94.73(3m)(u)(u) Corrective action costs incurred by a responsible person in response to a discharge caused by that responsible person’s intentional or grossly negligent violation of law, including ss. 94.645 or 94.67 to 94.71, a rule promulgated under those sections or an order issued under those sections.

94.73(3m)(v)(v) Other costs excluded by the department by rule.

94.73(4)(a)(a) Except as provided in par. (d), no responsible person may receive reimbursement for corrective action costs exceeding $7,500 unless the responsible person submits to the department in writing, and the department approves, a work plan for the corrective action before the corrective action is taken.

94.73(4)(b)(b) Except as agreed under sub. (12), the department of agriculture, trade and consumer protection shall promptly furnish the department of natural resources with a copy of each work plan submitted to the department of agriculture, trade and consumer protection under par. (a) for comment by the department of natural resources. Within 14 days after it receives a copy of a work plan or within a different time period agreed to under sub. (12), the department of natural resources may provide the department of agriculture, trade and consumer protection with any comments of the department of natural resources on the work plan. If the department of natural resources timely submits written comments on a proposed work plan, the department of agriculture, trade and consumer protection shall either incorporate those comments into the approved work plan or give the department of natural resources a written explanation of why the comments were not incorporated.

94.73(4)(c)(c) The department shall approve or reject a work plan submitted under par. (a) within 30 days after its submission. If the department fails to approve or reject the work plan within 30 days after its submission, the work plan approval requirement in par. (a) no longer applies.

94.73(4)(d)(d) This subsection does not apply to any of the following:

94.73(5)(a)(a) A responsible person who seeks reimbursement for corrective action costs shall submit an application to the department. The application shall be made on a form provided, and shall contain information reasonably required, by the department.

94.73(5)(b)(b) A responsible person may not submit more than one application under par. (a) within a 12-month period for the same discharge site.

94.73(5)(c)(c) Within 10 days from the date of the receipt of an application under par. (a), the department shall notify the applicant of the receipt of the application. The department shall grant or deny the application within 90 days after receipt of the application unless the applicant agrees to an extension.

94.73(5)(d)(d) Before or after the department receives an application under par. (a), the department may issue a preliminary opinion on whether an applicant is eligible for reimbursement of corrective action costs. The opinion is not binding on the department.

94.73(5)(e)(e) No person may make a false statement or misrepresentation on an application submitted under this section. A person who makes a false statement or misrepresentation on an application related to a corrective action is ineligible for reimbursement related to that corrective action and is ineligible for any reimbursement related to any other corrective action taken or ordered within 5 years after the date of the false statement or misrepresentation. If the responsible person has received any reimbursement for which the responsible person is ineligible under this paragraph, the responsible person shall refund the full amount of that reimbursement to the department. The amounts refunded to the department under this paragraph shall be deposited in the agricultural chemical cleanup fund.

94.73(6)(a)(a) If the department determines that a responsible person is eligible for reimbursement of corrective action costs under sub. (3), the department shall authorize reimbursement in the amount specified in this subsection and in the manner provided in sub. (7).

94.73(6)(am)(am) If more than one responsible person is eligible for reimbursement under sub. (3) for corrective action taken in response to one or more discharges at the same site, the combined amount paid to those responsible persons may not exceed the maximum amount specified for a single responsible person under this section, except as provided by the department by rule. The department shall allocate payments among the responsible persons according to rules promulgated by the department.

94.73(6)(b)(b) Except as provided in pars. (c) and (e), the department shall reimburse a responsible person an amount equal to 75 percent of the corrective action costs incurred for each discharge site that are greater than $3,000 and less than $400,000 for costs incurred before July 1, 2017, or that are greater than $3,000 and less than $650,000 for costs incurred on or after July 1, 2017.

94.73(6)(c)(c) Except as provided in par. (e), the department shall reimburse a responsible person an amount equal to 75 percent of the corrective action costs incurred for each discharge site that are greater than $7,500 and less than $400,000 for costs incurred before July 1, 2017, or that are greater than $7,500 and less than $650,000 for costs incurred on or after July 1, 2017, if any of the following applies:

94.73(6)(d)(d) For the purposes for pars. (b) and (c), a discharge that occurs in the course of transporting an agricultural chemical is considered to have occurred at the site from which the agricultural chemical was being transported if the site from which the agricultural chemical was being transported is under the ownership or control of the person transporting the agricultural chemical.

94.73(6)(e)(e) The department may not reimburse corrective action costs that exceed $100,000 for any one discharge for which groundwater remediation is not ordered unless the criteria in rules promulgated under par. (f) are satisfied.

94.73(6)(f)(f) The department may promulgate rules under which it may provide reimbursement under pars. (b) and (c) for corrective action costs that exceed $100,000 at a site at which groundwater remediation is not ordered if the applicant obtains the approval of the department before incurring the costs and if the contamination is extensive or complex cleanup strategies are required. The rules shall establish criteria for exceeding the $100,000 limit, such as the size of the area contaminated or the type of agricultural chemical that is involved.

94.73(7)(a)(a) The department may make payments to a responsible person who is eligible for reimbursement under sub. (3) if the department has authorized reimbursement to that person under sub. (6). The department shall make payment from the appropriation account under s. 20.115 (7) (wm), subject to the availability of funds in that appropriation account. If there are insufficient funds to pay the full amounts authorized under sub. (6) to all eligible responsible persons, the department shall distribute payments in the order in which applications were received, unless the department specifies, by rule, a different order of payment.

94.73(7)(b)(b) The department may promulgate rules specifying the procedure by which, and the order in which, it will distribute payments under par. (a). The department may establish distribution priorities or formulas based on the severity of contamination, the time elapsed since corrective action costs were incurred or other factors that the department considers appropriate.