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The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Storm Water Runoff Program has added “Grading-Only” as a possible project type on the Notice of Intent form. This type should be used for the following situations:
- Fill and borrow sites where no impervious surfaces will be created
- Wetland mitigation and wetland scrape projects
The grading-only project type should not be used for a common plan of development where surfaces not allowing fluid to pass through will be constructed. For these projects, please select infill, redevelopment or new development.
Learn more about Notices of Intent by visiting the Construction Site Storm Water Permits Forms webpage.
Have you been looking for additional environmental goals your business can take on to reduce your environmental impacts? The Green Tier program has put together an assortment of articles, case studies, best management practices and tools to help identify ways that an organization can continue to set environmental goals and make progress. These resources are assembled to challenge facilities to continue innovatively reducing environmental impacts after all the “low-hanging-fruit” has been put into practice.
The new Beyond Compliance Resources webpage is intended to help Green Tier facilities find fresh ideas, but any business can use these as inspiration to find environmental projects that can reduce their environmental impact.
Currently the webpage includes ideas to help reduce impacts in three environmental areas – energy consumption, waste management, and air emissions. Staff will add more topics over time including water, transportation, habitat, life cycle thinking, supply chain, circular economy, and employee engagement.
If you have any ideas for additions to this list, please send them to: GreenTier@Wisconsin.gov.
When environmental contamination presents potential human health risks, the Wisconsin Department of Natural resources (DNR) works closely with the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) and local health departments.
In February 2022, DHS published TCE in the Workplace, a fact sheet on health concerns associated with trichloroethylene (TCE) in various work environments. TCE in the Workplace helps workers understand the health risks where TCE is being used in a facility and may be helpful during vapor intrusion investigations. It is available in English, Spanish and Hmong.
The fact sheet includes suggestions to keep workers safe, as well as workplace guidelines for exposure limits by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), the Occupational Safety and Health Association (OSHA), the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) and the DNR.
The DHS fact sheet TCE in the Air is also available to assist with communicating the health risks of TCE in situations when contamination has the potential to cause vapor intrusion in nearby structures (e.g., residences, day cares). Since publication, the DNR, DHS and environmental consultants have been providing TCE in the Air to off-site property owners to educate them about the health risks associated with TCE while working to gain access, perform vapor intrusion investigations and install mitigation systems. TCE in the Air is available in English and Spanish.
Links to the fact sheets are available under the “Health” tabs on the DNR’s Vapor Intrusion Resources for Environmental Professionals and Vapor Intrusion webpages.
Site-specific questions regarding vapor intrusion in Wisconsin should be directed to the assigned DNR Project Manager. General questions can be directed to the contacts listed on the DNR’s Vapor Intrusion Resources for Environmental Professionals webpage.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released an updated Health Advisory Level (HAL) for four perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) compounds.
The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) appreciates the EPA’s ongoing work to assess PFAS contamination in the environment. Wisconsin’s DNR and Department of Health Services will continue to coordinate a review of EPA’s advisory levels to assess how it will impact prior recommendations.
At this time, for sites where there has been a discharge of PFAS to the environment, the HALs are not cleanup standards, but may be one factor considered when developing case-by-case remedial objectives based on site-specific information.
The issuance of these HALs by the EPA acknowledges the significant health risks associated with PFAS and reinforces that efforts taken to reduce the level of PFAS in drinking water will reduce risks to human health.
Earlier this year, Gov. Evers launched a voluntary sampling program for municipal public drinking water systems. This program – which communities may still register for here – enables leaders and residents to gather data about PFAS in their drinking water.
Wisconsin expects to receive more than $800 million in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funds to provide loans and grants to communities working to treat and mitigate exposure to PFAS.
PFAS are a group of human-made chemicals used for decades in numerous products, including non-stick cookware, fast food wrappers, stain-resistant sprays and certain types of firefighting foam. These legacy contaminants have made their way into the environment in a variety of ways, including spills of PFAS-containing materials, discharges of PFAS-containing wastewater to treatment plants, and use of certain types of firefighting foams.
Visit the Wisconsin DNR website to learn more about measures undertaken to mitigate PFAS contamination in Wisconsin, including creating and implementing the PFAS Action Plan.
FET Waste Management Seminar June 30
The Southcentral WI Chapter is hosting a Waste Management seminar on June 30, 2022, at the Holiday Inn American Center, 5109 West Terrace Dr, Madison. This seminar provides an update on the waste program in the state as well as managing different kinds of waste including a zero-waste case study. CEUs of 4.5 DNR Landfill hours are available.
The seminar will be followed by a Chapter meeting.
Agenda and Registration form can be found at the FET website at: https://www.fetinc.org/beta/upcoming-events-2022/.
WISCON Weekly webinars
WisCon provides presentations, seminars, and workshops on Occupational Health and Safety topics to the Wisconsin small business community. Every Monday at 1:00 p.m., a weekly webinar is scheduled. Program information, COVID assistance, and other training and promotional presentations will be included. Sign up for weekly reminder emails HERE.
Join the webinars on the UW Madison ZOOM website:
Upcoming Programs:
- June 27 – No Webinar This Week
- July 4 – No Webinar This Week
- July 11 – COVID-19 Update
Recordings of previous webinars are available on-demand: http://www.slh.wisc.edu/occupational/wiscon/weekly-webinars/.
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