Emergency Rule: WA-06-20 (E) (amended version)
Status: In effect as of December 4, 2020; partially suspended by legislative action on December 18, 2020
Summary: 2019 Act 101, legislation that regulates firefighting foam containing PFAS, went into effect on September 1, 2020. The act gave DNR the authority to promulgate rules to implement and administer the act. It also required DNR to promulgate an emergency rule no later than the bill’s implementation date.
The emergency rule as approved by Natural Resources Board (NRB):
- Includes requirements for prohibitions and use of firefighting foam that contains PFAS. The use of foam is allowed for emergency firefighting, fire prevention operations, and testing purposes so long as certain requirements are met.
- Contains notification and recordkeeping requirements for persons who use foam for firefighting operations or who discharge foam to the environment as part of testing operations.
- Defines storage, containment and treatment, including the sampling and monitoring for 14 treatment indicator parameters.
DNR’s emergency rule went into effect on December 4, 2020. On December 18, the rule was partially suspended by a motion of the Legislature’s Joint Committee for the Review of Administrative Rules (JCRAR). JCRAR suspended various aspects of the rule, including PFAS action levels set by the rule and a definition of “treatment” requiring such a process “to immobilize, remove or destroy the contaminant.” The rule remains in effect as amended, without the suspended provisions.
Under Wisconsin’s emergency rules statute (described here), if JCRAR suspends a rule or part of a rule, it must introduce within 30 days a bill in each house to repeal the suspended rule. If the bill does not pass, the rule remains in effect and if the rule is repealed, it may not be promulgated again by the agency unless a subsequent law specifically authorizes such action.
See the section below on PFAS Legislation for more information.