NR 47.93(3)(f)
(f) "Grant" means a financial award by the department to a recipient selected by the program administrator and approved by the department.
NR 47.93(3)(g)
(g) "Grant agreement" means a contract between a program administrator and a grantee containing the terms and conditions of a grant awarded under s.
26.385, Stats.
NR 47.93(3)(i)
(i) "Program administrator" means a non-stock, non-profit corporation organized under
ch. 181, Stats., that contracts with the department to administer and select contractors for a forestry research and development grants program under s.
26.385, Stats., or a designee approved by the department.
NR 47.93(4)
(4) Program administrator selection criteria and procedures. NR 47.93(4)(a)(a) The department will follow the standard purchasing procedures as established by the Wisconsin department of administration, and in addition, a successful program administrator candidate shall:
NR 47.93(4)(c)
(c) Provide a budget including the fees that will be charged for administering the grant program.
NR 47.93(4)(d)
(d) Demonstrate the ability to judge the financial and technical soundness of the grantee proposals.
NR 47.93(4)(e)
(e) Possess knowledge of federal biomass and energy grant programs.
NR 47.93(4)(f)
(f) Demonstrate the ability to administer a grant program.
NR 47.93(5)(a)(a)
Competitive solicitation. A program administrator soliciting proposals for grants under s.
26.385, Stats., shall ensure that all solicitations are conducted in a manner that provides for fairness and competition.
NR 47.93(5)(b)1.1. A program administrator shall provide reasonable public notice of all solicitations of grant proposals under s.
26.385, Stats. Notice may be made through the print, broadcast or telecommunications media, including the Internet, at the discretion of the program administrator. The notice period shall be a specified in the contract entered into between the department and the program administrator which shall be commensurate with the scope of the grant.
NR 47.93(5)(b)2.
2. The notice shall include the purpose of the grant, the selection criteria, application procedures, and all applicable solicitation deadlines that an applicant is required to meet, or shall contain instructions for obtaining this information.
NR 47.93(5)(c)
(c) Application requirements. All applications for a grant under s.
26.385, Stats., shall be submitted to the department or the program administrator as directed in the notice provided under this section. All applications shall be fully completed, executed by an individual having authority to act for the applicant, and submitted by the required filing deadline.
NR 47.93(6)(a)(a) Prior to the solicitation of a grant under s.
26.385, Stats., the program administrator shall submit to the department the selection criteria to be used to evaluate grant applications and to select a grantee. Selection criteria for all proposals shall be designed to evaluate the following:
NR 47.93(6)(a)3.
3. Technical feasibility and quality of the proposed work plan, including the feasibility of the proposed goals and performance measures and feasibility of the environmental and economic benefits identified as objectives of the application.
NR 47.93(6)(a)4.
4. Other factors the department or program administrator considers relevant.
NR 47.93(6)(b)
(b) The department may modify or reject the proposed criteria in writing to the program administrator. The division administrator and the program administrator may negotiate new criteria to replace any modified or rejected criteria.
NR 47.93(6)(c)
(c) The program administrator shall notify the division administrator in writing of its intent to make a grant award to a grantee, but may not enter into a grant agreement with the selected grantee for at least 5 business days after notice is received by the division administrator. The program administrator may choose to negotiate a combination of proposals from various grantees, if the program administrator determines that a combination would better meet the objectives of its contract with the department.
NR 47.93(6)(d)
(d) The department may reject a proposed grantee in writing to the program administrator within 5 business days of the receipt of a program administrator's notice of intent to award.
NR 47.93 History
History: CR 06-022: cr.
Register October 2006 No. 610, eff. 11-1-06.
NR 47.950
NR 47.950
Purpose. The purpose of this subchapter is to establish criteria and procedures for awarding grants to local governments, tribes and not-for-profit organizations for the repair of catastrophic storm damage to urban forests as provided in s.
23.097 (1r), Stats.
NR 47.950 History
History: CR 08-062: cr.
Register May 2009 No. 641, eff. 6-1-09.
NR 47.951
NR 47.951
Applicability. This subchapter applies to all Wisconsin counties, cities, villages, towns, tribal governments and not-for-profit organizations applying for grants under this subchapter.
NR 47.951 History
History: CR 08-062: cr.
