Section 33.52. Discharges and precipitation.

 

(1)   Discharge response; general. The operator of a storage facility shall do all of the following whenever there is a discharge:

(a) Take immediate and appropriate action to mitigate any risks that the discharge may pose to public health and the environment.

(b) Report the discharge to the Wisconsin department of natural resources if a report is required under ch. NR 706 .

(2)   Contained discharge or precipitation. Except as provided in sub. (3) , an operator shall recover any unfrozen discharge or unfrozen precipitation that collects in a mixing and loading pad, sump or secondary containment structure. The operator shall recover the unfrozen discharge or precipitation by the end of the first business day in which the collected discharge or precipitation is present in the mixing and loading pad, sump or secondary containment structure. The operator shall take earlier action to recover the collected discharge or precipitation if earlier action is necessary to do any of the following:

(a) Maintain the effective discharge containment capacity of a mixing and loading pad, sump or secondary containment structure.

(b) Prevent instability of storage containers.

(c) Minimize the risk of a discharge to the environment.

(d) Prevent vehicles from driving through discharges, rinsate or collected precipitation on the mixing and loading pad.

(3)   Precipitation contained in fertilizer secondary containment structure. Subsection (2) does not apply to precipitation that has collected in a fertilizer secondary containment structure, provided that the operator uses at least one of the following methods to manage that collected precipitation:

(a) The operator may recover all of the collected precipitation, and transfer it to a storage container in the secondary containment structure by the end of the first business day in which the collected precipitation is present in the secondary containment structure.

(b) The operator may store the collected precipitation in the fertilizer secondary containment structure until the precipitation can be properly used according to s. ATCP 33.56 or until it evaporates, provided that the operator complies with sub. (4) .

(c) The operator may apply the collected precipitation to a vegetative filter strip at or adjacent to the storage facility, provided that all of the following apply:

1. The operator applies the collected precipitation according to a written plan approved by the department. The plan shall consider the volume of liquid to be applied, the nutrient content of the liquid, the nutrient utilization capacity of the filter strip, and seasonal conditions that may affect that utilization capacity.

2. The operator maintains living vegetation on the entire filter strip.

3. The operator complies with sub. (4) .

(d) The operator may discharge the collected precipitation to areas of the storage facility from which there is no potential for direct runoff to waters of the state, provided that all of the following apply:

1. The operator complies with sub. (4) .

2. None of the samples analyzed under sub. (4) (b) contains more than 20 milligrams of the total nitrogen per liter.

(e) An operator may discharge the collected precipitation to a public wastewater treatment system, provided the operator has written permission from the authority that operates the system.

(f) An operator may discharge the collected precipitation to surface water, via a storm sewer or other conduit, if the operator has written permission from the Wisconsin department of natural resources.

(4)   Sample testing and follow-up. An operator who uses any of the management methods under sub. (3) (b) to (d) shall do all of the following:

(a) Obtain at least one sample of collected precipitation in each of the months of April, June, August and October.

(b) Have the samples under par. (a) analyzed, at a laboratory certified by the Wisconsin department of natural resources under ch. NR 149 , for nitrate/nitrite-nitrogen and ammonia/ammonium-nitrogen.

(c) If any sample analyzed under par. (b) contains more than 200 milligrams of total nitrogen under par. (b) per liter, notify the department and implement a department-approved plan to manage collected precipitation containing more than 200 milligrams of total nitrogen per liter.

(d) Keep accurate records of all analytical results under par. (b) .

CR 05-108 : cr. Register October 2006 No. 610 , eff. 11-1-06; CR 08-075 : am. (4) (a) Register April 2009 No. 640 , eff. 5-1-09; CR 14-047 : am. (3) (d) 2. Register May 2015 No. 713 , eff. 6-1-15.

Note

A release of rinsate is considered a discharge. See s. ATCP 33.01 (10) and (28) . Microsoft Windows NT 6.1.7601 Service Pack 1 If a discharge is fully contained in a mixing and loading pad, sump or secondary containment structure, a discharge report is not required under ch. NR 706 unless the discharge poses an immediate threat to human health. Microsoft Windows NT 6.1.7601 Service Pack 1