Chapter NR 486

Register November 1999 No. 527

Chapter NR 486

EMPLOYEE COMMUTE OPTIONS PROGRAM

NR 486.01   Applicability; purpose.

NR 486.02   Definitions.

NR 486.03   General requirements; exceptions.

NR 486.04   Notification; registration.

NR 486.05   Employee transportation coordinator.

NR 486.06   Employee commute options compliance plans and surveys.

NR 486.07   Compliance plan submittal deadline.

NR 486.08   Compliance plan review, approval and disapproval process.

NR 486.09   Annual employee commute options compliance plan renewal.

NR 486.10   Averaging; trading.

NR 486.11   Recordkeeping and monitoring.

NR 486.12   Enforcement procedures and penalties.

Ch. NR 486 Note Note: On April 28, 1996, the governor suspended enforcement of this chapter by the department pursuant to s. 285.33 (5) (b), Stats.

NR 486.01 NR 486.01 Applicability; purpose.

NR 486.01(1) (1) Applicability. This chapter applies to all employers with worksites of 100 or more employees in the Wisconsin severe ozone nonattainment area, pursuant 42 USC 7511a (d) (1) (B).

NR 486.01(2) (2) Purpose. The purpose of this chapter is to establish, pursuant to s. 285.33, Stats., requirements for the development of an employee commute options program, otherwise referred to as an employee trip reduction program.

NR 486.01 History History: Cr. Register, September, 1993, No. 453, eff. 10-1-93; am. (2), Register, December, 1994, No. 468, eff. 1-1-95; correction in (2) made under s. 13.93 (2m) (b) 7., Stats., Register, January, 1997, No. 493.

NR 486.02 NR 486.02 Definitions. The definitions contained in ch. NR 400 apply to the terms used in this chapter. In addition, the following definitions apply to the terms used in this chapter:

NR 486.02(1) (1) “Affected area”means Kenosha, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Racine, Washington and Waukesha counties.

NR 486.02(2) (2) “Affected employee” means an employee who reports on a regular schedule to a worksite of 100 or more employees during the peak travel period.

NR 486.02(3) (3) “Affected employer” means any person, firm, business, educational institution, the state, a political subdivision of the state, the federal government, nonprofit agency or corporation, or other entity which employs a weekly average of 100 or more employees during one ozone season at a worksite within the affected area.

NR 486.02(4) (4) “Alternative means of commuting” means travel between an employee’s place of residence and primary worksite other than in a vehicle occupied by one person. Alternative means of commuting include but are not limited to the use of public transit, carpools, vanpools, buspools, bicycling, walking, telecommuting and compressed work schedules which are designed to reduce the number of days per week an employee must travel to work.

NR 486.02(5) (5) “Average passenger occupancy” means the number of affected employees reporting to a worksite during the peak travel period divided by the number of vehicles in which those employees report as determined by the survey information described under s. NR 486.06 (3).

NR 486.02(6) (6) “Base average vehicle occupancy rate” means the number of employees reporting to all employers in the affected area during the peak travel period divided by the number of vehicles in which those employees report, as determined in 1992 from travel survey results submitted by the department and approved by the U.S. environmental protection agency. The base average vehicle occupancy rate for the affected area is 1.12.

NR 486.02(7) (7) “Buspool” means a contracted bus service, usually administered by employers or employees, and typically involving limited pickup and destination stops, guaranteed seats, and advance reservations and ticket issuance.

NR 486.02(8) (8) “Carpool” means a group of 2 to 4 persons commuting to and from work in a vehicle.

NR 486.02(9) (9) “Clean fuel vehicle” means a vehicle that operates on liquid petroleum gas, methanol, compressed natural gas or electricity or which has been certified by the department as a clean fuel vehicle meeting low emission, ultra low emission or zero emission vehicle standards.

