SB 1079

Under current law, agencies are generally required to prepare economic impact

analyses (EIAs) for proposed permanent rules, which must contain certain

information on the economic effect of the proposed rule on specific businesses,

business sectors, public utility ratepayers, local governmental units, and the state's

economy as a whole. Current law further provides that if an EIA prepared by an

agency indicates that $10,000,000 or more in implementation and compliance costs

are reasonably expected to be incurred by or passed along to businesses, local

governmental units, and individuals over any two-year period as a result of the

proposed rule (cost threshold), the agency proposing the rule must stop work on the

proposed rule and may not continue promulgating the proposed rule. The agency

may only proceed with the rule-making process if the agency modifies the proposed

rule so as not to meet this cost threshold or if a bill is enacted authorizing the agency

to continue with the rule-making process for the proposed rule.

On December 19, 2023, the Department of Natural Resources notified the

legislature that DNR had prepared a final EIA for a proposed permanent rule

relating to the development of numerical groundwater quality standards

(groundwater quality rule) and that DNR had, in that EIA, determined that the

groundwater quality rule would meet or exceed that cost threshold. The

groundwater quality rule would establish numerical standards to minimize the

concentration of certain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in groundwater

in this state.

This bill is introduced pursuant to s. 227.139 (2) (a), stats., to authorize DNR

to continue with the rule-making process for the groundwater quality rule. The bill

does not affect the applicability of other steps of the rule-making process that must

be completed in order to promulgate the proposed permanent rule.