Register May 2009 No. 641, eff. 6-1-09.
NR 47.952
NR 47.952
Definitions. In this subchapter:
NR 47.952(1)
(1) "Applicant" means a Wisconsin town, village, city, county, tribal government or not-for-profit organization.
NR 47.952(2)
(2) "Catastrophic storm event" means snow, ice, hail, wind or tornado of sufficient ferocity to cause damage to urban forests and for which the governor declares a state of emergency under s.
323.10, Stats. Catastrophic storm event does not include forest fires, drought, insect infestations or disease, or water saturation due to flooding.
NR 47.952(3)
(3) "Concentrated development" means an area with an aggregate population of at least 100 persons per square mile as calculated by the Wisconsin department of administration.
NR 47.952(4)
(4) "Department" means the department of natural resources.
NR 47.952(5)
(5) "Grant agreement" means a legal contract between the applicant and the department that sets forth mutual obligations related to a specific urban forestry project.
NR 47.952(6)
(6) "Grant period" means the period of time specified in the grant agreement during which all work shall be completed.
NR 47.952(7)
(7) "Marshalling yard" means a location in which storm-related tree debris is collected, held or processed for future use.
NR 47.952(8)
(8) "Not-for-profit organization" means an organization that is certified by the internal revenue service as meeting the requirements of section
501(c)(3) of the internal revenue code and has registered with the department of financial institutions.
NR 47.952(9)
(9) "Urban forest" means trees in cities, villages and other concentrated development.
NR 47.952 History
History: CR 08-062: cr.
Register May 2009 No. 641, eff. 6-1-09; correction in (2) made under s.
13.92 (4) (b) 7., Stats.,
Register May 2010 No. 653.
NR 47.953
NR 47.953
Eligibility. Applicant eligibility is determined by the following:
NR 47.953(1)
(1) A catastrophic storm event has occurred for which the governor has declared a state of emergency.
NR 47.953(2)
(2) The applicant is applying on behalf of the community that sustained damage as a result of the catastrophic storm event.
NR 47.953(4)
(4) Two or more eligible applicants may enter into a cooperative agreement to jointly apply for funds under this subchapter, with one applicant designated as the fiscal agent on behalf of all applicants to administer the grant agreement on behalf of all cooperating members.
NR 47.953 History
History: CR 08-062: cr.
Register May 2009 No. 641, eff. 6-1-09.
NR 47.954(1)
(1) An eligible applicant may apply for a grant under this subchapter for the purpose specified under
s. NR 47.950.
NR 47.954(2)
(2) Eligible applicants shall request grant funding on the application forms provided by the department. The application shall include a resolution of the applicant's governing body that authorizes its representative to file the grant application, serve as the contact for purposes of a grant under this subchapter, and submit reimbursement claims.
NR 47.954 Note
Note: Application materials are available upon request from the Department of Natural Resources, Bureau of Forest Management, 101 S. Webster Street, P.O. Box 7921, Madison, WI 53707-7921, telephone (608) 267-7494. Completed forms and supporting documentation shall be mailed to the same address. Application materials may also be obtained from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources webpage at:
http://dnr.wi.gov/forestry/UF/index.htm NR 47.954(3)
(3) An eligible applicant shall submit an application that is postmarked no later than 60 days from the date of the governor's declaration of emergency for the catastrophic storm event for which funds are sought.
NR 47.954(4)
(4) The department may request additional or missing grant application information in writing or by other means. Applicants shall submit additional or missing information to the department within 30 days of the date of the request. Failure of applicants to provide the requested information by the deadline will result in the department returning the incomplete application to the applicant.
NR 47.954(5)
(5) The department shall evaluate all complete applications submitted using the criteria identified in
s. NR 47.956.
NR 47.954(6)
(6) The department shall notify both eligible and ineligible applicants in writing of the status of their grant application within 60 days from the date the application is deemed complete.
NR 47.954(8)
(8) If an eligible applicant submits an application but all program funds have been expended during a fiscal year, the department shall hold the application for reconsideration when additional funds become available. The department shall notify the applicant in writing of the reason for the delay and the opportunity for reconsideration of the application when additional funds become available.
NR 47.954 History
History: CR 08-062: cr.
Register May 2009 No. 641, eff. 6-1-09.
