None

There are no additional skills necessary to comply with these rules.

No.

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Department has prepared a preliminary Environmental Assessment (EA) on the proposed rules. The preliminary recommendation is a finding of no significant impact. Copies of the preliminary EA are available from the Department on request and will be available at the public hearings. Requests for the EA and comments on the EA should be directed to:

Written comments will be accepted until July 7, 2008.

The proposed rules update provisions for the Uniform Dwelling Code, chapters Comm 20-25. The Uniform Dwelling Code establishes uniform, statewide standards for the design and construction of one- and 2- family dwellings. The vast majority of the proposed revisions involve technical issues with the revisions intended to clarify current policies and requirements. The current administration and enforcement aspects of the code are not proposed to be significantly altered and therefore it is anticipated that the revisions will not have an impact on department and local municipality resources or costs.

The proposed rules do not significantly impact small businesses. The proposed rules do adopt more current technical design and construction standards used by designers and various tradespersons but those standards do not have a significant impact.

None.

None.

PRO.

None are anticipated.

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to ss. 254.20 and 254.21, Stats., and interpreting ss. 254.20 and 254.21, Stats., the Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services will hold a public hearing on proposed rules repealing and recreating ch. HFS 159, relating to certification and training course requirements for asbestos activities.

The hearing sites are fully accessible to people with disabilities. If you are hearing impaired, do not speak English or have circumstances that might make communication at a hearing difficult; you require an interpreter or a non-English large print or taped version of the proposed rules, contact the person at the address or telephone number given below at least 10 days before the hearing. With less than 10 days notice, an interpreter may not be available.

Written comments may be submitted at the public hearing or submitted to the contact person listed below. Comments may also be made using the Wisconsin Administrative Rule Website at http://adminrules.wisconsin.gov.

The deadline for submitting comments to the Department is 4:30 p.m. on June 30, 2008.

A copy of the full text of the rules and the fiscal estimate can be obtained at no charge from the Wis. Administrative Rules Website at http://adminrules.wisconsin.gov or by contacting the person listed below.

Greerrj@dhfs.state.wi.us

(608) 266-1279

Sections 254.20 to 254.21, Stats.

Sections 250.04 (1) and (2), and 254.20 to 254.21, Stats.

Section 250.04 (1), Stats., gives the Department general supervision throughout the state of the health of citizens and authorizes the Department to enter and inspect private property. Section 250.04 (2), Stats., gives the Department all powers necessary to fulfill its public health duties and to bring action in the courts for the enforcement of public health statutes and rules.

Section 254.20, Stats., authorizes the Department to promulgate rules establishing certification requirements for any person who conducts or supervises any asbestos abatement or management activity. Section 254.20 (5), Stats., authorizes the Department to promulgate rules to set certification fees.

Section 254.20 (9), Stats., authorizes the Department to promulgate any rule it deems necessary to administer the asbestos certification requirements under section 254.20, Stats.

Section 254.21, Stats., authorizes the Department to promulgate rules regulating asbestos in schools.

Chapter NR 447, Wis. Adm. Code, Control of Asbestos Emissions.

Chapter HFS 163, Wis. Adm. Code, Certification for the Identification, Removal and Reduction of Lead-Based Paint Hazards.

Chapter HFS 159 establishes certification and training accreditation requirements for persons who perform asbestos abatement or management activities. The department proposes to repeal and recreate ch. HFS 159 to achieve the following goals:

Increase program revenues. When chapter HFS 159 was promulgated in 1988, fees were established to implement asbestos training and certification requirements. Fees have not been adjusted since 1988 and are no longer sufficient to support the program. To provide needed program funding, the Department proposes the following additional fees:

Distribute fees so that persons using more services/resources pay a greater share of program operating costs. Fees for training courses will be assessed annually rather than once to better offset the cost of Department resources required to review and audit training programs on a regular basis. Certification and project notification fees for asbestos companies will be added so that companies share the regulatory burden with certified individuals, since companies make many of the compliance decisions for the work they perform. Company fees will help offset the cost of Department work sites inspections. More active companies will pay a greater share of notification fees than less active companies.

Increase options and flexibility for individuals and companies. The proposed rule would:

Reduce paperwork. Under most circumstances, the proposed rule eliminates the current requirement that a company submit asbestos project notifications to both DHFS and DNR, as the company would only submit notification to one agency depending on the size or type of project.

Better protect employees and building occupants. The proposed rule would require persons be certified before conducting regulated asbestos work in any structure except the person's own single-family house. This would better protect both workers and occupants of small rental apartment buildings, because the current rule allows an owner to use untrained, uncertified employees to do asbestos work in residential buildings with fewer than 10 units, and this work poses a substantial risk that the workers will be exposed to asbestos and buildings in which others live will be contaminated.

In addition, the proposed rules would require an abatement company to develop an occupant protection plan and post it onsite whenever conducting abatement in an occupied building. The plan would outline the measures the company would take to ensure proper containment of asbestos during the abatement project. This would help occupants determine if the contractor was working safely and following the plan.

Assist schools in complying with federal AHERA regulations. The proposed rule would require a school to annually submit contact information for its designated asbestos coordinators (required under EPA regulations) to facilitate better communication between the school and the Department regarding asbestos issues.

Improve worker compliance options and safeguards. The proposed rule would require training course providers to collect additional identifying information on students attending training courses. Specifically, training providers would be required to review student ID's, take and print student photos on training certificates, and electronically submit student photos and class training rosters to the Department. This will ensure that the person who attends training is the same person who applies for and receives certification from the department.

Individuals entering Wisconsin from other states would be required to take an initial or refresher training course in Wisconsin to qualify for Wisconsin certification. This would help control individuals who come into Wisconsin and attempt to perform regulated asbestos work without proper training based on falsified or unreliable training documents. The Department has encountered several individuals with out-of-state training certificates for English language courses, who did not speak English well enough to have understood the training they took. Wisconsin has accredited asbestos worker training courses in both English and Spanish.

The proposed rule would also require that an individual conducting regulated asbestos work be associated with a certified asbestos company. The certified company would be responsible for ensuring proper certification of individuals conducting asbestos work for it, properly supervising its asbestos abatement work sites, notifying the Department of its regulated abatement activities, and maintaining records of its regulated asbestos activities. Enforcement actions could be taken against the company for failure to ensure compliance with these requirements.