323.70 Hazardous substance emergency response.

(1) In this subchapter:

(a) “Hazardous substance" has the meaning given in s. 299.01 (6).

(b) “Local agency" means an agency of a county, city, village, or town, including a municipal police or fire department, a municipal health organization, a county office of emergency management, a county sheriff, an emergency medical service, a local emergency response team, or a public works department.

(c) “Local emergency response team" means a team that the committee identifies under s. 323.61 (2m) (e).

(2) The division shall contract with no more than 9 regional emergency response teams, one of which shall be located in La Crosse County. Each regional emergency response team shall assist in the emergency response to level A releases in a region of this state designated by the division. The division shall contract with at least one regional emergency response team in each area designated under s. 323.13 (2) (a). The division may only contract with a local agency under this subsection. A member of a regional emergency response team shall meet the highest standards for a hazardous materials responder in 29 CFR 1910.120 (q) (6) (iv) and National Fire Protection Association standards NFPA 471 and 472. Regional emergency response teams shall have at least one member that is trained in each of the appropriate specialty areas under National Fire Protection Association standard NFPA 472. Payments to regional emergency response teams under this subsection shall be made from the appropriation account under s. 20.465 (3) (dd).

(3) The division shall reimburse a regional emergency response team for costs incurred by the team in responding to an emergency involving a level A release, or a potential level A release, if the team followed the procedures in the rules promulgated under sub. (7) (b) to determine if an emergency requiring a response existed. Reimbursement under this subsection is limited to amounts collected under sub. (4) and the amounts appropriated under s. 20.465 (3) (dr). Reimbursement is available under s. 20.465 (3) (dr) only if the regional emergency response team has made a good faith effort to identify the person responsible under sub. (4) and that person cannot be identified, or, if that person is identified, the team has received reimbursement from that person to the extent that the person is financially able or has determined that the person does not have adequate money or other resources to reimburse the regional emergency response team.

(4) A person shall reimburse the division for costs incurred by a regional emergency response team in responding to an emergency involving a level A release or a potential level A release if the team followed the procedures established under s. sub. (7) (b) to determine if an emergency requiring the team's response existed and if any of the following conditions applies:

(a) The person possessed or controlled a hazardous substance that was involved in the emergency.

(b) The person caused the emergency.

(5) A member of a regional emergency response team who is acting under a contract under sub. (2) is considered an employee of the state for purposes of worker's compensation benefits.

(6) The division shall notify the joint committee on finance in writing, before entering into a new contractual agreement under sub. (2) or renewing or extending a contractual agreement under sub. (2), of the specific funding commitment involved in that proposed new, renewed or extended contract. The division shall include in that notification information regarding any anticipated contractual provisions that involve state fiscal commitments for each fiscal year in the proposed new, renewed or extended contract. The division may enter into a new contractual agreement or renew or extend a contractual agreement, as proposed in the notification to the joint committee on finance, if within 14 working days after notification the committee does not schedule a meeting to review the division's proposed action. If, within 14 working days after notification to the joint committee on finance, the committee notifies the division that the committee has scheduled a meeting to review the division's proposed action, the division may enter into the proposed new contact or renew or extend the contract as proposed only if the committee approves that action.

(6m) From the appropriation under s. 20.465 (3) (df), the division may award grants to local agencies with which the division contracts under sub. (2). A grant awarded under this subsection shall be used to fund the replacement of equipment used in emergency responses to releases of hazardous substances under this section.

(7)

(a) The division shall promulgate rules establishing standards to determine all of the following:

1. If a regional or local emergency response team has made a good faith effort to identify a person responsible for the emergency involving a release or potential release of a hazardous substance under sub. (4) or s. 323.71 (4).

2. If a person responsible for the emergency involving a release or potential release of a hazardous substance under sub. (4) or s. 323.71 (4) is financially able or has the money or resources necessary to reimburse a regional or local emergency response team for the expenses incurred by the regional or local emergency response team in responding to the emergency.

(b) The division shall promulgate rules that establish the procedures that a regional emergency response team shall follow to determine if an emergency that requires the team's response exists as the result of a level A release or a potential level A release.

(c) The division shall promulgate rules that establish the procedures that a local emergency response team shall follow to determine if an emergency that requires the team's response exists as the result of a release or potential release of a hazardous substance, as defined in s. 299.01 (6).

History: 1991 a. 104; 1993 a. 253; 1995 a. 13; 1997 a. 27, 41; 1999 a. 9; 2001 a. 16; 2005 a. 33; 2009 a. 42 ss. 176 to 178, 214 to 221, 223, 224; Stats. 2009 s. 323.70; 2017 a. 59.