NOTICE IS HEREBY FURTHER GIVEN that pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act, reasonable accommodations, including the provision of informational material in an alternative format, will be provided for qualified individuals with disabilities upon request. Please call Ms. Roberta Lund at (608) 266-2220 with specific information on your request at least 10 days before the date of the scheduled hearing.

It is assumed the fiscal impact of the rule would be related to the waters designation section. The fiscal impact could range from large to negligible, depending on the effort undertaken to inventory and survey Wisconsin waters to determine their designation under the rule. Under any scenario, mandatory costs will include those for operating processes to incorporate inventoried waters into designations and for maintaining the consolidated searchable waters listing on the Department's web site. The costs of water survey work could range from no more than the baseline inventories of waters that the Department routinely conducts to a one-time and ongoing survey effort to ensure that unsurveyed waters are studied and given the protection potentially provided by the law.

This fiscal estimate assumes that no additional resources will be available for the water survey effort, and the fiscal worksheet includes only the mandatory costs described above, related to water designations and water listings on the DNR web site. These costs are $29,100 annually and 0.60 FTE.

The fiscal impact of a significant survey effort is estimated to be an ongoing cost of $247,900 and 5 FTE, and a one-time cost of $1,976,900 and 34 FTE.

The fiscal impact of this rule is estimated to be a revenue reduction of $12,200/year. This reflects the assumption that the Department will not be able to meet the new completion deadlines for 2% of the individual permits. This proposed rule, reflecting the statutory change, would require the Department to make a final determination on individual permits within 105-150 calendar days (was generally 120-180 days), or risk loss of the permit fee. Most of these permits include a $300 or $500 fee, and it is assumed the revenue would be forfeited in 2% of the cases.

Other proposed rules which relate to specific permitting activities include the fiscal impact of the new fees that are included in this proposed rule amendment, and those impacts are not repeated in this fiscal note. Overall, the full implementation of Act 118 and its related rules is not expected to have a major impact on DNR water permit revenues.

There will be a revenue impact, consisting of an increase in revenue of about $500 annually. This revenue is from general permit fees. Prior to Act 118, all placements of fish and wildlife habitat structures were exempt from permit fees. There will be a reduction in work related to review of permits, reflecting a large number of projects that will be exempt from permits, and will require less staff review. The staff savings is estimated at 169 hours annually, or 0.09 FTE, resulting in a cost reduction of about $3,500 in salary and fringe benefits.

In 2003 there were 94 applications for placement of fish and wildlife habitat structures. It is assumed that 80% of the estimated fish and wildlife structure activities will qualify for an exemption and not require a permit. It is assumed the remaining 20% will require a general permit, and of these, 50%, or 9 placements, will need to pay a general permit fee of $50. The remaining activities requiring a general permit will be exempt from a fee because they will be done in cooperation with DNR.

It is estimated there will be an increase in revenue of about $2,500 annually, reflecting permit fees paid for boathouse repair projects. There is expected to be an increase in staff hours, reflecting new workload related to commerical boathouse permit projects. This increase is about 120 hours, or 0.05 FTE, costing about $2,500 annually in salary and fringe benefits.

In 2003 there were no commercial boathouse repair permits issued, and 26 permits issued for noncommercial boathouse repair. Fee revenue in 2003 was $1,300. It is assumed there will be 5 commercial boathouse repair projects annually and that a fee of $500 will be charged for each project. The total revenue for commercial projects would be $2,500 annually. It is assumed there will be no change in the number of noncommercial boathouse projects or in the fee revenue related to those projects.

There will be a revenue impact, consisting of a decrease in revenue of about $10,800 annually. This revenue is from permit fees. Prior to Act 118, all placements of miscellaneous structures, other than state or federal projects, required a permit fee. There will be a reduction in work related to review of permits, reflecting some projects that will be exempt from permits, and some general permits, that will require less staff review. The staff savings is estimated at 356 hours annually, or 0.20 FTE, resulting in a cost reduction of about $7400 in salary and fringe benefits.

In 2003 there were 295 applications for placement of miscellaneous structures. It is assumed that 29% of the estimated miscellaneous structures will qualify for an exemption and not require a permit. It is assumed that 51% will require a general permit and will need to pay a fee of $50. Another 20% will be individual permits with fees of $300.

