Small Business Advisor - January 2022

Small Biz News

Small Business Advisor - January 2022

2022-2023 Dry Cleaner Compliance Calendars Now Available

The popular Dry Cleaner Compliance Calendar, published by DNR’s Small Business Environmental Assistance Program (SBEAP), is now available. All dry cleaning facilities in Wisconsin should have received a copy in the mail. SBEAP designed this tool to help these facilities comply with air emission and hazardous waste regulations. The calendar includes useful information such as up-to-date factsheets that summarize environmental regulations along with space for keeping important records. Facilities can fill out and keep the calendar on file for five years to help them comply with state and federal record keeping requirements. One important topic noted in the calendar is changes to DNR’s hazardous waste regulations, which became effective in September 2020. These changes apply to all dry cleaning facilities, whether they use perchloroethylene (perc) or another dry cleaning solvent.

If an owner or operator of a dry cleaning facility did not receive a calendar or is in need of additional copies, contact the SBEAP by calling the Small Business Helpline toll-free at 855-889-3021 or sending an e-mail to: DNRSmallBusiness@wisconsin.gov.  An electronic version of the calendar and other supporting documents are also available on SBEAP’s dry cleaner web page.


NR 700 Reporting Due Jan. 31

Semi-annual reporting for the period of July 1, 2021, to December 31, 2021, is due by January 31, 2022. This report is required of responsible parties (RPs) for all open sites, including those sites the DNR formerly classified as “conditionally closed” in the Bureau for Remediation and Redevelopment Tracking System (BRRTS) online database. Consultants may submit these reports on behalf of RPs.

The DNR sent an email with a unique Report Identification (ID) number to contacts of sites listed in the database during the first week of January 2022. If you did not receive an email yet, you can request a Report ID number by submitting the Report ID Request Form.  The Report ID number uniquely identifies the activity you can report, the reporting period and verifies the person using the Report ID is authorized to submit the report.

State law requires semi-annual reports from people who meet the definition of a responsible party in NR 700. Property owners, such as local governments that have an exemption under Wis. Stats. §§ 292.11(9)(e) or 292.23, and lenders that have an exemption under Wis. Stats. § 292.21 for specific properties are not required to submit a semi-annual report for those exempt properties under state law.

Sites formerly classified by the DNR as “conditionally closed” are open sites that have not been granted case closure and, by definition, have remaining action(s) needed (e.g., properly abandoning monitoring wells or investigative waste needing to be removed).  Semi-annual reporting for sites formerly classified as “conditionally closed” should indicate what actions are being taken to complete the remaining actions.

If you have any questions, please contact Tim Zeichert at Timothy.Zeichert@wisconsin.gov or 608-219-2240.


Legislation Brings Changes to DNR’s Enviro-Check Program

On August 6, 2021, several changes were made to Wisconsin’s environmental compliance audit program (Enviro-Check) in 2021 Wisconsin Act 78. DNR’s Enviro-Check web pages have been updated to reflect those changes, but feel free to contact the program with any questions.

The Act 78 changes more closely align Wisconsin’s Enviro-Check program with US EPA’s audit programs. Key changes to Enviro-Check include:

  • Eliminating the requirement that an entity must notify the DNR at least 30 days before beginning an audit, while still requiring submission of a signed statement prior to beginning the audit acknowledging that violations known before the audit are not eligible for coverage;
  • Changing the amount of time a regulated entity has to correct violations identified in an audit from 90 days to 60 days, unless the entity is a small business stationary source then they have 180 days to correct violations or up to 360 days if the corrective action involves a pollution prevention modification;
  • Removing the requirement for a 30-day public comment period when requesting an extended compliance schedule beyond the timelines listed above; and
  • Requiring the DNR and Department of Justice (DOJ) to consider whether the entity is a small business stationary source that has committed a minor violation when determining whether to pursue criminal action.

Enviro-Check empowers businesses and facilities to proactively verify they are meeting environmental requirements through a third-party assessment, limiting liability for organizations who are making a good faith effort to investigate and correct violations. This translates into a safer, healthier environment as well as more efficient and profitable businesses. Learn more about how your facility could benefit from using Enviro-Check by reviewing the webpage or by contacting the program coordinator, Lisa Ashenbrenner Hunt, at DNREnviroCheck@wisconsin.gov or (608) 371-4367.


