Section NR 747.01 - Purpose(1) PECFA FUND. The purpose of this chapter is to provide information on the Petroleum Environmental Cleanup Fund program, also referred to as the Petroleum Storage Environmental Remedial Action Fund and the Petroleum Storage Remediation Fund; outline the processes and procedures for filing a claim for an eligible remediation and specify the process of determining award amounts.(2) STATUTORY AUTHORITY. This chapter is adopted pursuant to s. 292.63, Stats.(3) INTENT OF PECFA. (a) The PECFA fund does not relieve a responsible party from liability. The individual or organization responsible for a contaminated property shall carry out the remediation of that property. PECFA's role is to provide monetary awards to responsible parties who have completed and paid for PECFA-approved remediation activities and services. The availability or unavailability of PECFA funding shall not be the determining factor as to whether a remediation shall be completed.(b) The responsible party shall be the primary point for the control of costs within the PECFA program. The focus of the program will be to maintain the responsible party as the central control point throughout the claim process.(4) CONTROL OF COSTS. The framework for the control of costs within the PECFA program shall be based upon the responsible party minimizing costs in all phases of the remediation. The primary structural factors for the control of costs include the following: (a) The selection of a consulting firm through a comparison of at least 3 proposals. Once selected, the firm may only provide professional consulting services on the remediation;(b) The requirement to purchase or contract for commodity services through the use of competitive bids;(c) The consideration of the costs and benefits of remediation alternatives;(d) The use of environmental factors to determine the eligible range of responses on a site;(e) The use of site bundling and competitive bidding to reduce costs;(f) The registration for participation in the PECFA program, only those consultants and consulting firms which meet specific qualifying criteria and standards of conduct; and(g) The publication of cost guidelines for cost-effective remediations.(5) MOST COST-EFFECTIVE REMEDIATION ALTERNATIVE. The PECFA fund shall ensure that awards are made for only the most cost-effective remediation alternative. The department may allow a higher cost alternative provided:(a) The responsible party assures personal payment of the difference in cost between the lowest cost remediation and the higher cost alternative desired; or(b) The department determines that the objectives of the PECFA program would be furthered by the use of a specific remedial technology.Wis. Admin. Code Department of Natural Resources § NR 747.01
Cr. Register, February, 1994, No. 458, eff. 3-1-94; am. (2), (3) (a), (4) (c) and (5), renum. (4) (d) and (e) to be (4) (f) and (g), cr. (4) (d) and (e), Register, December, 1998, No. 516, eff. 1-1-99; correction in (2) made under s. 13.92(4) (b) 7, Stats., Register October 2013 No. 694.