Statement of Scope
Department of
Natural Resources
Rule No.
:
|
WT-03-15
|
|
|
|
Relating to
:
|
Revisions to NR 154 Best Management Practices and Cost Share Rates
|
1. Finding/nature of emergency (Emergency Rule only):
This will be a permanent rule.
2
.
Detailed description of the objective of the
proposed
rule
:
Chapter
NR 154
, Wisconsin Administrative Code,
identifies the agricultural and urban best management practices
(BMPs) that
can be funded under the Notice of Discharge, Targeted Runoff Management, Urban Construction and Urban Planning grant programs
as specified
in chs.
NR 153
and
NR 155
, Wis. Adm. Code
. In addition,
ch.
NR 154
identifies cost share conditions
for BMPs
available for funding and the grant programs identified above. This rule is part of the state’s nonpoint source abatement program
that
is jointly administered by the Department of Agriculture Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP). For agricultural
BMPs
,
ch.
NR 154
directly cross-references
ch.
ATCP 50
, Wis. Adm.
Code, that
was recently update
d
and finalized in 2014
. The primary purpose of the proposed rule change is to make
ch.
NR 154
consistent with the recent updates to
ch.
ATCP 50
for agricultural
BMPs,
cost-share rates, and other areas to
ensure
programic
consistency.
The Department may evaluate the need to reference additional technical standards that may have been updated since the ch.
ATCP 50
revisisions
.
In addition, the Department is proposing to review, update and add urban
BMPs identified in ch.
NR 154
for consistency with state technical standards. The Department
, rather than DATCP,
maintains
technical standards associated with urban
BMPs
;
and since September 2002 when
ch.
NR 154
became effective
, a number of new technical standards
have been developed and
are now available to use but are not identified as cost-sharable practices
in ch.
NR 154
.
The Department plans to review and update other aspects of
ch.
NR 154
to ensure consistency with c
hs.
NR 151
,
NR 153
and
NR 155
, all of
which were recently updated
and
finalized in
2011
,
including: economic hardship determinations, cost-share caps for certain
BMPs
, and other eligibility requirements
. Additional
h
ousekeeping
changes may be made
that
are reasonably related to
the issues specifically mentioned
.
3
.
Description of the existing policies relevant to the rule, new policies proposed to be included in the rule, and an analysis of policy alternatives
:
The rule cross references
ch.
ATCP 50
for all agricultural
BMPs
that, in turn,
are tied to
USDA-
N
atural Resource Conservation Service
technical standards for Wisconsin. In order to maintain consistency with the state’s nonpoint source abatement program
s outlined in chs.
92
and
281
, Wis. Stats.
, these cross-references need to be updated.
4
.
Detailed explanation of statutory authority for the rule
(including
the
statutory citation and language):
s
.
281.65
(1)
(c)
,
(
4)
(e)
,
(8a)
,
(8gm)
,
(8n)
,
(8o)
, Wis. Stats.
, provides authority for the department to
promulage
rules regarding agricultural
nonpoint source
standards, specifications, and
BMPs
eligible for cost-sharing.
s.
281.66
(4)
(c)
,
Wis. Stats.
, provides authority for the department to
promulage
rules regarding urban nonpoint source and storm water management standards, specifications and
BMPs
eligible for cost-sharing.
s
.
281.16
(2)
(b)
, Wis. Stats., states that the d
epartment shall promulgate rules that specify a process for the development and dissemination of technical standards to implement the urban performance standards.
s.
281.16
(3)
(e)
, Wis. Stats., states that the d
epartment shall promulgate criteria for determining whether cost sharing is available under Wis. Stat. s.
281.65
.
5
.
Estimate of amount of time that state employees will spend developing the rule and of other resources necessary to develop the rule
:
It is
anticpated
that the total staff time needed to revise ch.
NR 154
would be approximately 500 hours including meetings, drafting documents,
public
hearings and other steps in the promulgation process.
6
.
List with description of all entities that
may
be affected by the proposed rule
:
Revisions to ch.
NR 154
may affect the following entities as it r
elates to participation in the d
epartment’s agricultural and urban nonpoint source grant programs:
Governmental units including, but not limited to, a county, city, village, town,
metropolotian
sewerage district,
t
own sanitary district, public inland land protection and
rehabilitiation
district, regional planning
commisstion
or drainage district. Rule revisions will provide clarity and consistency with
ch.
ATCP 50
and d
epartment
programs for cost
-
sharing
BMPs
and eligibility conditions in accordance with applicable technical standards
.
Agricultural
crop and livestock producers. Rule revisions will
identify additional
cost-sharable agricultural
BMPs
and technical standards
and
clarify
eligibility conditions with the state agricultural performance standards and prohibitions outlined in ch.
NR 151
.
Urban
businesses and residents
. Rule revisions will provide clarity and consistency with cost-sharable urban
BMPs
and clarify
eligilility
conditions with state urban performance standards outlined in ch.
NR 151
.
Private consulting firms. Rule revisions will provide additional clarity and consistency regarding cost-shareable best management practices for application
under the d
epartment’s nonpoint source program grants.
7
.
Summary and preliminary comparison with any existing or proposed federal regulation that is intended to address the activities to be regulated by the proposed rule
:
There are no
comprobable
existing or proposed federal regulations related to
ch.
NR 154
.
8
. Anticipated economic impact of implementing the rule
(note if the rule is likely to have a significant economic impact on small businesses)
:
It is anticipated that the economic impacts of implementing this rule will be min
or. Revisions to ch.
NR 154
will assist the d
epartment in implementing the nonpoint source grant programs
through
which state cost-share funds
are provided
to grantees to implement
BMPs
.
9. Anticipated number, month and locations of public hearings:
The d
epartment anticipates holding
one
public hearing
in the month of
November 2015
. Hearing cities will be include
Madison as the primary location with the ability to broadcast the hearing to satellite viewing locations in
Eau Claire,
Wausau, Green Bay and Milwaukee.
Contact Person:
Amy Callis, Agricultural NPS Implementation Coordinator
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
101 S. Webster Street, PO Box 7921
Madison, WI 53707-7921
(608) 267-7628