EPA Adds 1-bromopropane to the List of Hazardous Air Pollutants under Section 112 of the Clean Air Act

On December 22, 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator signed a notice adding 1-bromopropane (1-BP) to the Clean Act Act’s list of hazardous air pollutants (also known as air toxics). This is the first time that EPA has added a pollutant to the list of hazardous air pollutants since Congress created the list through the 1990 Clean Air Act amendments.

The chemical 1-BP is largely used in solvent degreasing, adhesives, furniture foam fabrication, and in other applications including the aerospace industry. EPA is modifying the list of hazardous air pollutants because the Agency has determined that 1-BP is a hazardous air pollutant and its emissions, ambient concentrations, bioaccumulation, or deposition are known to cause or may reasonably be anticipated to cause adverse effects to human health or the environment. Once added, facilities will need to include 1-BP in their assessment of their source size classification (i.e., area source or major source) for their facilities. EPA will be working to revise current National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutant (NESHAP) regulations and identify whether additional NESHAP are warranted.

Under a separate action, EPA is developing a regulatory infrastructure that will address compliance and implementation issues that may arise from the addition of a chemical to the list of hazardous air pollutants. This regulatory infrastructure will be proposed for public notice and comment in 2022 and is expected to be finalized in early 2023.

More information, including a fact sheet and pre-publication version of the action, are available at https://www.epa.gov/haps/petitions-add-1-bp-npb-clean-air-act-list-hazardous-air-pollutants


Input Opportunities

EPA and Army Take Action to Provide Certainty for the Definition of WOTUS

On December 7, 2021, the EPA and the Department of the Army (“the agencies”) announced a proposed rule to revise the definition of “waters of the United States.”  The agencies propose to put back into place the pre-2015 definition of “waters of the United States,” updated to reflect consideration of Supreme Court decisions. This familiar approach would support a stable implementation of “waters of the United States” while the agencies continue to consult with states, tribes, local governments, and a broad array of stakeholders in both the current implementation and future regulatory actions. The proposed rule was published in the Federal Register

Public comment is now open and will close on February 7, 2022. 

The agencies are hosting virtual public hearings on January 12, 13 and 18.  To listen to the session or to register to speak at a specific session of the virtual hearing, please use the online registration forms available at the links for the respective date and time:

  1. Wednesday, January 12, 2022 - 9 am to 12 pm Central
  2. Thursday, January 13, 2022 - 1 pm to 4 pm Central
  3. Tuesday, January 18, 2022 - 4 pm to 7 pm Central

The last day to pre-register to speak at each session will be, respectively, Friday, January 7, 2022; Monday, January 10, 2022; and Thursday, January 13, 2022. A day before each scheduled session, EPA and the Army will post a general agenda for the hearing that will list pre-registered speakers in approximate order. 

Each commenter will have three (3) minutes to provide oral testimony. EPA and the Army encourage commenters to provide the agencies with a copy of their oral testimony electronically by emailing it to CWAwotus@epa.gov. EPA and the Army also recommend submitting the text of your oral comments as written comments to the rulemaking docket.


Training Opportunities

ITRC Vapor Intrusion Mitigation Training Jan. 13 & 27

The Interstate Technology Regulatory Council (ITRC) will offer online, comprehensive vapor intrusion training based on recent, technical guidance from the national group.

The upcoming live webinars will cover the purpose and use of ITRC’s comprehensive web-based series of technical resources for Vapor Intrusion Mitigation.

The training consists of a series of eight modules on the sections listed below and will be presented over two, two-hour sessions:

  • Jan. 13, 2022 (noon to 2 p.m. CST)
  • Jan. 27, 2022 (noon to 2 p.m. CST)

Registration is available on the ITRC’s training and events webpage.

The online sessions will be repeated on June 2 and June 14, 2022, and again on Nov. 3 and Nov. 15, 2022. The vapor intrusion trainings are also available on-demand.

Site-specific questions regarding vapor intrusion in Wisconsin should be directed to the assigned DNR Project Manager. General questions can be directed to the contacts listed on the DNR’s Vapor Intrusion Resources for Environmental Professionals webpage.