Section NR 47.914 - Application procedures(1) An eligible applicant, described in s. NR 47.913(1), may apply for participation in the statewide treatment program and cost sharing for aerial insecticide treatment and associated administrative costs for eligible blocks as described in s. NR 47.913(2).(2) Applicants shall submit applications for cost sharing to department staff, identified on the application for the area of the state involved, no later than the first Friday in December, along with a digitized map of each proposed treatment block in the format specified on the application form to be eligible for participation in the treatment program for that year. Application forms can be obtained by writing to the program manager for the gypsy moth grant program. Note: The address for the program manager for the Gypsy Moth Grant Program is Division of Forestry, Forest Health Program, P.O. Box 7921, Madison, WI 53707.
(3) Applicants shall submit with the application an electronic list of telephone, facsimile, mailing address and email contacts associated with each treatment block to the designated department staff specified in the application and in the format provided by the department. Required contacts for each block include all schools and licensed daycare providers within a treatment block, local government officials, health, police, sheriff and fire departments within whose jurisdiction a treatment block exists, hospital emergency rooms in the area of treatment blocks, and other concerned parties as necessary. These lists shall be used by department staff to provide prior notification of aerial treatments.(4) The department shall review applications and recommend treatment for blocks determined to be eligible to the department of agriculture, trade and consumer protection for inclusion in the state treatment plan. If the department finds that a block is ineligible, the basis for the decision of ineligibility shall be identified and the department staff and applicant shall work together to produce an acceptable revision no later than January 15th. If an acceptable revision cannot be agreed upon, the block shall be dropped from the program.(5) The department shall notify applicants of eligibility of proposed blocks.(6) The applicant shall enter into an agreement with the department regarding cost sharing and continued eligibility under this subchapter to continue its eligibility. The grant agreement shall be signed no later than April 1.(7) The applicant shall designate a county-wide deadline for residents of proposed spray blocks to register their objection to treatment and also the method for registering an objection.(8) The applicant shall notify landowners and tenants within the eligible proposed treatment blocks and an area surrounding those blocks to be determined by the applicant. All notices shall provide information on location of proposed treatment blocks, insecticide to be used, approximate timing of treatment, how to register an objection to treatment of property and the name, address and phone number of the county coordinator. Notification requirements of applicants to landowners and tenants shall include:(a) Publication of a class 1 legal notice as defined in s. 985.07, Stats., in a local newspaper at least 10 days prior to a deadline designated in the notice for registering an objection by a landowner or tenant to treatment on the land under the landowner's or tenant's control.(b) A press release at least 10 days prior to the deadline for objection to treatment of property and which announces the public meeting.(c) A public meeting conducted by the applicant and held at least 7 days prior to the deadline for objection to treatment of property.(9) Records of calls and notification mailings, meetings and publications shall be kept by the applicant and submitted to the department in accordance with the grant agreement. Failure to maintain and submit these records required in this paragraph and in the grant agreement shall result in cancellation of treatment blocks from that applicant.(10) County coordinators shall contact objectors who register an objection to treatment of their property before the deadline, determine the cause for objection and attempt to resolve it. If objections cannot be resolved, county coordinators shall work with the department's designated staff to remove the property and add any buffer strip necessary to avoid treatment of the property. The buffer strip may not exceed 250 feet. If a treatment block is canceled because accommodating objectors makes the block untreatable in the judgment of the contractor for pesticide application, the county coordinator shall notify residents and return money that has been collected. The applicant shall resolve any objections on the basis of payment and the applicant is responsible for the entire local share of costs of treatment for blocks under its jurisdiction. Treatment blocks shall be removed from the program due to nonpayment of the cost share by the applicant.(11)(a) The department shall provide an estimate of per acre cost for treatment to county coordinators no later than February 15th of each year. The applicant shall collect the entire estimated cost for treatment of the blocks the applicant applied for and pay it to the department by April 1 unless otherwise provided on the application. If payment is not received by the deadline, the block shall be dropped from the program. Once the payment for treatment blocks has been received, the boundaries of these treatment blocks shall be considered fixed. Alteration or cancellation of a treatment block may only occur in the event of an irreconcilable conflict with a federally listed threatened or endangered species or where the contractor for pesticide application determines treatment of the block to be hazardous to the contractor. If a block is removed, the department shall return the payment for that treatment block and the county coordinator shall notify residents and return money that has been collected for the spray treatment.(b) The department shall, under cooperative agreement, work with the department of agriculture, trade and consumer protection to coordinate treatments.(12) Applicants shall submit a record of administrative costs incurred in the project period of July 1 through June 30 to the department by July 15.Wis. Admin. Code Department of Natural Resources NR 47.914
Emerg. cr. eff. 11-10-00; CR 00-177: cr. Register July 2001, No. 547 eff. 8-1-01; CR 04-137: am. (2), (4) and (6), r. (3) and (7) (a), renum. (7) to (11) to be (8) to (11) and (3) and am. (3), (8) (intro.), (10) and (11) (a), cr. (7) Register October 2005 No. 598, eff. 11-1-05.Amended by, correction in (2) (Note) made under s. 13.92(4) (b) 6, Stats., Register January 2019 No. 757, eff. 2/1/2019