The bill creates a new annual GPR appropriation to DWD for the purpose of
enforcement of laws related to wages, hours, and working conditions of migrant
workers, the certification, maintenance, and inspection of migrant labor camps, and
the recruitment and hiring of migrant workers.
ENVIRONMENT
Water quality
PFAS standards
The bill requires DNR to establish and enforce various standards for
perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The PFAS group of
substances includes several thousand chemicals; two of the most well known are
perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS).
The bill requires DNR to establish, by rule, acceptable levels and standards,
monitoring requirements, and required response actions for any PFAS in drinking
water, groundwater, surface water, air, solid waste, beds of navigable waters, and soil
and sediment, if DNR determines that the substance may be harmful to human
health or the environment. These rules must cover, at a minimum, PFOA and PFOS,
as well as perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS), perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA),
and perfluorobutane sulfonic acid (PFBS).
The bill also requires DNR to establish air emission standards for PFAS to
provide adequate protection for public health and welfare, taking into account
energy, economic, and environmental impacts and other costs related to the emission
source.
Under current law, DNR maintains a list of substances that have a reasonable
probability of entering the groundwater resources of the state and that are shown to
involve public health concerns. Under the bill, DNR is required to add to this list
PFOA, PFOS, PFHxS, PFNA, PFBS, and all other PFAS that have a reasonable
probability of entering the groundwater resources of the state and that are shown to
involve public health concerns. Under current law, DHS recommends enforcement
standards for substances on this list, which DNR then proposes as DNR rules in its
rule-making process. Until DNR establishes such rules, the bill requires DNR to
apply any DHS-recommended groundwater enforcement standard for any PFAS as
an interim standard for groundwater and as an interim maximum containment level
for drinking water.
The bill also provides that DNR may, if it determines doing so is necessary to
protect human health or the environment, require a person who possesses or controls
PFAS to provide proof of financial responsibility for remediation and long-term care
to address contamination by a potential discharge of PFAS or environmental
pollution that may be caused by a discharge of PFAS.
In addition, the bill requires DNR to set criteria for certifying laboratories to
test for PFAS, and to certify laboratories that meet these criteria. Before these
criteria are set, the bill allows DNR to require testing for PFAS to be done according
to nationally recognized standards.
Finally, the bill requires a person who generates solid or hazardous waste at a
site or facility under investigation by DNR to provide DNR with access to information
relating to any transportation to or treatment, storage, or disposal at another site,
facility, or location.
PFAS municipal grant program
The bill creates a municipal grant program, administered by DNR, to address
PFAS. Under the program, DNR must provide grants to cities, towns, villages,
counties, tribal governments, utility districts, lake protections districts, sewerage
districts, and municipal airports (municipalities). DNR may award a grant only if
the applicant tested or trained with a PFAS-containing fire fighting foam in
accordance with applicable state and federal law, or a third party tested or trained
with PFAS-containing fire fighting foam within the boundaries of the municipality;
the applicant applied biosolids to land under a water pollution permit issued by
DNR; or PFAS are impacting the applicant's drinking water supply or surface water
or groundwater within the municipality and the responsible party is unknown or is
unwilling or unable to take the necessary response actions.
Under the bill, grants provided under this program may be used to investigate
potential PFAS impacts in order to reduce or eliminate environmental
contamination; treat or dispose of PFAS-containing fire fighting foam containers;
sample a private water supply within three miles of a site or facility known to contain
PFAS or to have caused a PFAS discharge; provide a temporary emergency water
supply, a water treatment system, or bulk water to replace water contaminated with
PFAS; conduct emergency, interim, or remedial actions to mitigate, treat, dispose of,
or remove PFAS contamination; remove or treat PFAS in public water systems in
areas where PFAS levels exceed the maximum contaminant level for PFAS in
drinking water or an enforcement standard for PFAS groundwater or in areas where
the state has issued a health advisory for PFAS; or sample and test water in schools
and daycares for PFAS contamination.
An applicant that receives a grant under this program must contribute
matching funds equal to at least 20 percent of the amount of the grant. The applicant
must apply for a grant on a form prescribed by DNR and must include any
information that DNR finds is necessary to determine the eligibility of the project,
identify the funding requested, determine the priority of the project, and calculate
the amount of a grant. In awarding grants under this program, DNR must consider
the applicant's demonstrated commitment to performing and completing eligible
activities, including the applicant's financial commitment and ability to successfully
administer grants; the degree to which the project will have a positive impact on
public health and the environment; and any other criteria that DNR finds necessary
to prioritize the funds available for awarding grants.
