Grants to county drainage boards; general
Under this rule, DATCP may award grants to county drainage boards to help them comply with ch. 88, Stats., and ch. ATCP 48, Wis. Adm. Code. A grant may pay a county drainage board for up to 60 percent of the drainage board's costs to do any of the following:
• Develop and adopt drainage district specifications
(map sets).
• Reassess benefits in a drainage district.
• Develop and adopt drainage district maintenance plans. (Grants do not pay for actual maintenance costs.)
• Carry out other eligible projects identified in DATCP's annual request for grant proposals.
Annual request for grant proposals
Under this rule, DATCP must annually request grant proposals from county drainage boards. DATCP must issue its annual request, in writing, to each county drainage board. The request must include all the following:
• The amount of grant funds available for distribution in the grant year. Each grant year ends on June 30.
• The types of projects for which county drainage boards may request funding.
• DATCP's grant priorities, if any.
• General grant terms and conditions that may affect grant applications.
• Grant application procedures.
• A grant application deadline.
• A grant application form.
Grant applications
To apply for a grant, a county drainage board must submit a completed grant application form that includes all the following:
• A description of the project for which the county drainage board seeks a grant.
• The estimated cost of the project.
• The county drainage board's plan for financing the project.
• Competitive bidding or other procedures that the county drainage board will use to control project costs.
• Other information required by DATCP.
Grant awards
Under this rule, DATCP must act on all grant applications within 90 days after the annual grant application deadline. DATCP must notify all grant applicants of its grant awards.
Grant contracts
Under this rule, DATCP must enter into a grant contract with each grant recipient. The contract must specify grant terms and conditions. DATCP must distribute grant funds according to the grant contract.
Grant payments
DATCP will make grant payments after the county drainage board documents that it has completed the funded project and paid its share of the project costs. DATCP will not pay any project costs incurred after the end of the grant term specified in the grant contract.
A county drainage board must submit a payment request on a form provided by DATCP. The county drainage board must document that it has completed the project and paid its share of the project costs.
DATCP will make grant payments to the county treasurer, for the benefit of the county drainage board. If the county drainage board hires an agent to complete a project on its behalf, DATCP may make a check jointly payable to the county treasurer and that agent.
County drainage board accounts
Under this rule, whenever a person receives funds on behalf of a county drainage board or any drainage district, that person must promptly deposit those funds with the county treasurer. The county treasurer may not pay out any funds without proper authorization from the county drainage board.
Pursuant to s. 88.18(1), Stats., the county treasurer may retain a portion of the interest received on drainage district funds, to cover costs that the county treasurer and county zoning administrator incur to provide services to the county drainage board. The amount retained may not exceed the amount authorized by s. 88.18(1), Stats.
Under this rule, the county treasurer must keep a separate account for each drainage district. The county treasurer must keep complete accounting records in the county treasurer's office. The accounting records must include records of all receipts, deposits, payments, county deductions and account balances. The county drainage board must also file, with the county treasurer, a copy of every DATCP grant contract with the county drainage board.
The county treasurer must retain the accounting records as county records. Except as provided in ch. 88, Stats., or ch. ATCP 48, the county treasurer must treat the records as the treasurer would treat comparable county accounting records for retention and disposal purposes.
Under this rule, if a county drainage board appoints its own treasurer, that treasurer serves as a deputy of the county treasurer. The county drainage board treasurer must promptly deposit, with the county treasurer, all funds received on behalf of the county drainage board or any drainage district. The drainage board treasurer may not pay out any funds before depositing them with the county treasurer.
The drainage board treasurer may not pay out any funds without proper authorization from the county drainage board and the county treasurer. The county treasurer may not refuse to authorize a payment approved by the county drainage board, unless there are insufficient funds in the drainage district account to make that payment. The county treasurer must keep complete records of all drainage district accounts (the drainage board treasurer may keep duplicate records).
Fiscal Estimate
Impact of Rule Revision to State Government
Chapter ATCP 48 is administered by the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP). The proposed rule revisions codify a cost-share grant program intended to distribute as much as $500,000 per year for a maximum of six years to county drainage boards. Administration of these grants will be handled by existing DATCP staff. The DATCP will experience some increase in costs associated with WiSMART charges and other miscellaneous administrative expenses, such as postage; however, these administrative costs will be minimal and will be absorbed by the DATCP. Funds provided by the Legislature for this program are in a new general purpose revenue appropriation.
Impact of Rule Revision to County Drainage Boards
Funds provided by the DATCP will go directly to county drainage boards to pay 60% cost-sharing for eligible expenses associated with the development of district specifications, benefits reassessment, and compliance (maintenance) plans. The availability of these funds will encourage drainage boards to proceed with this work as the grant funds greatly reduce the financial burden on drainage district landowners. District landowners will be assessed by the drainage board for the remaining 40% of eligible project expenses.
Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
See 2/15/01 Wis. Adm. Register, page 20.
