Section NR 120.09 - Notification and status of critical sites(1) START OF NOTIFICATION PROCESS. Within 6 months following issuance by the department of the first nonpoint source grant after department watershed plan approval to a project sponsor for a priority watershed or priority lake project, the process of notification to landowners shall begin. The first to begin the process shall be those highest-ranked critical sites based on estimated pollutant contribution, which together would provide at least 25% of the pollutant reduction goal for inventoried sites available at the time the final plan is written, if best management practices were applied at those sites. Notification shall proceed in accordance with the schedule identified in the plan. The department may grant up to three 90-day extensions of this 6 month period to allow verification under sub. (2).(2) VERIFICATION. The purpose of verification is to assure that individual sites within the watershed meet the criteria for critical sites and to conduct site visits and complete the inventory of nonpoint sources on additional lands in the watershed owned by those landowners with sites which meet the criteria for critical sites. If the landowner has not signed a cost-share agreement for required best management practices, the verification findings shall be reported in writing to the department. Verification shall include an on-site assessment before a notification letter can be issued.(3) CONTENT OF NOTIFICATION LETTER. Within 60 days after receiving the verification findings, the department shall send notification to the landowner to include the following information: (a) The dates of the beginning and end of the 36-month period of cost-share availability.(b) The potential consequences of either s. NR 120.18(1) (a), ch. NR 243 or s. 281.20(1), (3) or (5), Stats., that the landowner may face if no action is taken and the site continues to meet the critical sites criteria described in the watershed plan.(c) The right to appeal the designation as a critical site through a written request to the county land conservation committee within 60 days of receipt of the notification letter as described in s. 281.65(7) (a), (b) and (c), Stats.(d) Additional information as requested and prepared by the local governmental unit.(4) POSTPONEMENT OF NOTIFICATION LETTER. The department shall postpone notification to any landowner who has signed a cost-share agreement and continues to comply with the annual progress and implementation schedules described in s. NR 120.13. If the landowner is responsible for failure to comply with the schedules, the department shall send the notification.(5) COMPLETION OF NOTIFICATION SCHEDULE. Notification to landowners shall be completed within 5 years and 60 days of the issuance of the first nonpoint source grant for the project after department plan approval.(6) CHANGE IN CRITICAL SITE STATUS. A site is no longer considered a critical site if one of the following conditions applies: (a) The site no longer meets the criteria for critical sites.(b) The site has had best management practices implemented in accordance with the cost-share agreement.(c) The department determines that the water quality objectives for the watershed have been achieved.(7) PRIORITIZING USE OF COST-SHARE FUNDS. By the end of the project implementation period, a project sponsor shall have offered cost-share funding to landowners, in accordance with this chapter, for the control of all critical sites. During the implementation period, this requirement applies if the total amount of cost-share funds made available to the project sponsor equals or exceeds the amount necessary to control all critical sites.Wis. Admin. Code Department of Natural Resources NR 120.09
CR 00-028: cr. Register September 2002 No. 561, eff. 10-1-02.