PFAS-containing fire fighting foam appropriation
Current law establishes a continuing appropriation from the environmental
fund for the collection of PFAS-containing fire fighting foam. The bill allows this
appropriation to also be used to provide assistance to local fire departments in
replacing PFAS-containing fire fighting foam with PFAS-free fire fighting foam.
Lead service line replacement
The bill creates a continuing appropriation from the general fund to the
environmental improvement program for projects involving forgivable loans to
private users of public water systems to replace lead service lines.
Under current law, DOA and DNR administer the safe drinking water loan
program (SDWLP), which provides financial assistance from the environmental
improvement program to local governmental units and to the private owners of
community water systems that serve local governmental units for projects for the
planning, designing, construction, or modification of public water systems. DNR
establishes a funding list for SDWLP projects and DOA allocates funding for those
projects.
Well compensation grant program
The bill makes changes to the well compensation grant program currently
administered by DNR.
Under current law, an individual owner or renter of a contaminated private well
may apply for a grant from DNR to cover a portion of the costs to treat the water,
reconstruct the well, construct a new well, connect to a public water supply, or fill and
seal the well. To be eligible for a grant, the well owner's or renter's annual family
income may not exceed $65,000. A grant awarded under the program may not cover
any portion of a project's eligible costs in excess of $16,000 and, of those costs, may
not exceed 75 percent of a project's eligible costs, meaning that a grant may not
exceed $12,000. In addition, if the well owner's or renter's annual family income
exceeds $45,000, the amount of the award is reduced by 30 percent of the amount by
which the annual family income exceeds $45,000.
The bill increases the family income limit to $100,000. In addition, under the
bill, a well owner or renter whose family income is below the state's median income
may receive a grant of up to 100 percent of a project's eligible costs, not to exceed
$16,000. The bill also eliminates the requirement to reduce an award by 30 percent
if the well owner's or renter's family income exceeds $45,000.
The bill also expands the grant program to allow an owner or renter of a
transient noncommunity water supply to apply for a grant. A “transient
noncommunity water supply” is defined in the bill as a water system that serves at
least 25 persons at least 60 days of the year but that does not regularly serve at least
25 of the same persons over six months per year.
Under current law, a well that is contaminated only by nitrates is eligible for
a grant only if the well is a water supply for livestock, is used at least three months
in each year, and contains nitrates in excess of 40 parts per million. The bill
eliminates these restrictions for claims based on nitrates, and instead allows grants
to be issued for wells based on contamination by at least 10 parts per million of
nitrate nitrogen. The bill also allows grants to be issued for wells contaminated by
at least 10 parts per billion of arsenic, or by a perfluoroalkyl or polyfluoroalkyl
substance in an amount that exceeds any applicable health advisory or standard for
that substance.
Under current law, DNR must issue grants in the order in which completed
claims are received. Under the bill, if there are insufficient funds to pay claims, DNR
may, for claims based on nitrate contamination, prioritize claims that are based on
higher levels of nitrate contamination.
Requiring notification of water-related permit violations
Under the bill, if DNR finds that the holder of a Wisconsin Pollutant Discharge
Elimination System (WPDES) permit has violated a limitation under the permit that
is based on a groundwater standard, DNR must notify the county health department
and county land and conservation department in the county in which the permit
holder is located and the county health department and county land and
conservation department in any adjacent county that DNR determines may be
negatively affected by the violation. The bill requires DNR to provide these notices
within seven business days after confirming that a violation has occurred. The bill
also allows DNR to establish, by rule, procedures for providing the required notice.
Finally, the bill requires DNR to create and maintain a notification system for
notifying county health departments, county land and conservation departments,
and interested parties of the violations but requires that the notification system
ensure that county health departments and county land and conservation
departments are notified of a violation at least 24 hours before anyone else is notified.
Concentrated animal feeding operations
Under current law, a person who operates a concentrated animal feeding
operation (CAFO) must have a WPDES permit from DNR. A CAFO is a livestock
operation that contains at least 1,000 animal units, that discharges pollutants into
a navigable water, or that contaminates a well. Current law requires a CAFO
operator with a WPDES permit to pay an annual fee of $345 to DNR. The bill
increases the amount of this annual fee to $545.
