Statement of Scope
Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection
Rule No.:
|
Section ATCP 52
Wis. Adm. Code (
New
)
|
Relating to:
|
Producer Led Watershed Protection Grants
|
R
ule Type
:
|
Both Permanent and Emergency
|
1. Description of the objective of the rule:
2015 Wisconsin Act 55
(“Budget Act”) authorizes t
he
Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (
“department”
)
under s.
93.59
, Stats.,
to make grants for nonpoint source pollution abatement activitie
s that are
“conducted with the assistance of producer led groups.” The department
propose
s an emergency and permanent
rule
that
will establish criteria for
issuing
the grants
.
2. Description of existing policies relevant to the rule and of new policies proposed to be included in the rule and an analysis of policy alternatives; the history, background and justification for the proposed rule:
History and background
.
Wisconsin currently has many waterways, lakes and water impoundments with significant water quality impairments
. These impairments are
attributed to a number of sources, including industrial, urban and agricultural. Because attention to water quality concerns has increased over the
last decade, so has attention
toward finding innovative solutions to address the causes of water quality impacts.
To
improve water quality in watershed areas
, the
Wisconsin L
egislature
recently
passed a law
that
provide
s
matching grant funds to
agricultural producers
that operate farms
within a watershed
.
E
ffective July 1, 2015, the Budget Act enacted section 93.59 of the Wisconsin Statutes
(“section 93.59”)
, under which
the department
may
give grants to qualified groups consisting of agricultural producers
that wish to voluntarily conduct nonpoint source water pollution abatement activities
.
Under section 485 of the Budget Act, the amount of funds to be allocated for the program shall not exceed $250,000 annually.
Proposed policies
and justification
.
Sect
ion
93
.
59
sets forth several
conditions that a
n agricultural
producer group must meet
to obtain a grant. Initially, a producer group
must
have
at least five agricultural producers, each of whom operates as an eligible farm under s.
91.86(1)
,
Stats.,
in one watershed.
T
he
producer group must
also
be formed through a memorandum of understanding with at least one of
several
listed
organizations
, all of which have
expertise in conservation or water pollution abatement.
Additional
requirements include that a
group
generally
must
contribute matching funds equal to at least 50 percent of eligible costs
and
must file
an
annual report with the department.
However, other than setting out basic conditions relating
mainly
to the composition of the producer group, section
93.59
leaves
the criteria
for the issuance of grant funds
to be
develop
ed through department rulemak
ing.
Section
93.59(4)
of the statutes
states that “[t]
he
department may promulgate rules that do all of the following:
93.59(4)(a)
(a)
Define "legal entity" for the purposes of this section.
93.59(4)(b)
(b)
Specify the application process for a grant under this section.
(
93.59(4)(c)
c)
Specify activities that may be conducted using a grant under this section.
”
Accordingly, t
his rule
will
specify
the a
pplication process for a grant
;
identify
which activities may be conducted using a grant
; and
defin
e
the term “legal entity,”
used
in section
93.59(1)
of the statutes.
Nature of the Emergency
Not Required
.
Section 9102
of the Budget Act, which is a
nonstatutory
provision,
state
s, in relevant part:
Notwithstanding section
227.24
(1)
(a)
,
(2) (b)
, and
(3)
of the statutes, the department is
not required to provide evidence that promulgating a rule under this subsection as an emergency rule is necessary for the preservation of a the public peace, health, safety, or welfare
and is
not required to provide a finding of emergency
for a rule promulgated under this subsection.
(Underline added.)
Based on this provision, the Budget Act specifically exempts
the department f
r
o
m having to
provide evidence or make
a finding of emergency
before issuing
an emergency rule.
Policy Alternatives
.
Do nothing
. If
the department
fails to adopt rules that contain the basis for grant determinations
,
then
it will not be able to expend the f
unds and provide grants
to
producer led groups
as
the
L
egislature directed in
the Budget Act
.
3. Statutory authority for the rule (including the statutory citation and language):
93.07 Department duties.
It shall be the duty of the department:
(1)
REGULATIONS. To make and enforce such regulations, not inconsistent with law, as it may deem necessary for the exercise and discharge of all the powers and duties of the department, and to adopt such measures and make such regulations as
are necessary and proper for the enforcement by the state of
chs
.
93
to
100
, which regulations shall have the force of law.
93.59 Producer led watershed protection grants.
*
*
*
(4)
The department may promulgate rules that do all of the following:
93.59(4)(a)
(a)
Define "legal entity" for the purposes of this section.
93.59(4)(b)
(b)
Specify the application process for a grant under this section.
93.59(4)(c)
(c)
Specify activities that may be conducted using a grant under this section.
4. Estimate of the amount of time that state employees will spend to develop the rule and of other resources necessary to develop the rule:
The department
estimates that it will use approximately 0.25 FTE staff to develop this rule. This includes time required for the investigation and analysis, rule drafting, preparing related documents, holding public hearings and communicating with affected persons and groups.
The department
will use existing staff to develop this rule.
5. Description of all entities that may be impacted by the rule:
This rule will enab
l
e
groups of agricultural
producer
s that operate farms
in a watershed
to obtain financial assistance to
voluntarily conduct n
onpoint source water
pollution abatement activities. By statute, p
roducer led groups m
ust
collaborate with
one of the following:
the department, the
D
epartment of
N
atural
R
esources, a county land conservation committee, the University of Wisconsin-Ex
tension, the Discovery Farms P
rogram
of
the University of Wisconsin-Extension, or a nonprofit conservation organization.
6. Summary and preliminary comparison of any existing or proposed
federal regulation
that is intended to address the activities to be regulated by the rule:
Th
is rule will only establish criteria to issue
grants obtained from state funds within
a state
-created program; t
he
re are no existing or proposed federal regulations related to
this activity.
7. Anticipated economic impact
:
Because p
articipation in the program is voluntary
,
there will be no negative economic impact produced by the proposed rule.
The proposed rule will enable
the department
to provide
grants to producer led groups
that
wish to
assist
agricultural producers in a watershed to voluntarily conduct nonpoint source water abatement activities.
Grant
funds
should positively impact businesses that provide goods and services used in abatement activities.
Contact Person:
Sara Walling
,
D
epartment of
A
griculture, Trade and Consumer Protection
; Phone (608) 224-4501
; E-mail
Sara.Walling
@wi.gov