NR 486.02(10) (10) “Commuter transportation incentive or disincentive” means the financial benefits, amenities or other strategies employers develop in their employee commute options compliance plans which encourage or facilitate employees to use alternative means of commuting and which discourage single occupancy vehicle travel. Commuter transportation incentives include but are not limited to the compliance plan options described in s. NR 486.06 (2) (h).

NR 486.02(11) (11) “Compliance plan” means the employee commute options program plan required under this chapter and described in s. NR 486.06.

NR 486.02(12) (12) “Compressed work schedule” means a work schedule which reduces the number of days an employee is required to travel to a worksite. Examples of a compressed work schedule include but are not limited to: 4 10-hour work days per week; 3 12-hour work days per week; and 8 9-hour work days plus one 8-hour work day in a 2 week period.

NR 486.02(13) (13) “Employee” means any person who is employed by an affected employer and who reports to a worksite that is owned or operated by that employer. The term“employee” includes full-time and part-time employees, and temporary employees not substituting for absentee permanent employees, who work at least 440 hours during the ozone season, but does not include volunteers.

NR 486.02(14) (14) “Employee transportation coordinator” means a person who has completed department approved training on employee commute options and who has primary responsibility for developing and coordinating the alternative means of commuting strategies in an affected employer’s compliance plan.

NR 486.02(15) (15) “Guaranteed ride home” means transportation provided by the employer for employees who rideshare when the employee experiences unforeseen overtime, emergency, illness or other situations which prevent the employee from meeting the employee’s alternative means of commuting schedule.

NR 486.02(16) (16) “Peak travel period” means the time from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. Monday to Friday.

NR 486.02(17) (17) “Public transit” means transportation by bus, shared-ride taxicab, rail, or other conveyance, either publicly or privately owned, that provides the public with general or special service on a regular and continuing basis and is a funded program under s. 85.20, Stats.

NR 486.02(18) (18) “Target average passenger occupancy rate” means the average passenger occupancy rate which affected employers shall meet. It is the base average vehicle occupancy rate multiplied by 1.25. The target average passenger occupancy rate for the affected area is 1.4 passengers per vehicle.

NR 486.02(19) (19) “Telecommuting” means an employee working at the employee’s residence using electronic communication or other means to perform job functions which would otherwise be performed at the worksite.

NR 486.02(20) (20) “Transportation allowance” means a financial fringe benefit provided by the employer which is used by an employee to purchase transportation services for commuting to the worksite.

NR 486.02(21) (21) “Vanpool” means a group of 5 or more persons commuting to and from work in a vehicle designed to carry not more than 15 adult passengers.

NR 486.02(22) (22) “Worksite” means a place of employment or base of operation of an employee within the affected area. Where places of employment or bases of operation of employees are adjacent or separated only by a private or public roadway or other private or public right-of-way, and where those places of employment or bases of operation are owned or operated by the same employer or by employers under common control as described in s. NR 486.03 (1), those places of employment or bases of operation shall be considered a single worksite.

NR 486.02 History History: Cr. Register, September, 1993, No. 453, eff. 10-1-93; am. (2) to (5), (9) to (11), (13), (14), (16) and (22), Register, December, 1994,No. 468, eff. 1-1-95; correction in (10) made under s. 13.93 (2m) (b) 7., Stats., Register, November, 1999, No. 527.

NR 486.03 NR 486.03 General requirements; exceptions.

NR 486.03(1) (1) General requirements. Each affected employer shall comply with the requirements of this chapter at each affected worksite. Each affected employer shall submit and implement a plan to increase the average passenger occupancy rate of its affected employees to not less than 1.4 passengers per vehicle by November 15, 1996 or within 2 years of the employer’s initial compliance plan submittal if it is due after November 15, 1994. For purposes of this chapter, if several subsidiaries or units occupy the same worksite and report to one common governing board or governing entity, they are considered to be one employer, unless they are operated and managed separately and distinctly.