Well construction notification fee
Under current law, no person may construct a high capacity well, which is a well
with a capacity of more than 100,000 gallons per day, without prior approval of DNR
and payment of a $500 fee. Prior to construction of a well that is not a high capacity
well, the owner of the property where the well is to be constructed must notify DNR
and pay a fee of $50. The bill increases the notification fee to $70.
Well construction variances application fee
Under current law, DNR regulates groundwater withdrawal. Administrative
rules promulgated by DNR establish requirements for the construction of wells and
provide that a person may request a variance from those rules if strict compliance
with the requirements is not feasible. DNR may determine whether a variance is
justified and may condition the issuance of a variance on additional construction
features to safeguard groundwater. The bill requires DNR to collect a $100 fee from
a person requesting a well construction variance.
Ballast water discharge
Under current law, DNR may issue a general permit authorizing a vessel that
is 79 feet or greater in length to discharge ballast water into the waters of this state.
DNR may charge an application fee of $1,200 and a $345 annual fee for the permit.
DNR must use collected fees to administer the permit program.
The bill repeals these provisions and provides that the owner or operator of any
commercial vessel subject to the requirements of the federal Vessel Incidental
Discharge Act that has operated outside this state must pay DNR $650 per arrival
to a port of this state. Under the bill, the owner or operator of a commercial vessel
subject to these requirements, including a vessel engaged in coastwise trade, may
not be required to pay more than $3,250 in fees per calendar year. DNR must use
collected fees for management, administration, inspection, monitoring, and
enforcement activities relating to incidental discharges, including ballast water
discharges.
Under current law, an employee or agent of DNR may board and inspect any
vessel that is subject to requirements relating to environmental protection
requirements for tank vessels or open burning on commercial vessels to determine
compliance with those requirements.
The bill provides that DNR may enter into a memorandum of agreement with
the U.S. Coast Guard authorizing an employee or agent of DNR to board and inspect
any vessel that is subject to the requirements under the bill to determine compliance
with the federal Vessel Incidental Discharge Act.
Hazardous substances and environmental cleanup
Dry cleaner response program and revitalize Wisconsin program
The bill eliminates the existing dry cleaner environmental response program
and its associated fund and council and creates the revitalize Wisconsin program,
which is administered by DNR.
The revitalize Wisconsin program created under the bill provides aid, in the
form of grants or direct services to local governments, dry cleaners, and private
parties, to address the discharge of a hazardous substance or the existence of
environmental pollution on the government's or person's property. Aid may be
provided for sites for which the site's owner or operator applied for assistance under
the dry cleaner environmental response program before its repeal; brownfields; sites
that are exempt from the state's hazardous substance remediation laws (often called
the “spill law”); and sites that are subject to the spill law but that are owned by
private parties. The bill defines “private party” to include a bank, trust company,
savings bank, or credit union; a developer; a nongovernmental organization; and an
innocent landowner. The bill defines an “innocent landowner” as a property owner
that either 1) acquired the property prior to November 1, 2006, has continuously
owned the property since the date of acquisition, and can demonstrate, through
documentation, that the discharge or environmental pollution being addressed was
caused by another person and that the property owner did not know and had no
reason to know of the discharge or pollution when the owner acquired the property;
or 2) acquired the property on or after November 1, 2006, meets all of the previously
stated requirements, and can demonstrate, through documentation, that the
property owner conducted all appropriate inquiries in compliance with the federal
All Appropriate Inquiries rule under
40 CFR part 312 prior to acquiring the property.
The bill provides that DNR may not award aid to an applicant under the
revitalize Wisconsin program if the applicant caused the discharge or environmental
pollution unless the applicant is a dry cleaner that applied for assistance under the
dry cleaner environmental response program before its repeal. The bill also provides
that DNR may require an applicant to provide a match, either in cash or in-kind, for
any aid that is awarded under the program.
Activities for which aid may be provided under the program include removing
hazardous substances from contaminated media such as surface waters,
groundwater, or soil; investigating and assessing the discharge or environmental
pollution; removing abandoned containers; asbestos abatement; and restoring or
replacing a private potable water supply.
The bill also allows DNR to inspect any document in the possession of an
applicant or any other person if the document is relevant to an application for
financial assistance under the program.
Ban on coal tar-based sealants
The bill prohibits the sale of coal tar-based sealant products and high PAH
sealant products (products with more than 0.1 percent polycyclic aromatic
hydrocarbons by weight) beginning January 1, 2024, and prohibits the use of such
products beginning July 1, 2024. A person who violates these prohibitions is subject
to the same penalty that applies under current law to other general environmental
provisions, which is a forfeiture of between $10 and $5,000 for each violation.
