292.68 Reimbursement for disposal of PCB contaminated sediment.
(1) Definitions. In this section:
(a) “Disposal costs" means the costs of transporting PCB contaminated sediment to a hazardous waste disposal facility, the fees for disposing of the PCB contaminated sediment in the hazardous waste disposal facility, and the cost of any permits that an applicant is required to obtain in order to transport and dispose of the PCB contaminated sediment.
(b) “PCB contaminated sediment" means sediment that contains polychlorinated biphenyls in a concentration of 50 parts per million or greater and that is dredged from a navigable water in this state.
(2) Program. The department shall administer a program to provide reimbursement to certain responsible parties for a portion of costs incurred for disposing of PCB contaminated sediment at an out-of-state hazardous waste disposal facility, as provided in this section.
(3) Eligible person. A person is eligible for the program under this section if the person is a responsible party, under s. 292.11 or 42 USC 9601 to 9675, for the remediation of PCB contaminated sediment or has entered into a consent decree with the department or the federal environmental protection agency under which the person undertakes the remediation of PCB contaminated sediment.
(4) Application. A person may seek reimbursement under this section by submitting an application to the department that contains all of the following:
(a) Test results that show that the sediment on which the application is based contains polychlorinated biphenyls in a concentration of 50 parts per million or greater.
(b) Documentation showing that the applicant is an eligible person under sub. (3).
(c) Documentation showing that the PCB contaminated sediment was transported to and disposed of at a licensed hazardous waste disposal facility outside of this state and that disposal occurred on or after May 1, 2007.
(d) Documentation showing the disposal costs, including information concerning the length and other terms of any contract for the disposal of the PCB contaminated sediment, and showing any other costs that the department determines to be reasonably necessary and attributable to the out-of-state disposal.
(e) An estimate, in accordance with sub. (5), of what the disposal costs would be using a facility in this state that is approved for the disposal of sediment that contains polychlorinated biphenyls in a concentration of 50 parts per million or greater.
(5) Estimate of in-state disposal costs.
(a) If there is a facility in this state that is approved for the disposal of sediment that contains polychlorinated biphenyls in a concentration of 50 parts per million or greater, an applicant shall make the estimate required by sub. (4) (e) using the disposal costs for that facility.
(b) Except as provided in par. (c), if there is no facility in this state that is approved for the disposal of sediment that contains polychlorinated biphenyls in a concentration of 50 parts per million or greater, an applicant shall make the estimate required by sub. (4) (e) in one of the following ways:
1. Based on the costs of disposing of PCB contaminated sediment at facilities in other states, other than the facility that the applicant uses for disposal of the contaminated sediments, that are comparable to a facility that, if constructed in this state, would meet the applicable state and federal requirements for the disposal of sediment that contains polychlorinated biphenyls in a concentration of 50 parts per million or greater.
2. Based on the costs of constructing and operating a facility in this state that would meet the applicable state and federal requirements for the disposal of sediment that contains polychlorinated biphenyls in a concentration of 50 parts per million or greater.
(c) If there is no facility in this state that is approved for the disposal of sediment that contains polychlorinated biphenyls in a concentration of 50 parts per million or greater and if the department has accepted, within 2 years of the date that an applicant submits an application, an estimate required by sub. (4) (e) using the method under par. (b) 1., the applicant may use that estimate to satisfy sub. (4) (e).
(d) If an applicant is required to make an estimate under par. (b), the applicant shall include in the application an explanation of the method used to estimate the cost of transporting the PCB contaminated sediment to a facility in this state.
(6) Notification of completeness. When the department receives an application under sub. (4), the department shall notify the claimant whether the application is complete and, if the application is not complete, the information that the applicant must submit to complete the application.
(7) Decision on application.
(a) Subject to pars. (b) and (c), the department shall approve a complete application that complies with sub. (4) and the rules promulgated under sub. (11) if the department determines that the disposal costs incurred by the applicant and any other costs that the department determines to be reasonably necessary and attributable to the out-of-state disposal exceed what the disposal costs would be using a facility in this state that meets the applicable state and federal requirements for the disposal of sediment that contains polychlorinated biphenyls in a concentration of 50 parts per million or greater.
(b) The department may only approve reimbursement for costs incurred on or after the first day of the 24th month before the month in which the application is submitted, except that the department may approve reimbursement for costs incurred between May 1, 2007, and June 30, 2009, if the application is submitted before July 1, 2011.
(c) The department shall deny an application if the department determines that the application is fraudulent.
(8) Reimbursement.
(a) Except as provided in par. (b), if the department approves an application under sub. (4), the department shall, within 60 days of receiving the complete application, pay the applicant an amount equal to 95 percent of the amount by which the sum of the approved costs exceeds what the disposal costs would be using a facility in this state that meets the applicable state and federal requirements for the disposal of sediment that contains polychlorinated biphenyls in a concentration of 50 parts per million or greater.
(b) If the amount determined under par. (a) exceeds the amount available in the appropriation account under s. 20.370 (6) (ev), the department shall pay the excess when additional funds become available.
(9) Review of decision.
(a) No later than the 30th day after the day on which the department approves or denies an application under sub. (4), the applicant may submit a petition for reconsideration to the secretary. The secretary shall issue a decision on whether to grant the petition no later than the 20th day after the day on which the applicant submits the petition. If the secretary grants the petition, the secretary shall meet with the applicant and employees of the department and shall issue a decision on the reconsideration no later than the 30th day after the day of the meeting.
(b) No later than the 30th day after the day on which the department approves or denies an application under sub. (4) or, if the applicant petitioned for reconsideration under par. (a), no later than the 30th day after the day on which the secretary denied the petition or issued a decision on reconsideration, the applicant may request a contested case hearing under ch. 227.
(c) No later than the 30th day after the day on which the department approves or denies an application under sub. (4) or, if the applicant petitioned for reconsideration under par. (a), no later than the 30th day after the day on which the secretary denied the petition or issued a decision on reconsideration, or, if the applicant requested a contested case hearing under ch. 227, no later than the 30th day after the day on which the final decision on the contested case is issued, an applicant may petition for judicial review of the department's decision on the application.
(10) Effect of program.
(a) The availability of reimbursement under this section is not a bar to any other statutory or common law remedy for a responsible party to recover costs of disposing of PCB contaminated sediment. A responsible party is not required to seek reimbursement under this section before seeking any other statutory or common law remedy.
(b) Findings and conclusions under this section are not admissible in any civil action.
(11) Rules. The department shall promulgate rules specifying procedures for the submission, review, and approval of claims under this section.
History: 2007 a. 20; 2009 a. 28; 2015 a. 197 s. 51; 2015 a. 204.