NR 47.955
NR 47.955 Eligible and ineligible costs. NR 47.955(1)(1)
Eligible costs. Under this subchapter, the applicant's cost of removing, repairing, and replacing trees in an urban forest that have been damaged by a catastrophic storm event shall be eligible for reimbursement so long as those costs are not otherwise reimbursed by federal disaster assistance or other funding sources. To be eligible for reimbursement, the applicant shall have incurred eligible costs within a 365-day period beginning on the date on which the governor makes the declaration of emergency. Eligible costs includes:
NR 47.955(1)(a)
(a) Rented, leased or applicant supplied equipment and facilities.
NR 47.955(1)(b)
(b) Purchased equipment. For equipment whose useful life is one year or less, the full purchase price is an eligible cost. For equipment whose useful life is greater than one year, eligible cost is equal to one year's useful life as determined by dividing the purchase price by the number of years of useful life of the equipment. Useful life of equipment shall be determined by the department. Regardless of the useful life, equipment costing more than $5,000 per unit is not eligible for reimbursement.
NR 47.955(1)(c)
(c) Salaries and fringe benefits associated with applicant personnel engaged in removing, repairing and replacing storm-damaged trees.
NR 47.955(1)(d)
(d) Contractor and consultant service agreements to remove, repair and replace storm-damaged trees.
NR 47.955(1)(f)
(f) Tree removal, stump grinding, cleaning and filling holes left by tree removal, tree repair, replacement tree purchase and planting, soil amendment and mulching, and tree guards and other protective devices for new tree establishment.
NR 47.955(1)(g)
(g) Disposal of wood and brush from tree removal and repair.
NR 47.955(1)(h)
(h) Processing wood and brush for other uses from tree removal and repair.
NR 47.955(1)(j)
(j) Necessary supplies. Supplies may include but are not limited to maps, fuel, computer software or devices for storm damage assessment and response, photocopies, photography, postage and other supply costs determined by the department to be reimbursable. Supplies do not include rent, personal computers, office printers or capital expenditures.
NR 47.955(2)
(2) Cost containment. Applicants shall control costs using the following methods. Failure by the applicant to demonstrate cost containment efforts at the time of reimbursement request may result in refusal by the department to issue reimbursement payments. Cost containment methods include the following:
NR 47.955(2)(a)
(a) Heavy equipment costs shall be calculated on an hourly or mileage rate, not to exceed the hourly or mileage rates established by the Wisconsin department of transportation for highway equipment.
NR 47.955 Note
Note: The county highway rates for equipment are formulated under s.
84.07, Stats., and can be found in chapter 5 of the State Highway Maintenance Manual published by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, 4802 Sheboygan Avenue, Madison, WI 53705.
NR 47.955(2)(b)
(b) Applicants shall implement cost-effective best management practices. All tree care operations shall meet standards established in all parts of the most current editions of ANSI A300 American National Standard for Tree Care Operations — Standard Practices and ANSI Z133.1 American National Standard for Arboricultural Operations — Safety Requirements.
NR 47.955 Note
Note: The ANSI standards are available at
www.isa-arbor.com International Society of Arboriculture, PO Box 3129, Champaign, IL 61826.
NR 47.955(2)(c)
(c) Costs for removing, repairing, replacing or planting trees may not exceed local market rates.
NR 47.955 Note
Note: So that applicants may better comply with state procurement and cost-containment requirements, the department makes available the document titled Procurement Guide for Local Governments Receiving Grants. This document is available from the department upon request by writing to: Department of Natural Resources, Bureau of Forest Management, 101 S. Webster Street, P.O. Box 7921, Madison, WI 53707-7921, telephone (608) 267-7494, or on-line at:
http://dnr.wi.gov/org/caer/cfa/grants/Forms/ProcurementGuide.pdf NR 47.955(3)
(3) Ineligible costs. The department may not reimburse costs not directly associated with the implementation of this subchapter. Those costs include, but are not limited to the following:
NR 47.955(3)(a)
(a) Costs incurred before or more than 365 days after a governor's declared state of emergency for the applicant's area.
NR 47.955(3)(b)
(b) Costs for the repair of structures, vehicles, fences, sidewalks or other objects damaged by damaged trees or their parts.
