ON WISCONSIN : JS ONLINE : BUSINESS & YOUR MONEY : BUSINESS NEWS :

E-MAIL | PRINT THIS STORY

Plan to streamline air pollution permits OK'd

By LEE BERGQUIST
lbergquist@journalsentinel.com

Posted: April 27, 2005

Prairie du Chien - Aiming to cut red tape for businesses, the Natural Resources Board approved regulations Wednesday that will ease air pollution compliance requirements on many Wisconsin companies.

The new rules, approved 6-0, will speed pollution permits for entire industries and for some 1,500 companies that aren't considered major polluters.

The changes are driven by the Job Creation Act of 2003 - a law that was supported by Gov. Jim Doyle and Republican leaders of the Legislature with the aim of making air and water regulations less burdensome without harming the environment.

Many such water regulations and some air regulations already have become law.

Wednesday's action would affect companies that are considered small sources of pollution and emit no more than 25 tons of a pollutant each year. The companies are responsible for approximately 6% of all reported emissions in the state, according to the Department of Natural Resources.

The emissions affected include an array of pollutants. The regulations also would affect industries with comparable emissions. For example, companies in the lithographic industry or asphalt makers would be covered by an industrywide permit, meaning they would not be forced to go through an individual permit process that can take years.

The permits would be negotiated with industry representatives over the next year to set pollution limits and obligations.

Permits are the workhorse of environmental regulations. Companies that emit air pollution now must file extensive documents and go through a laborious process with the DNR.

State officials have been looking for ways to make sure companies adhere to pollution laws at a time when state budgets are tighter. At the same time, the DNR has come under fire from business groups saying environmental regulation has driven jobs out of Wisconsin.

"This gives industry enormous flexibility that they don't have now," said Caroline Garber, chief of environmental analysis and outreach with the DNR.

Some companies have not had general operating permits reviewed by the DNR for 10 years, the department said, and businesses that want to add a new piece of equipment have had to wait an average of 150 days for approval.

Both the Legislative Audit Bureau and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency criticized the DNR early last year over its air permit approval process. Since then, the agency has sped up approvals of air permits. But with the new regulations, the DNR would shrink the approval process to no more than 15 days.

The rules, which must still go to the Legislature, were largely supported by business groups.

"From our perspective, there will be more simplicity, speed and flexibility," said Jeff Schoepke of Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, the largest business lobbying organization in the state.

Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce pressed the board - unsuccessfully - to raise the limit to 50 tons per pollutant.

Environmentalists criticized the rules, saying they would unfairly heap new responsibilities on small companies trying to comply with the changes. In the worst cases, they charged that the rules would open the door to more pollution.

They also complained about a feature of the rules that would let larger companies petition the DNR to become eligible for relaxed regulation.

Melissa Scanlon, an environmental attorney, said the rules are written so companies could evade prosecution if they violated air pollution laws.

"This turns the DNR into a toothless tiger," said Scanlon, of Midwest Environmental Advocates of Madison.

DNR staff rejected that claim and said companies that violate pollution laws could still be prosecuted. Instead, with less time spent evaluating individual permits, DNR officials said they will be able to spend more time on problem cases and with bigger companies that are responsible for most of the state's pollution.