Wisconsin Administrative Code › Department of Natural Resources › NR 700-799 - Environmental Protection - Investigation and Remediation of Environmental Contamination › Chapter NR 706 - Hazardous Substance Discharge Notification And Source Confirmation Requirements › Section NR 706.05 - General requirements for responsible parties

Current through June 24, 2024
(1) DISCHARGE
				NOTIFICATION.
(a) Unless the discharge is
				specifically exempted under s. NR 706.07, persons who cause the discharge to
				the environment of a hazardous substance or who possess or control a hazardous
				substance which is discharged to the environment shall immediately notify the
				department of the discharge. Discharges to the environment may include recent
				discharges, historic discharges, and discharges caused by the long-term
				application of a substance. A hazardous substance that is "discharged" into a
				secondary containment structure, that is completely contained and can be
				recovered with no discharge to the environment, is not subject to the discharge
				notification requirements in s.
				292.11(2),
				Stats.
Note:
The department believes that the
				  dictionary definition of "immediately", i.e. "occurring at once; next in line,"
				  does not lend itself to quantification. An across-the-board time-period can't
				  be specified. In uncomplicated hazardous substance discharge situations,
				  responsible parties are expected to provide notice to the department within a
				  matter of a few minutes after they learned of the discharge. In other
				  situations, especially where emergency action of some kind is being taken by
				  the responsible party or where the responsible party does not have access to a
				  telephone, notification may not be possible for several hours, but would still
				  be considered "immediate" if promptly given.
(b) Hazardous substance discharges shall be
				immediately reported to the department by telephoning the department-designated
				24-hour hotline telephone number. The department may allow alternate
				notification procedures on a case-by-case basis.
Note:
Use of the department-designated 24-hour
				  hotline is for notification of spills. The hotline operated by the division of
				  emergency management in cooperation with the department can be reached at
				  1-800-943-0003.
Note:
If a notification of a natural gas
				  discharge is made to the National Response Center in compliance with
				  49
				  C.F.R. §
												191.5 (Code of Federal
				  Regulations) it is not necessary to report under this chapter. The department
				  does not require natural gas discharges which are not reportable to the
				  National Response Center to be reported to the Department. The department will
				  receive natural gas discharge notifications through the National Response
				  Center.
(bm) Hazardous
				substance discharges discovered through soil, water or other analyses may be
				reported by telefaxing a completed discharge notification form provided by the
				department, or by alternate notification procedures approved by the department.
				Laboratory results shall be included with the completed discharge notification
				form.
Note:
Use of the discharge notification form is
				  intended only for notification of discharges typically found through tank
				  closure assessment, phase II environmental assessments, or by other discoveries
				  through soil, water or other media analysis. The discharge notification form
				  can be obtained and submitted through the RR Program Submittal Portal at the
				  following web address:
https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/Brownfields/Submittal.html
.
(c) The notification required by this
				subsection shall contain the following information to the extent practicable or
				applicable:
1. Name, address, and telephone
				number of the person reporting the discharge.
2. Name, address, and telephone number of the
				discharger, or owner and operator of the UST system and any other potentially
				responsible persons.
3. Date, time,
				and duration of the discharge.
3m.
				Location of the discharge including street address, county, town, city or
				village, if appropriate, quarter-quarter section, township, range, geographic
				position obtained in accordance with the requirements of s. NR 716.15 (5) (d),
				and legal description of lot, if located in a platted area.
Note:
The provisions in s. NR 716.15 (5) (d)
				  require that all geographic position data shall be obtained and submitted to
				  the department in accordance with the following requirements:
1) for properties that are not more than 200
				feet wide or long, a single point geographic position shall be obtained at
				least 40 feet within the boundaries of the property, or as close to the center
				of the property as possible if the property is less than 80 feet wide or long.
				For properties that are more than 200 feet wide or long, coordinates describing
				the approximate location of the property's boundaries, forming a polygon, shall
				be obtained: and
2) geographic
				position data shall be originally collected in Wisconsin Transverse Mercator
				`91 or projected onto Wisconsin Transverse Mercator `91.
4. Identity, physical state, and quantity of
				the material discharged.
5.
				Physical, chemical, hazardous, and toxicological characteristics of the
				substance.
6. Cause of the
				discharge.
7. Immediate actions
				being taken and the name of the contractor or other person performing the
				action.
8. Source, speed of
				movement, and destination or probable destination of the discharged hazardous
				substance.
9. Actual or potential
				impacts to human health or the environment, including actual or potential
				impacts to drinking water supplies.
10. Weather conditions existing at the scene,
				including presence of precipitation and wind direction and velocity.
11. Other agencies on-scene during the
				discharge incident.