An Act to create 23.405 of the statutes; Relating to: report on environmental impacts to vulnerable communities and granting rule-making authority. (FE)
Summary
AB877 would create a new statutory section requiring the Department of Natural Resources to apply additional environmental review procedures before issuing certain permits for facilities located in a “vulnerable community.” A vulnerable community is defined as a census block group where at least half of households are low-income and where either at least 40 percent of residents are Black, African American, Asian American, Hispanic or Latino, or members of a federally recognized Indian tribe or band, or at least 40 percent of households have limited English proficiency.
For covered permits under chapters 283, 285, 289, and 291, the bill requires the applicant to prepare and publicly release a report assessing environmental and public health impacts, including cumulative impacts, and to provide that report to DNR and local municipal officials. The applicant must also hold a public hearing in the affected municipality with advance notice in local newspapers. DNR must then consider community support and hearing testimony, evaluate possible permit revisions or conditions to reduce harm, and may deny a permit if the facility’s cumulative impacts, together with existing conditions in the area, would create an unreasonable risk to the environment or residents’ health. The bill also authorizes DNR to adopt rules to administer the new requirements.
Impact
The bill would add a new layer of environmental justice review to Wisconsin permitting law by conditioning certain DNR permits on community-based reporting, notice, and hearing requirements in designated vulnerable communities. It would affect permitting under the state’s air, water, hazardous waste, and solid waste regulatory chapters, and would give DNR explicit authority to deny permits based on cumulative environmental and public health impacts in already burdened neighborhoods. The bill also requires DNR to maintain and update a statewide list of vulnerable communities using census and income data.
Sentiment
No committee transcript or recorded vote information is provided, so there is no direct evidence of debate or floor sentiment in the materials supplied. Based on the bill’s structure, it appears designed to advance environmental justice protections and increase public participation in permitting decisions affecting low-income communities and communities of color or limited English proficiency. The bill ultimately failed to pass pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 1.
Contention
The main likely points of contention are the bill’s definition of “vulnerable community,” the use of race, ethnicity, and language-access criteria in triggering special permitting requirements, and the breadth of DNR’s discretion to deny permits based on cumulative impacts and existing local conditions. Supporters would likely view these provisions as necessary to protect public health and ensure meaningful participation by affected residents, while opponents may argue that the bill creates additional regulatory burdens, uncertainty for permit applicants, and potential legal or administrative challenges in applying the community criteria and cumulative-impact standard.
Crossfiled
An Act to create 23.405 of the statutes; Relating to: report on environmental impacts to vulnerable communities and granting rule-making authority. (FE)