gaseous material, naturally occurring or man-made chemical, parameter for measurement of water quality or biological organism which, in its original form, or as a metabolite or a degradation or waste product, may decrease the quality of groundwater. See Wisconsin Statutes 160.01
(1)
(a) If an activity or practice is not subject to regulation under chs. 283 or 289 to 292 and if the concentration of a substance in groundwater attains or exceeds an enforcement standard at a point of standards application, the regulatory agency shall take the following responses unless it can be shown to the regulatory agency that, to a reasonable certainty, by the greater weight of the credible evidence, an alternative response will achieve compliance with the enforcement standard at the point of standards application:
1. Prohibit the activity or practice which uses or produces the substance; and
2. Implement remedial actions with respect to the specific site in accordance with rules promulgated under s. 160.21.
(b) A regulatory agency shall impose a remedial action for a specific site which is reasonably related in time and scope to the substance, activity or practice which caused the enforcement standard to be attained or exceeded at the point of standards application.
(2) If a facility is subject to regulation under chs. 283 or 289 to 292 and if the concentration of a substance in groundwater attains or exceeds an enforcement standard at a point of standards application, the department shall require remedial actions for a specific site in accordance with rules promulgated under s. 160.21 as are necessary to achieve compliance with the enforcement standard at the point of standards application.
(3) If nitrates or any substance of aesthetic concern only attains or exceeds an enforcement standard, the regulatory agency is not required to impose a prohibition or close a facility if it determines that:
(a) The enforcement standard was attained or exceeded, in whole or in part, because of high background concentrations of the substance; and
(b) The additional concentration does not represent a public welfare concern.
(4) If compliance with the enforcement standard is achieved at the point of standards application, s. 160.23 applies.
(5)
(a) A regulatory agency shall consider the existence of background concentrations of naturally occurring substances in evaluating response options to the noncompliance with an enforcement standard for that substance. A regulatory agency may not order remedial action under sub. (1) or (2) at a site where the background concentration of a substance is determined to be equal to or greater than the preventive action limit, unless the regulatory agency determines that the proposed remedial action will result in the protection of or substantial improvement in groundwater quality notwithstanding the background concentrations of naturally occurring substances.
(b) Paragraph (a) does not apply to a substance which is carcinogenic, teratogenic or mutagenic in humans.
(6) If the concentration of a substance in groundwater attains or exceeds an enforcement standard at a point of standards application and if a waste facility subject to the waste management fund incurs costs for repairing environmental damage which arises from those occurrences which are not anticipated in the plan of operation and which poses a substantial hazard to public health or welfare, those costs may be paid as provided under s. 289.68.
(7) An action under this section with respect to a specific site does not constitute a major state action under s. 1.11 (2).