The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry, administers the Minnesota State Building Code, which adopts the 2000 editions of the IBC with amendments. The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry is in the process of adopting the 2003 edition of the IBC which requires all new residential occupancies, including dormitories, sororities and fraternities to be protected throughout by automatic fire sprinkler systems.

Illinois does not administer a statewide building code.

The Iowa Department of Public Safety administers the Iowa Building Code, which adopts the 1994 edition of Uniform Building Code and applies generally to buildings owned by the state of Iowa and to construction projects in local jurisdictions where the Iowa State Building Code is adopted.

8. Summary of Factual Data and Analytical Methodologies.

The rules were developed by the Department in reviewing the statutory provisions under s. 101.14 (4) (b) and 2005 Wisconsin Act 78.

9. Analysis and Supporting Documents used to Determine Effect on Small Business or in Preparation of Economic Impact Report.

The rules reflect statutory mandates. There were no supporting documents used to determine the effect on small business, and an economic impact report has not been required pursuant to s. 227.137, Stats.

10. Effect on Small Business.

It is unknown whether the student housing under the scope of 2005 Wisconsin Act 78 and the administrative rules would constitute a small business. However, the cost for installing an automatic sprinkler system in new student housing construction varies, depending upon various factors, from $1.50 to $2.50 per square foot of the building floor area. The cost for retrofitting of sprinkler system in existing student housing buildings is typically higher, ranging from $3.00 to $4.00 per square foot.

The proposed rules and an analysis of the proposed rules are available on the Internet at the Safety and Buildings Division Web site at www.commerce.wi.gov/SB/. Paper copies may be obtained without cost from Roberta Ward, at the Department of Commerce, Program Development Bureau, P.O. Box 2689, Madison, WI 53701-2689, or Email at roberta.ward@wisconsin.gov, or at telephone (608) 266-8741 or (608) 264-8777 (TTY). Copies will also be available at the public hearing.

Notice is hereby given that the Department has considered the environmental impact of the proposed rules. In accordance with chapter Comm 1, the proposed rules are a Type III action. A Type III action normally does not have the potential to cause significant environmental effects and normally does not involve unresolved conflicts in the use of available resources. The Department has reviewed these rules and finds no reason to believe that any unusual conditions exist. At this time, the Department has issued this notice to serve as a finding of no significant impact.

1. Types of small businesses that will be affected by the rules.

The proposed rules address student housing facilities, dormitories, sororities, fraternities, serving colleges and universities. The Department does not believe that these facilities constitute small businesses. The proposed rules may have an indirect impact on small businesses that either design or construct such facilities and businesses maintaining and testing automatic fire sprinklers.

2. Reporting, bookkeeping and other procedures required for compliance with the rules.

The proposed rules do not institute any new administrative procedures in order to comply with the rules. Current rules under the Commercial Building Code, chapters Comm 61 to 65, require the submission and approval of plans for automatic fire sprinkler systems to be installed in commercial residential occupancies.

3. Types of professional skills necessary for compliance with the rules.

The design of automatic fire sprinkler systems necessitates the services of licensed individuals, architects, engineers or designers. The installation of automatic fire sprinkler systems must be accomplished by licensed individuals in accordance with the statutory requirements of ch 145.

4. Rules have a significant economic impact on small businesses.

Yes. Rules submitted to Small Business Regulatory Review Board.

The rules as dictated by 2005 Wisconsin Act 78 requires the installation automatic fire sprinkler systems in various types of student housing facilities serving institutions of higher education that are not owned or operated by the University of Wisconsin System. Previous legislation, effective in 2000, mandated the installation of automatic fire sprinkler systems throughout housing for the University of Wisconsin System. The rules, reflecting the Act, will require the installation of sprinkler systems in existing facilities within specific timeframes. In addition, the rules require the installation of the sprinkler systems for any new housing facilities the construction of which has begun on or after January 7, 2006.

It is estimated less than 75 existing housing facilities would require the retrofit installation of automatic fire sprinkler systems by the statutorily mandated date of January 1, 2014. Under the Commercial Building Code, chs. Comm 61-65, sprinkler system plans must be submitted to and approved by the Department or its agent municipalities before the installation of sprinkler systems may commence for residential properties. Since facilities have 8 years to complete the sprinkler system retrofit and may submit to agent municipalities such as Milwaukee and Madison, it cannot be estimated how much the annual revenues of the Department may increase with respect to plan review. It is anticipated that the administrative costs to administer and enforce the rules can be absorbed into the current staffing levels of the Department.

The fiscal effect to the private sector for installing an automatic sprinkler system in new student housing construction will vary, depending upon various factors, from $1.50 to $2.50 per square foot of the building floor area. The cost for retrofitting of sprinkler system in existing student housing buildings is typically higher, ranging from $3.00 to $4.00 per square foot of floor area.

The small business regulatory coordinator for the Department of Commerce is Carol Dunn, who may be contacted at telephone (608) 267-0297, or Email at carol.dunn@wisconsin.gov.