Mining
Nonmetallic mining appropriation
Under current law, fees relating to nonmetallic mining are deposited into the
segregated environmental fund, to be used for environmental management
activities. The bill instead directs that all moneys received from nonmetallic mining
fees are to be used for the administration and enforcement of the state's nonmetallic
mining regulations.
General environment
Municipal flood control aid
The bill requires DNR to award, from the amounts appropriated to DNR to
provide assistance for municipal flood control, $1,000,000 in grants in each fiscal
year of the 2023-25 fiscal biennium for the preparation of flood insurance studies
and other flood mapping projects.
Stormwater appropriation
Under current law, a person may need to obtain a permit from DNR to discharge
storm water. Current law appropriates money annually from the general fund for
the administration of the storm water discharge permit program. Storm water
permit fees collected by DNR are credited to the storm water permit appropriation.
The bill changes the storm water permit appropriation from an annual
appropriation to a continuing appropriation. An annual appropriation is expendable
only up to the amount shown in the schedule and only for the fiscal year for which
made. A continuing appropriation is expendable until fully depleted or repealed.
Bonding for urban storm water, flood control, and riparian restoration
Under current law, the state may contract up to $61,600,000 in public debt to
provide financial assistance for projects that manage urban storm water and runoff
and for flood control and riparian restoration projects. The bill increases the bonding
authority for these projects by $11,000,000.
Environmental improvement fund revenue bonding limit
Current law authorizes the issuance of revenue bonds for the clean water fund
program and the safe drinking water loan program under the environmental
improvement fund, but limits the principal amount of those revenue bonds to
$2,551,400,000. The bill increases that limit by $372,000,000, to $2,923,400,000.
Bonding for nonpoint source water pollution abatement
Under current law, the state may contract up to $57,050,000 in public debt to
provide financial assistance for projects that control pollution that comes from
diffuse sources rather than a single concentrated discharge source in areas that
qualify as high priority due to water quality problems. The bill increases the bonding
authority for these projects by $10,000,000.
Bonding for Great Lakes contaminated sediment removal
Under current law, the state may contract up to $40,000,000 in public debt to
provide financial assistance for projects to remove contaminated sediment from Lake
Michigan or Lake Superior, or a tributary of Lake Michigan or Lake Superior, if DNR
has identified the body of water as being impaired by the sediment. The bill increases
the bonding authority for sediment removal projects by $15,000,000.
Water resources account lapse
The bill lapses, to the conservation fund in fiscal year 2023-24, $350,000 from
the DNR appropriation for river management activities for habitat and recreational
projects and for environmental and resource management studies on the Mississippi
and lower St. Croix Rivers.
health and human services
Public Assistance
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
Under current law, DCF allocates specific amounts of federal moneys, including
child care development funds and moneys received under the Temporary Assistance
for Needy Families (TANF) block grant program for various public assistance
programs. Under the bill, TANF funding allocations are changed in the following
ways, as compared to the funding allocation in the 2021-23 fiscal biennium:
1. For Wisconsin Works benefits, total funding is decreased by 10 percent.
2. For the Families and Schools Together program, total funding is maintained
at $250,000, but an additional $250,000 is available if the grant recipient provides
matching funds.
3. For homeless case management services grants, total funding is doubled.
4. For state administration of public assistance programs and overpayment
collections, total funding is increased by 12 percent.
5. For grants to Wisconsin Trust Account Foundation, Inc., for distribution to
programs that provide civil legal services to low-income families, total funding is
doubled.
6. For the Transform Milwaukee and Transitional Jobs programs, total funding
is increased by 18 percent.
7. For Jobs for America's Graduates, total funding is doubled.
8. For child care state administration and licensing activities, total funding is
increased by 10 percent.
9. For child care quality improvement activities, total funding is tripled.
10. For payments to support the dependent children of recipients of
supplemental security income, total funding is decreased by 32 percent.
11. For kinship care payments, total funding is increased by 62 percent.
12. For safety and out-of-home placement services, total funding is decreased
by 39 percent.
13. For grants to the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, total funding is increased
by a multiple of 12.
14. For the earned income tax credit supplement, total funding is increased by
69 percent.
15. The funding for the offender reentry demonstration project is eliminated,
and the deadline for the project evaluation is extended to June 30, 2024. This was
a five-year project ending in fiscal year 2022-23.
16. For all other programs under TANF, funding is continued with a funding
change of less than 5 percent.
