The former thresholds allowed filling up to 10 acres and a PCN for discharges over 1 acre. I investigations done in the recent past, and would permit DNR to issue certifications for partial site clean ups. The bill would also create several loan or grant programs, allow DNR to charge fees for certain review actions, and create several DNR positions to help with the backlog of brownfields closure requests. Although some 20 states have such audit laws, the US EPA and the Wisconsin Department of Justice are actively opposed to the bill as drafted, and the comments of the Wisconsin DNR are antagonistic. A significant issue with the legislation concerns whether or not the immunity for violations disclosed as the result of an audit should extend to criminal prosecution.
Work continues on compromise legislation.
If you would like additional information about this newsletter or any of the topics covered within, please call any member of our team. The Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission has determined for the first time that OSHA may apply the general duty clause of the Occupational Safety and Health Act to support citations concerning ergonomics. The Commission concluded that a violation of the general duty clause had been demonstrated because the condition presented a hazard to employees, the employer recognized the hazard, the hazard was causing serious physical harm, and feasible means existed to eliminate or materially reduce the hazard. In a case illustrating the wide sweep of Superfund liability, a federal court in Ohio has allocated liability among three parties involved in the sale of transformers containing PCB's. Please call us with any suggestions about format or content, what you would like to see, and how the information can be made more useful to you.