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to section 560.125 (5m) of the Statutes, the Department of Commerce will hold a public hearing on proposed rules in ch. Comm 131 relating to diesel truck idling reduction grants.

Interested persons are invited to appear at the hearing and present comments on the proposed rules. Persons making oral presentations are requested to submit their comments in writing, via e-mail. Persons submitting comments will not receive individual responses. The hearing record on this proposed rulemaking will remain open until May 19, 2006, to permit submittal of written comments from persons who are unable to attend the hearing or who wish to supplement testimony offered at the hearing. E-mail comments should be sent to srockweiler@commerce.state.wi.us. If e-mail submittal is not possible, written comments may be submitted to Sam Rockweiler, Department of Commerce, Division of Environmental and Regulatory Services, P.O. Box 14427, Madison, WI 53708-0427.

This hearing will be held in an accessible facility. If you have special needs or circumstances that may make communication or accessibility difficult at the hearing, please call Sam Rockweiler at (608) 266-0797 or (608) 264-8777 (TTY) at least 10 days prior to the hearing date. Accommodations such as interpreters, English translators, or materials in audio tape format will, to the fullest extent possible, be made available upon a request from a person with a disability.

1. Statutes Interpreted. Section 560.125.

2. Statutory Authority. Section 560.125 (5m).

3. Related Statute or Rule. Chapter Comm 48 regulates petroleum products, including diesel fuels, in Wisconsin.

4. Explanation of Agency Authority.

Section 560.125 (5m) of the Statutes, as created by 2005 Wisconsin Act 25, requires the Department to promulgate rules for administering a diesel truck idling reduction grant program under section 560.125 of the Statutes.

5. Summary of Rule.

The proposed rules specify who is eligible for receiving a grant under this chapter for purchasing and installing diesel truck idling reduction equipment. Eligible costs are also specified, along with how to apply for the grants. Parameters for awarding the grants are likewise specified. These parameters include (1) disallowing grants to any applicant who is failing to comply with any conditions imposed on any previous grant received under this chapter; and (2) alerting applicants that the Department may (a) refuse to award grants for idling reduction equipment on truck tractors that do not have a sleeper berth, (b) annually allocate up to 25 percent of the grant funding to applicants who own and operate 50 or fewer truck tractors, and (c) set deadlines for submitting applications, and then prorate the awards to the applicants if the total funding requested in the applications exceeds the available revenue.

6. Summary of, and Comparison With, Existing or Proposed Federal Regulations.

Various federal regulations address efforts to decrease emissions of air contaminants or to decrease the use of energy, by motor vehicles.

Particularly pertinent to the proposed rules is a final rule published by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the January 18, 2001, Federal Register, under Title 40, Parts 69, 80, and 86, in the Code of Federal Regulations. Through this rule, the EPA has established a comprehensive national control program for reducing particulate matter and nitrogen-oxide emissions from heavy-duty diesel engines by 90 percent and 95 percent below current standard levels, respectively. This program includes stringent, new emission standards that will begin to take effect in model year 2007, and a corresponding significant reduction of the level of sulfur in diesel fuels, which is needed to enable engine components to consistently meet the emission standards.

Extensive federal efforts related to this program are also underway for reducing these emissions by reducing diesel engine idling – such as (1) the EPA's National Clean Diesel Campaign, which is aggressively promoting diesel idling reduction nationwide; (2) the National Transportation Idle-Free Corridors project, as sponsored by the EPA's SmartWay™ Transport Partnership, which aims to eliminate all unnecessary long-duration diesel truck and locomotive idling at strategic points along major transportation corridors; (3) the Clean Cities Program in the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), which includes addressing research and development for diesel idling reduction technologies, and corresponding funding of national and state-level demonstration projects; (4) the National Idling Reduction Network News, as published monthly by the DOE's Argonne National Laboratory, which summarizes current events and developments nationwide relating to diesel idling reduction; and (5) the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program in the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration, which funds retrofitting of heavy-duty diesel engines that results in reducing nitrogen-oxide emissions in air-quality related, nonattainment or maintenance areas. In addition, Sections 792 and 793 of the federal Energy Policy Act of 2005 authorize the EPA to provide $200 million per year, for fiscal years 2007-2011, for grants and loans to states and other eligible entities to achieve significant reductions in diesel emissions, and those funds can be used in programs that use verified technology to reduce long-duration idling of medium- and heavy-duty diesel trucks.

7. Comparison With Rules in Adjacent States.

In reviewing available sources, such as the National Idling Reduction Network News, and the Compendium of Idling Regulations by the American Transportation Research Institute, and in discussing corresponding efforts with staff in Minnesota and the EPA, Department staff did not find any rules in adjacent states that address grants for purchasing and installing diesel truck idling reduction equipment. However, under corresponding statutory criteria, Minnesota began providing loans in 2005 that can be used for this purpose, through its Small Business Environmental Improvement Loan Program. Related efforts in Iowa, Illinois and Michigan include (1) sponsoring of workshops in March 2006 in Michigan, and in May 2006 in Illinois, in conjunction with the EPA's Midwest Clean Diesel Initiative; and (2) proposed legislation that was passed overwhelmingly by the Illinois legislature in March 2006, which would prohibit diesel vehicles in excess of 8000 pounds from idling more than 5 minutes within any 60-minute period, except for various exemptions.

