Section NR 131.117 - Monitoring(1) The operator shall monitor the prospecting site and adjacent areas in accordance with the monitoring plan approved as part of the prospecting permit. The department may require the operator to perform additional monitoring of environmental changes during the course of the permitted activity and for such additional periods of time as is necessary to satisfactorily complete reclamation of the prospecting site and long-term care of the mining waste facility, if constructed as part of the prospecting operation.(2) The department may monitor environmental changes concurrently with the operator as stated in sub. (1) and for an additional period after the full reclamation bond is released under s. 293.63, Stats.(3)(a) Baseline data, monitoring data, and the monitoring plan shall be reviewed at the time of annual permit review or at such time as the operator requests any modification of the prospecting permit, prospecting plan, reclamation plan or monitoring plan.(b) Baseline data and monitoring data shall be considered by the department in all enforcement actions including issuance of a stop order to an operator, requiring an immediate cessation of mining, in whole or in part, at any time that the department determines that there exists an immediate and substantial threat to public health and safety or the environment.(c) If the analyses of samples indicate the quality of the groundwater is statistically significantly different from either baseline or background, the operator shall notify the department immediately and implement applicable provisions of the contingency plan submitted under s. NR 182.109(2) (d) or 131.107(3) (L).(4) Any request for modification of the scope of the monitoring plan approved as part of the prospecting permit, including sampling parameters, monitoring locations and frequency and duration of sampling, shall comply with the procedures in s. NR 131.120. Changes in monitoring equipment and sampling and analytical protocols may be reviewed and approved by the department and are not subject to the modification procedural requirements of s. NR 131.120.(5) All laboratory chemical analyses required under the monitoring plan shall be conducted by a laboratory certified under s. 299.11, Stats., and ch. NR 149 or other certification program applicable to specific test categories.Wis. Admin. Code Department of Natural Resources NR 131.117
Adopted by, CR 20-043: cr. Register December 2021 No. 792, eff. 1-1-22; correction in (3) (c) made under s. 35.17, Stats., Register December 2021 No. 792, eff. 1/1/2022