The Regional Hazardous Materials Response Team Program was created in 1991 with the unanimous support of the legislature and Governor Tommy G. Thompson. Act 104 created a tiered system of hazardous material response: Regional or "Level A" Teams to respond to the most serious of spills and releases requiring the highest level of protective gear and training and County or "Level B" Teams to handle incidents which require a lesser level of protection. The first of the eight teams signed their contract with the State Emergency Response Board (SERB) in 1993 and the last in February of 1996.

The initial Legislation allowed for the development of no fewer than 7 or more than 11 Regional Teams to be placed strategically across the state (The maximum number of teams was later changed to 9). There are currently 8 designated Regional Teams. The configuration of the teams changed July 1, 2000 with the addition of the La Crosse team along the western edge of the state. The two northeastern teams in the Fox Valley area combined their forces to create the largest of the eight teams.   The 8 designated teams are: Madison, Milwaukee, Racine Superior, Wausau, La Crosse, West Central (Eau Claire and Chippewa Falls), and the Northeast Wisconsin Hazmat Team (Appleton and Oshkosh). The first 6 having membership drawn from the fire departments of the individual cities and the last 2 being combination teams.

Each of the 72 Counties is eligible to form a County Level B Team. However, the County Team Program is not mandatory. To date 43 Counties are participating. Recent changes in the grant program have made it easier to access state funds so the number of Counties in the program is anticipated to increase.

The HAZMAT program has an overall appropriation of $2.3 million dollars each year which goes to the Regional Teams, the County Teams, Worker’s Compensation costs, and state administrative costs. Funds to support the program come from the State General Purpose Revenues (GPR).

State Provides to the Regional Teams:

• Funding of $1.4 million dollars each year to be divided among the Teams for costs associated with the operation of the Team
• Advanced Training to the Hazmat Technician and in Specialty areas
• Worker’s Compensation
• Immunity from Civil Liability for acts and omissions while acting as a State authorized regional response team - Immunity extends to the Team, its members and their home municipality
• Reimbursement for costs incurred during a response when there is no responsible party or the responsible party is financially incompetent.

Each Team provides the use of hazmat equipment that was acquired by them previous to their becoming a State Team.

The State Provides to the County Teams:

• Up to $10,000 in grant funds each year for hazmat equipment - funds are leveraged from the state with a 20% local contribution
• Advanced Training to the Hazmat Technician level
• Immunity from Civil Liability for the Team, its members, and its sponsoring jurisdictions
• Reimbursement of costs incurred during a response when there is no responsible party or the responsible party is financially incompetent

The Regional Response Team Network

In order to speak with a united voice, facilitate and coordinate activities, the regional response teams joined together to form the Regional Response Team Network. The Network developed and adopted a constitution and bylaws, elected a chair and vice-chair, and chose a coordinator.

The Network spent considerable time on organizational issues; developing and refining procedures, responding to problems with implementation, working with the legislature to remedy deficiencies in the law, assisting in the development of administrative rules, acquiring necessary equipment for their teams, and many other items of this kind.  These tasks are ongoing as the needs of the state and the teams change.  New issues such as response to terrorist incidents and clandestine drug labs require additional planning, preparation, training and equipment.

There has been eight years of operation for all eight of the original teams. The Network decided that this was the ideal time to step back and examine how far the program has come and how to proceed into the future. This self-review process has begun. Hazardous materials response is a dynamic field with equipment, techniques, and training standards becoming obsolete almost as they’re being implemented. Therefore as response teams and as a state we must be proactive, anticipating trends and directions, in order to continue Wisconsin’s leadership role. This will provide the safest future for the citizens of Wisconsin and their environment.

The Network is continuing to define its mission and goals for the next year and beyond. But like the field of hazardous materials this definition is dynamic. As we look back again in the years to come one could expect to see changes in this program, which is, like the people we are and the people we serve, living and breathing.