8. Summary of Factual Data and Analytical Methodologies.

The data and methodology for developing these rules consisted of (1) incorporating the detailed, prescriptive criteria in section 560.125 of the Statutes; (2) soliciting and utilizing input from representatives of the stakeholders who are expected to participate in this program; (3) discussing similar efforts to reduce diesel truck idling, with corresponding staff in Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and the EPA; and (4) reviewing Internet-based sources of related federal, state, and private-sector information.

9. Analysis and Supporting Documents Used to Determine Effect on Small Business or in Preparation of Economic Impact Report.

The proposed rules are not expected to impose any significant costs on small businesses, because the rules only address how the Department will award grant funds for diesel truck idling reduction equipment. However, the Department considered the potential for owners of large truck fleets to quickly exhaust the available grant funds, as based on the number of trucks in each of the 10 largest fleets in Wisconsin; and the Department is therefore proposing to annually allocate up to 25 percent of the grant funding to applicants who own and operate 50 or fewer truck tractors, in order to field-test the effectiveness of the program and the idling reduction equipment across the complete spectrum of the trucking industry in Wisconsin.

The proposed rules and an analysis of the rules are available on the Internet at the Department of Commerce Web site, through the links there for the Diesel Truck Idling Reduction Program. Paper copies may be obtained without cost from Tom Coogan at the Department of Commerce, Bureau of Entrepreneurship, P.O. Box 7970, Madison, WI 53707-7970, or at Thomas.Coogan@Wisconsin.gov, or at telephone (608) 267-9214 or (608) 264-8777 (TTY). Copies will also be available at the public hearing.

Notice is hereby given that the Department has considered the environmental impact of the proposed rules. In accordance with chapter Comm 1, the proposed rules are a Type III action. A Type III action normally does not have the potential to cause significant environmental effects and normally does not involve unresolved conflicts in the use of available resources. The Department has reviewed these rules and finds no reason to believe that any unusual conditions exist. At this time, the Department has issued this notice to serve as a finding of no significant impact.

1. Types of small businesses that will be affected by the rules.

Owners and operators of small fleets of diesel trucks who choose to apply for the grant funds, and vendors who sell or install the idling reduction equipment addressed by the grant funds.

2. Reporting, bookkeeping and other procedures required for compliance with the rules.

Each grant recipient must submit a report describing the operation and performance of the idling reduction equipment funded by the grant.

3. Types of professional skills necessary for compliance with the rules.

No new professional skills would be necessary for compliance with the proposed rules.

4. Rules have a significant economic impact on small businesses.

No. Rules not submitted to Small Business Regulatory Review Board

The above appropriation, as created by 2005 Wisconsin Act 25, will result in a temporary shortfall to the Department, which likely will be absorbed within the agency's budget.

The proposed rules are not expected to impose any significant costs on the private sector, because the rules only address how the Department will award grant funds for diesel truck idling reduction equipment.

The small business regulatory coordinator for the Department of Commerce is Carol Dunn, who may be contacted at telephone (608) 267-0297, or at cdunn@commerce.state.wi.us.

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to ss. 30.62 (2) (d) 2. and 227.11 (2) (a), Stats., interpreting s. 30.62 (2) (b) and (2) (d) 2. and 3., Stats., the Department of Natural Resources will hold public hearings on the creation of s. NR 5.125 (1) (d), Wis. Adm. Code, relating to sound testing methods for airboats. Section 30.62 (2) (a), Stats., requires all boat sounds to meet the level of 86 db or less in order to be legal. The current tests that the department uses are designed for motor exhaust noise or they are not safe to perform on airboats or hovercraft type boats when measuring noise other than muffler or exhaust noise. In 2005, the department was notified of concerns that it was not enforcing the noise requirements on airboats that we apply to all other boats. Currently, airboats and hovercraft have to meet the 86 db sound level as it relates to their engine exhaust noise, but there is no test that would allow for the safe testing of the propeller and fan noise. The proposed rule change in the testing process would utilize Society of Automotive Engineers Test J1970 but would take in consideration the safety concerns when testing propeller and fan types of watercraft. The test contains step-by-step instructions for measuring noise from boats.

NOTICE IS HEREBY FURTHER GIVEN that pursuant to s. 227.114, Stats., the proposed rules may have an impact on small businesses. The initial regulatory flexibility analysis is as follows:

a. Types of small businesses affected: Commercial trappers and fishers

b. Description of reporting and bookkeeping procedures required: None

c. Description of professional skills required: None

The Department's Small Business Regulatory Coordinator may be contacted at SmallBusiness@dnr.state.wi.us or by calling (608) 266-1959.

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:

Wednesday, May 24, 2006 at 11:00 a.m. until the conclusion of public comments

Sheriff's Dept. Basement, Crawford County Courthouse

220 N. Beaumont St.

Prairie du Chien

Wednesday, May 24, 2006 from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Room 130, Todd Wehr Memorial Library