The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the Environmental Protection Agency are both accepting comments on a multitude of issues impacting Wisconsin businesses. The agencies are accepting comments on various air, water, and waste rules; and in addition, the DNR is also asking for help identifying burdensome and outdated rules.

2011 Wisconsin Act 167 made major changes to the state’s navigable water permitting process. The Legislative Council has produced a helpful memo outlining the existing law, which remains in effect until August 2012, and explaining the new law.

The Energy Department recently released a renewable energy resource assessment detailing the potential to develop electric power generation at existing dams across the United States that aren't currently equipped to produce power. The report estimates that without building a single new dam, these available hydropower resources, if fully developed, could provide an electrical generating capacity of more than 12 gigawatts (GW).

Most existing piers and wharves are exempt from needing DNR approval and can be placed in lakes and rivers the same as they have always been under a new law signed April 2.

An agreement signed by 10 federal agencies and the governors of Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, and Pennsylvania, is designed to speed review of proposed offshore wind projects in the Great Lakes by increasing collaboration between federal and state agencies.

The Coast Guard has issued its final rule setting allowable concentrations of living organisms in ballast water discharged in U.S. waters, including the Great Lakes. The rule requires oceangoing freighters entering American waters to install onboard treatment systems to filter and disinfect their ballast water. The regulation largely parallels a pending international standard and an effluent limits standard the EPA has proposed.

At its March meeting, the Natural Resources Board approved the commencement of rulemaking to amend the state’s shoreland zoning rules. According to the DNR, counties have asked for changes to make the rules, last updated in 2009, easier to implement and enforce.

The United States Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision on March 21, ruling that property owners can sue to void compliance orders issued by the EPA immediately, rather than having to wait until the EPA decides to take the property owner to court for noncompliance. The decision makes clear access to courts is a proper response to “the strong-arming of regulated parties” by government agencies.

The Wisconsin State Bar has uploaded a video interview it did with Matt Moroney, Deputy Secretary of the DNR. Moroney briefly explains legislative changes and other updates to shoreland zoning, wetland reforms, and pier regulation. In addition, Moroney discusses the “hot topic” issues the department will tackle in the foreseeable future.

The Wisconsin State Senate gave final approval to Senate Bill 326, a major regulatory reform measure that streamlines the DNR permitting process in Chapter 30 of the Wisconsin Statutes, which concerns navigable waters, harbors, and navigation. The bill would require the DNR follow specific procedures and timelines for issuing permits, and allow the DNR to issue more simplified general permits for certain activities. The bill also makes changes to the state’s pier regulations, and other DNR processes. The Assembly is scheduled to take up its companion bill, AB 421, on Tuesday, March 13th.

The EPA has submitted several major environmental regulations that are part of the EPA’s train wreck of rules to the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review, one of the last steps before a rule is released to the public.

The EPA has created a new tool that allows the public to see what data the federal government has on point source discharges into the nation’s waters. The Discharge Monitoring Report (DMR) Pollutant Loading Tool allows for easy searching and mapping of water pollution by local area, watershed, company, industry sector, and pollutant.

Midwest Energy News recently published an interesting article discussing how different states treat hydroelectric power when it comes to renewable electricity standards. As the article explains, although hydropower is a renewable energy, it does not always count toward a state’s renewable electricity standard.

One of several bills targeted at reducing uncertainty and increasing flexibility in Wisconsin’s regulatory system is Assembly Bill 463/Senate Bill 368, known as “the wetlands bill.” The bill, sponsored by Senator Neal Kedzie (R-Elkhorn) and Representative Jeff Mursau (R-Crivitz), makes significant changes to Wisconsin’s wetlands permitting process.

Wisconsin wetlands are currently subject to a myriad of different regulations. For example, some wetlands are subject to both state and federal regulations, while others are regulated only by the state. For non-federal wetlands, the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) can issue an individual or general certification, and must take extra precautions if the wetland is or is near to an area of special natural resource interest (ASNRI). While the jurisdictional overlap is unavoidable, the multitude of permitting standards for non-federal wetlands results in an overly complex area of law.

The wetlands bill would require the DNR to follow specific procedures and timelines for issuing individual wetlands permits for the first time ever. The DNR will be able to focus on larger and more complex projects by increasing the use of general permits for smaller, less complex projects. The DNR would also be permitted to consider economic impacts and mitigation when making a permitting determination. Below is a discussion of the changes to Wisconsin’s wetland regulations contained in AB 463/SB368:

The Clean Water Act turns 40 this year, but despite its age, its implementation continues to raise controversial issues. Today, the United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments in an important wetlands case, Sackett v. EPA. The issue in the case is two-fold: 1. May petitioners seek pre-enforcement judicial review of an administrative compliance order pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. § 704; and 2. If not, does petitioner's inability to seek pre-enforcement judicial review of the administrative compliance order violate their rights under the Due Process Clause?

The Department of Natural Resources is currently accepting comments on Wisconsin's proposed list of waters that do not meet water quality standards and a group of plans for maintaining or improving water quality in 24 of 330 watersheds across the state. An online web presentation is scheduled for January 5, and public comments will be accepted through February 20, 2012.

The long anticipated mining bill was released by Assembly Republicans on Thursday, Dec. 8. The 183-page bill would create new statutes to govern ferrous (iron) mining, which is currently regulated in the same manner as non-ferrous (non-iron minerals like gold or copper) mining.

This bill comes in response to Gogebic Taconite's proposal to build Wisconsin’s largest ever iron mine. Proponents of the bill point to the job creation potential of the mine, while opponents worry environmental standards will be sacrificed to gain those jobs. Proponents counter that the text of the bill is the best indication so far that it is possible to retain Wisconsin’s strong environmental standards while still taking advantage of the state’s rich natural resources.

The Environmental Protection Agency will develop and finalize multiple rules over the next several years that will dramatically impact the air, water, and energy regulatory climate. This unprecedented level of activity will be mirrored at the state level since each federal regulation will trigger the promulgation of state rules to implement the standards. Studies have shown these rules will have an impact on the overall economy, jobs, competitiveness, and energy costs.

Below is a brief summary of of the most recent action on the multitude of rules under promulgation as well as information on expected future actions.

The U.S. House of Representatives approved a bill Tuesday that would set national standards for cleansing ship ballast water and prohibit states from setting stronger standards in an effort to slow the advancement of invasive species. The law would adopt the International Maritime Organization's standard, which requires ocean-going ships to install technology to limit the number of live organisms in their ballast water.

The EPA and the Department of Interior are both working on new federal rules to regulate different aspects of hydraulic fracturing. These regulations are important to Wisconsin not because we have an abundance of underground gas reserves, but because the fracturing companies use sand from Wisconsin mines as one of the fracturing agents.