NR 486.03(2) (2) Exceptions. The following exceptions shall apply to the requirements of this section:

NR 486.03(2)(a) (a) An affected employer is not required to comply with the employee commute options requirements of this chapter for a worksite if the affected employer demonstrates to the department’s satisfaction that a weekly average of 33 or fewer employees report to the worksite during the peak travel period of the ozone season.

NR 486.03(2)(b) (b) A separate worksite, including a worksite of an affected employer, which has during the ozone season a weekly average of fewer than 100 employees is not subject to the requirements of this chapter.

NR 486.03 History History: Cr. Register, September, 1993, No. 453, eff. 10-1-93; am. (1), (2) (a) and (b), Register, December, 1994, No. 468, eff. 1-1-95.

NR 486.04 NR 486.04 Notification; registration.

NR 486.04(1) (1) Notification. The department shall use the following means to notify affected employers of the requirements of this chapter:

NR 486.04(1)(a) (a) The department shall obtain mailing lists which contain the names, addresses and number of employees, if known, of employers with 100 or more employees in the affected area and mail information to the employers about the employee commute options program.

NR 486.04(1)(b) (b) After mailing the information under par. (a) the department shall publish notifications of the employee commute options program and registration requirements of this chapter in newspapers having a circulation in the affected area counties.

NR 486.04(2) (2) Registration. Affected employers shall use the following registration procedures:

NR 486.04(2)(a) (a) Affected employers located in the affected area prior to November 15, 1993 shall within 60 days of receipt of registration forms from the department submit the completed forms to the department. Affected employers which have not received the registration forms shall obtain the forms from the department and submit the completed forms within 60 days after publication of the registration requirements in newspapers having a circulation in the affected area counties. The information required on the registration forms shall include the following:

NR 486.04(2)(a)1. 1. The name and address of the employer.

NR 486.04(2)(a)2. 2. The name, address and telephone number of the person or persons designated to receive the compliance plan forms required under s. NR 486.06.

NR 486.04(2)(a)3. 3. The address of each worksite in the affected area employing 100 or more employees at a single worksite and the number of employees at each worksite.

NR 486.04(2)(a)4. 4. Other information as may be necessary to implement the requirements of this chapter.

NR 486.04(2)(b) (b) Employers who become affected employers on or after November 15, 1993 shall register with the department within 60 days of qualifying as an affected employer.

NR 486.04 Note Note: The forms referred to in this section are available on request from the following address: Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Bureau of Air Management, Employee Commute Options Program, PO Box 7921, Madison WI 53707.

NR 486.04 History History: Cr. Register, September, 1993, No. 453, eff. 10-1-93; am. (1) (a) and (b), Register, December, 1994, No. 468, eff. 1-1-95.

NR 486.05 NR 486.05 Employee transportation coordinator.

NR 486.05(1) (1) General requirements. Each affected employer shall designate and register with the department at least one person as an employee transportation coordinator for the employer. One coordinator may be designated for more than one worksite of an affected employer. A coordinator may be a person under contract to the affected employer. The coordinator shall register for and complete a primary training program approved by the department. The coordinator shall complete the primary training program prior to the development and submittal of the compliance plan to the department under ss. NR 486.06 and 486.07. If the only designated coordinator terminates employment with the employer or terminates his or her designated coordinator status, the employer shall designate and register another coordinator with the department within 60 days of the termination. If the affected employer’s coordinator does not report to the affected worksite a minimum of half-time, the department may require assurances that staff resources at the worksite are sufficient to implement the alternative means of commuting in an approved compliance plan.

NR 486.05(2) (2) Primary employee transportation coordinator training. The coordinator training program shall include but not be limited to the following:

NR 486.05(2)(a) (a) Training on the requirements of this chapter.

NR 486.05(2)(b) (b) Training on the sections of the clean air act pertaining to the employee commute options program included in 42 USC 7511a (d) (1) (B).

NR 486.05(2)(c) (c) Information on the contribution of vehicle emissions to the severe ozone air quality problem in the affected area.

NR 486.05(2)(d) (d) Training on the correct procedures for completing and submitting department employee commute options compliance plan forms.