AB 735

This bill requires the Department of Natural Resources to conduct regular

reviews of water quality standards and variances to water quality standards.

Background

Under current law, DNR must promulgate water quality standards for the

waters of the state and effluent limitations for point sources of water pollution. DNR

may approve a temporary variance from applicable water quality standards and

effluent limitations in a Wisconsin Pollutant Discharge Elimination System

(WPDES) permit issued to a point source.

Current law also creates a statewide variance for phosphorous water quality

standards. An existing point source may request to have the statewide phosphorous

variance apply to that source under the source's WPDES permit. Current law sets

the interim effluent limitations that apply to a point source for which the statewide

phosphorus variance has been approved. Before the statewide phosphorus variance

may be made available for any point source, the Department of Administration must

determine that complying with the applicable phosphorous effluent limitations is

not feasible, and the federal Environmental Protection Agency must approve the

statewide phosphorus variance.

Three-year review of water quality standards and variances

This bill requires DNR to review, every three years, the water quality standards

that it has promulgated to determine whether the standards should be modified or

new standards should be adopted. As part of this review, DNR must also review the

variances to water quality standards that it has approved, including approvals

under the statewide phosphorus variance. If DNR determines that a water quality

standard to which a variance applies is attainable by a permittee, DNR is required

to modify the variance when the source's permit is reissued or modified.

The bill requires DNR to hold a public hearing as part of this review, and to

submit the results of its review to the EPA.

Five-year review of statewide phosphorus variance

This bill also requires DNR to review, every five years, the interim effluent

limitations under the statewide phosphorus variance to determine whether they are

consistent with the highest attainable condition for the point sources that are eligible

for the statewide phosphorus variance. DNR must hold a public hearing as part of

this review and submit the results of its review to the EPA within 30 days of

determining that the review is complete. If DNR does not conduct this review every

five years or does not submit the results of a review within 30 days, the statewide

phosphorus variance is unavailable until the review is completed or the results are

submitted, except that if the statewide phosphorus variance has been approved for

a point source, the variance continues to apply to that source until the source's permit

is reissued or modified.

If the statewide phosphorus variance has been approved for a point source, the