Wis. Admin. Code Department of Transportation § Trans 400.11 - Distribution and review of environmental documents

(1) SEE.
(a) Public availability of SEE. When required, a SEE shall be prepared as an integral element of system plans. The system plan and SEE shall be made available for public inspection at the department's central office, appropriate department region offices, and depository libraries.
(b) Notice of availability of a SEE. A notice of availability of a system plan and its SEE shall be published as provided in sub. (8).
(c) Public hearing. A public hearing on a system plan and its SEE shall be held by the department, except there is no requirement for a two-step, draft and final SEE because the planning process contemplates that if the plan recommendations are implemented, there will be subsequent project or site-specific environmental reviews.
(2) LEIS. In the case of a departmental report or recommendation on a department-initiated proposal for legislation that contains major and significant new proposals that are not within the scope of any categorical exclusion, the department shall prepare a LEIS substantially following the guidelines of the United States council on environmental quality in 40 CFR 1506.8. This includes transmission of the LEIS to the legislature concurrent with or within 30 days after the legislative proposal is submitted to the legislature, provided that the LEIS must be available in time for legislative hearings and deliberations, and 5 days in advance. There is no scoping requirement and the statement shall be prepared in the same manner as a DEIS, but shall be considered the detailed statement required by s. 1.11(2) (c), Stats. Any comments on the LEIS shall be given to the department which shall forward them along with its own responses to the legislative committees with jurisdiction.
(3) DEIS.
(a) Printing and distribution of DEIS. Printing of the DEIS shall be the responsibility of the preparer. Sufficient quantities of the DEIS shall be printed to meet distribution requirements. The DEIS shall be distributed to the following:
1. The office of the governor.
2. Local, state and federal governmental agencies having special expertise, interest or jurisdiction.
3. Regional and county planning agencies within the area of the proposed action.
4. Public officials, interest groups and members of the public having the potential to be directly affected by the proposed action and requesting a copy of the DEIS. A charge may be assessed to cover reproduction and handling costs.
5. Offices of the department located in the vicinity of the proposed action and at the department's central office.
6. Public libraries:
a. For proposals having local importance, the nearest public library. In addition, a request shall be made to an appropriate public official to make the document available in a public place.
b. For proposals having regional importance, public libraries with a geographic distribution which provides public access without undue travel.
c. For proposals having statewide interest, public libraries providing reasonable access for members of the public who would be potentially affected by such proposals.
(b) Notice of availability of DEIS. A notice of availability of the DEIS shall be published as provided in sub. (8).
(4) COMBINED FEIS/ROD. The combined FEIS/ROD shall be printed and distributed, and a notice of availability of the combined FEIS/ROD shall be published, in the same manner as provided for a DEIS under sub. (3). If separate FEIS and ROD documents are necessary under s. Trans 400.13(1) (am), the decision to proceed with the proposed action and to sign the ROD shall not be made sooner than 30 days after the date of publication of the notice of availability of the FEIS or 90 days after the date of publication of the notice of availability of the DEIS.
(5) EA.
(a) Public availability of EA. The EA shall be made available for public inspection at the department's central office, the appropriate department region office, public libraries as identified under sub. (3) (a) 6., and the office of the local unit of government having requested the proposed action. A charge may be assessed to cover reproduction and handling costs for requested copies of the EA or portions thereof.
(b) Notice of availability of EA. A notice of availability of the EA shall be published as provided in sub. (8).
(c) Notice of opportunity to request a public hearing on EA. If the department affords the opportunity for a public hearing on an EA under s. Trans 400.12(4) (a), a notice of opportunity to request a public hearing shall be published when the EA is completed and made available for inspection as provided for under par. (a). Publication of the notice shall be in the appropriate official local newspaper or in a newspaper of general circulation within the area affected by the proposed action. Publication shall also be in the official state newspaper if the proposed action is of statewide interest. The notice shall invite submission of requests for a public hearing on the EA within 30 days after the date of publication of the notice. The notice shall include a description of the procedure for requesting a public hearing.
(6) FONSI. The FONSI shall be made available by the department to participating local units of government and to the public upon request. A notice of availability shall not be required for a FONSI. A charge may be assessed to cover reproduction and handling costs for requested copies of the FONSI or portions thereof.
(7) ER.
(a) The ER shall upon request be made available for inspection at the department's central office, the appropriate department region office, and the office of the local unit of government having requested the proposed action. Subject to par. (b), a notice of availability shall not be required for an ER. A charge may be assessed to cover reproduction and handling costs for requested copies of the ER.
(b) If the department determines to hold, or afford the opportunity for, a public hearing on an ER action under s. Trans 400.12(4) (b), the department shall make the ER publicly available and provide notice of public availability under sub. (5) as if the ER were an EA.
(8) NOTICE OF AVAILABILITY.
(a) When an environmental document listed under par. (c) is made available to the public by the department, a notice of availability shall be published in the appropriate official local newspaper or in a newspaper of general circulation within the area affected by the proposed action. If the proposed action is of statewide interest, the notice shall also be published in the official state newspaper. The notice shall include all of the following:
1. Briefly describe the proposed action.
2. Announce the completion and availability of the environmental document.
3. List the locations where the environmental document may be inspected.
4. Except in the case of a ROD or a combined FEIS /ROD document, invite the public to furnish written comments on the proposed action; indicate where comments are to be sent; and indicate the date that such comments must be submitted to the department as determined under par. (b).
(b) The comment period for specific environmental documents shall be as follows:
1. For a DEIS, the comment period may not be less, nor without cause longer than, 45 days after the date of the publication of the notice of availability.
2. If the department determines a separate FEIS and ROD are necessary under s. Trans 400.13(1) (am), the comment period for the FEIS may not be less, nor without cause longer than, 30 days after the date of publication of the notice of availability.
3. For an EA, and for an ER if the department determines it will hold or afford the opportunity for a public hearing under s. Trans 400.12(4) (b), the comment period may not be less, nor without cause longer than, 30 days after the date of publication of the notice of availability.
(c) A notice of availability shall be published for the following environmental documents:
1. SEE.
2. DEIS.
3. FEIS and ROD, or a combined FEIS/ROD.
4. EA.
5. ER, if the department determines that it will hold or afford the opportunity for a public hearing under s. Trans 400.12(4) (b).
(d) The notice of availability of the environmental document may be combined with other public notices required under this chapter.

Notes

Wis. Admin. Code Department of Transportation § Trans 400.11
Cr. Register, April, 1992, No. 436, eff. 5-1-92; corrections in (1) (a), (5) (a), (7) made under s. 13.92(4) (b) 6, Stats., Register February 2013 No. 686. Amended by, CR 16-069: renum. (1) (b) (intro.) to (1) (b) and am., r. (1) (b) 1. to 4., am. (2), renum. (3) (b) (intro.) to (3) (b) and am., r. (3) (b) 1. to 4., am. (4), (5) (a), renum. (5) (b) (intro.) to (5) (b) and am., r. (5) (b) 1. to 5., am. (5) (c), renum. (7) to (7) (a) and am., cr. (7) (b), (8) Register October 2019 No. 766, eff. 11/1/2019

State regulations are updated quarterly; we currently have two versions available. Below is a comparison between our most recent version and the prior quarterly release. More comparison features will be added as we have more versions to compare.


No prior version found.