Written comments on the proposed rules may be submitted to Ms. Roberta Lund, Bureau of Fisheries Management and Habitat Protection, P.O. Box 7921, Madison, WI 53707 no later than August 9, 2004. Written comments will have the same weight and effect as oral statements presented at the hearings. A copy of the proposed rule and fiscal estimate is available from Ms. Lund.

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to s. 23.22 (2) (c), Stats., interpreting s. 23.22 (2) (c), Stats., the Department of Natural Resources will hold public hearings on the creation of ch. NR 198, Wis. Adm. Code, relating to aquatic invasive species control grants. Section 23.22 (2) (c), Stats., directs the Department to promulgate rules for a 50% cost share program for assisting units of local government in controlling aquatic invasive species and allocates $500,000 annually for this purpose. To implement this program, the Department has drafted ch. NR 198 titled Aquatic Invasive Species Control Grants. The proposed rule implements a three-tiered strategy of:

1. Education, planning and prevention.

2. Early detection and rapid response to pioneer infestations.

3. Control of establishes infestations.

The administrative procedures are modeled after ch. NR 190 on lake management planning grants and ch. NR 191 on lake protection and classification grants. All waters of the state, including lakes, wetlands, streams and the Great Lakes are eligible for projects sponsored by units of local government, including lake districts and tribes. The rule specifies eligible activities and costs, requirements for applications and projects, funding limits and priorities and other procedural requirements.

NOTICE IS HEREBY FURTHER GIVEN that pursuant to s. 227.114, Stats., it is not anticipated that the proposed rule will have an economic impact on small businesses.

NOTICE IS HEREBY FURTHER GIVEN that the Department has made a preliminary determination that this action does not involve significant adverse environmental effects and does not need an environmental analysis under ch. NR 150, Wis. Adm. Code. However, based on the comments received, the Department may prepare an environmental analysis before proceeding with the proposal. This environmental review document would summarize the Department's consideration of the impacts of the proposal and reasonable alternatives.

NOTICE IS HEREBY FURTHER GIVEN that the hearings will be held on:

NOTICE IS HEREBY FURTHER GIVEN that pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act, reasonable accommodations, including the provision of informational material in an alternative format, will be provided for qualified individuals with disabilities upon request. Please call Carroll Schaal at (608) 261-6423 with specific information on your request at least 10 days before the date of the scheduled hearing.

2003 Wisconsin Act 33 provides $500,000 from the appropriation under s. 20.370 (6) (ar) for funding these projects. This is expected to generate an increase in the number of applications department staff must process by 20 to 40 per year. No funding was provided for positions and existing staff will absorb the added workload.

Written comments on the proposed rules may be submitted to Mr. Carroll Schaal, Bureau of Fisheries Management and Habitat Protection, P.O. Box 7921, Madison, WI 53707 no later than August 31, 2004. Written comments will have the same weight and effect as oral statements presented at the public hearings. A copy of the proposed rule and fiscal estimate may be obtained from Mr. Schaal.

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to ss. 280.11 and 281.17 (8), Stats., interpreting ss. 280.11 and 281.17 (8), Stats., the Department of Natural Resources will hold public hearings on revisions to ch. NR 809, Wis. Adm. Code, relating to reporting of analytical data to the department and the procedure for returning to compliance following an MCL violation of the nitrate, nitrite or combined nitrate and nitrite standards. Chapter NR 809 indicates that the department may specify the format for reporting analytical results to the department. The department intends to clarify that laboratories must submit analytical data used to satisfy requirements of the Safe Drinking Water Act to the department electronically. This revision will apply to all Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) certified laboratories that submit analytical data to the department.

Chapter NR 809 specifies procedures for determining compliance with the maximum contaminant level (MCL) for nitrate, nitrite or combined nitrate and nitrite. The department intends to codify specific procedures for returning to compliance following an MCL violation of these contaminants. The revision will apply to all public drinking water systems in the state.

These changes will affect all public drinking water systems in the state and laboratories that contract with public water systems to perform Safe Drinking Water Act required analyses. The proposed changes should clarify and codify return to compliance procedures already in use and changes to reporting procedures should simplify data management, increase data accuracy and speed up responses to public health threats discovered through monitoring.