Summary of Wisconsin's Groundwater Legislation

Wisconsin has a long history of groundwater protection. The culmination of this effort was adoption and implementation of Wisconsin Act 410, Wisconsin's comprehensive Groundwater Protection Act, signed into law May 4, 1984. The law expanded Wisconsin's legal, organizational and financial capacity for controlling groundwater pollution. The Groundwater Protection Act created Chapter 160, Wis. Admin. Code, which serves as the backbone of Wisconsin's program. Chapter 160 provides a multi-agency comprehensive regulatory approach, using two-tiered numerical standards, based on the premise that all groundwater aquifers in Wisconsin are entitled to equal protection. There are a number of major components to Wisconsin's groundwater protection program.

Standards

Under Chapter 160, WDNR must establish state groundwater quality standards based on recommendations from the Department of Health and Family Services (DHFS). Standard-setting is a continuing process based on a priority list of substances established by WDNR and other state agencies. The state groundwater standards are in chapter NR 140, Wis. Admin. Code. An enforcement standard (ES) is a quantitative level indicating when a violation has occurred. If an ES is exceeded, the activity responsible will be stopped. The preventive action limit (PAL) is a selected percentage of the enforcement standard. The PAL serves as a "trigger" for remedial action and allows time to investigate a problem before the enforcement standard is reached.

Regulatory Programs

Once groundwater quality standards are established, all state agencies must manage their regulatory programs to comply. Each state regulatory agency must promulgate rules to assure that the groundwater standards are met and require appropriate responses when the standards are not met. The state regulatory agencies are WDNR (solid and hazardous waste, industrial and municipal wastewater, spills); the Wisconsin Department of Commerce (DCOMM) (private sewage systems, petroleum product storage tanks); the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) (pesticide use and storage and fertilizer storage); and the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (DOT) (salt storage). A summary of state regulatory controls of pollution sources can be found at the end of this report.

Aquifer Classification

One of the most important features of Wisconsin's groundwater law is an item that was omitted: aquifer classification. When Wisconsin was debating the groundwater protection legislation, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) tried to develop a nationwide groundwater approach. A keystone of U.S. EPA's proposal was aquifer classification, whereby each aquifer would be classified according to its use, value or vulnerability and would then be protected to that classification level. This would have entailed "writing off" certain aquifers as industrial aquifers not entitled to protection and never again usable for human water supply. Wisconsin said "no" to aquifer classification. The philosophical underpinning of Wisconsin's groundwater law is the belief that all groundwater in Wisconsin must be protected to assure that it can be used for people to drink.

Monitoring and Data Management

When the groundwater legislation was created, there was concern that Wisconsin needed a groundwater monitoring program to determine whether the groundwater standards were being met. Therefore, a groundwater monitoring program was created under s. 160.27, Wis. Stats. Money from the Groundwater Account of the Environmental Fund has been used for problem assessment monitoring, regulatory monitoring, at-risk monitoring and management practice monitoring, as well as establishment of a data management system for collection and management of the groundwater data.

Research

Although all state agencies must comply with the groundwater standards--the processes by which groundwater becomes contaminated--the technology for cleanup, the mechanisms to prevent contamination and the environmental and health effects of the contamination are often poorly understood. In addition, the basic data on geology, soils and groundwater hydrology are often not available. The University of Wisconsin System and other state agencies have recognized that additional efforts in these research areas are badly needed. The Governor and the Legislature included a new groundwater research appropriation for the UW-System beginning with the 1989-1991 biennial budget. Since then, the UW-System and the Departments of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, Industry Labor and Human Relations, and Natural Resources have participated in an annual joint solicitation to select groundwater-related research and monitoring proposals for funding during each fiscal year.

Coordination

In establishing the groundwater law, the Legislature recognized that management of the state's groundwater resources was a responsibility divided among a number of state agencies. Therefore, the Groundwater Coordinating Council (GCC) was created in 1984 to advise and assist state agencies in the coordination of non-regulatory programs and the exchange of information related to groundwater.

Local Groundwater Management

The Groundwater Protection Act clarified the powers and responsibilities of local governments to protect groundwater in partnership and consistent with state law.

• Zoning authority for cities, villages, towns and counties was expanded to "encourage the protection of groundwater."
• Counties can adopt ordinances regulating disposal of septage on land, consistent with WDNR requirements. Cities, villages or towns may do so if the county does not.
• Counties can regulate, under WDNR supervision, well construction and pump installation for certain private wells.
• Property assessors must consider the time and expense of repairing or replacing a contaminated well or water supply when assessing the market value of real property. They must consider the "environmental impairment" of the property value due to the presence of a solid or hazardous waste disposal facility.

Through the efforts of the GCC, WDNR and other state agencies developed a Comprehensive State Groundwater Program Plan (CSGWPP) and submitted it to U.S. EPA in 1994. Wisconsin received U.S. EPA endorsement of the CSGWPP as a core program plan that same year. The CSGWPP consists of a state profile, a self-assessment and a vision statement. Wisconsin is one of only four states to receive this endorsement.

Local Groundwater Management Planning

Groundwater is an important and necessary resource susceptible to contamination through a variety of land use practices. Groundwater problems are frequently caused by local activities and often remain a local problem. Yet because groundwater contamination is so common, it should be a global concern. Since groundwater use in the basin is extensive, local communities have a high stake in protecting the integrity of their water supply. A variety of regulatory and non-regulatory options are available for citizens and local governments to protect this important resource.

For more information on groundwater, visit the WDNR - Drinking Water and Groundwater Program