Notice of Hearing
Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection
The state of Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection announces that it will hold a public hearing on a proposed rule (proposed ch. ATCP 161, subchapter III, Wis. Adm. Code) relating to annual grants to ethanol producers. The hearing will be held:
Monday, March 12, 2001 at 1:00 p.m.
Wisconsin Dept. of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection
Board Room (SR-106)
2811 Agriculture Drive
Madison, WI 53718-6777.
The public is invited to attend the hearing and make comments on the proposed rule. Additional written comments will be accepted until March 12, 2001.
A copy of this rule may be obtained free of charge, from the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, Division of Trade and Consumer Protection, PO Box 8911, Madison, WI 53708 or by calling (608)224-4928. Copies will also be available at the public hearing.
An interpreter for the hearing impaired will be available on request for this public hearing. Please make reservations for the hearing interpreter by March 7, 2001 either by writing to Kevin LeRoy, Division of Trade and Consumer Protection, PO Box 8911, Madison, WI 53708, (608/224-4928), or TDD at (608/224-5058). Handicap access is available at the hearing.
Analysis Prepared by the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection
Statutory authority: ss. 93.07(1) and 93.75(3)
Statutes interpreted: s. 93.75
The legislature, in 1999 Wisconsin Act 55, created an ethanol grant program under s. 93.75, Stats. The legislature authorized the department of agriculture, trade and consumer protection (DATCP) to make grants to ethanol producers in this state. The legislature has not yet provided any funding for the grant program. This rule implements the grant program, subject to legislative funding. The ethanol grant program is scheduled to sunset on July 1, 2006.
Statutory Requirements
To be eligible for a grant under s. 93.75, Stats., an ethanol producer must produce at least 10 million gallons of ethanol in a 12-month period unless DATCP specifies a different amount by rule. The ethanol producer must also purchase commodity inputs from “local sources" as defined by DATCP rule.
Under s. 93.75, Stats., an ethanol producer is eligible for grant payments during the first 60 months of ethanol production. Subject to available funding, the legislature directed DATCP to pay 20 cents per gallon for up to 15 million gallons of eligible ethanol production per 12-month period. DATCP must adopt rules to prorate grant payments if there are not enough funds to pay all ethanol producers at the authorized statutory rate.
Rule Contents
Annual grants to ethanol producers
Under this rule, an ethanol producer may apply by April 1 of each year to receive an ethanol production grant for any consecutive 12-month period ending within a year prior to that April 1. (The applicant chooses the consecutive 12-month period.) Subject to available funding, DATCP will award to each eligible applicant a grant of 20 cents per gallon for up to 15 million gallons of “eligible ethanol" produced during the consecutive 12-month period identified in the grant application.
Eligible producer
An ethanol producer is eligible for an annual grant if all the following apply:
• The producer produced at least 10 million gallons of “eligible ethanol" during the consecutive 12-month period identified in the grant application.
• DATCP has not previously awarded a grant to the ethanol producer for ethanol produced during the consecutive 12-month period identified in the grant application.
• The ethanol producer first began producing ethanol in this state not more than 60 months prior to the end of consecutive 12-month period identified in the grant application.
Eligible ethanol
Under this rule, DATCP will make grant payments only for “eligible ethanol" production. “Eligible ethanol" means ethanol that the ethanol producer produces in this state from commodities purchased from local sources. A “commodity" includes grain and other starch or sugar crops. A “commodity purchased from a local source" means any of the following:
• A commodity that the ethanol producer purchases from a person who grew that commodity in this state.
• Grain that the ethanol producer purchases from a grain dealer and receives directly from a grain facility located in this state.
Grant application
An ethanol producer must submit a grant application in writing, on a form provided by DATCP. The application must specify all the following:
• The consecutive 12-month period for which the applicant seeks a grant.
• The total gallons of “eligible ethanol" that the applicant produced during that consecutive 12-month period.
• The name and address of each supplier from whom the applicant purchased a commodity used to produce the “eligible ethanol." The applicant must identify the type and amount of each commodity purchased from each supplier. If the applicant purchased grain from a grain dealer, the applicant must give the address of the grain facility from which the grain dealer shipped that grain to the applicant.
• The applicant's federal tax identification number.
• The date on which the applicant first produced ethanol in this state.
• Any other information required by DATCP.
DATCP action on grant applications
DATCP must award grants by June 1 of each year, and must make grant payments by June 30 (the end of the state fiscal year). If DATCP denies a grant application, or awards a smaller prorated amount (see below), DATCP must explain its action in writing.
DATCP may require an applicant to provide additional information, and may deny a grant application if the applicant fails to honor DATCP's reasonable request for relevant information. DATCP may exercise its authority under ch. 93, Stats., to verify a grant application, or to verify the applicant's eligibility for a grant.
DATCP may deny a grant application, or recover grant payments made to an applicant, if DATCP finds that the applicant has materially misrepresented any information related to a grant application.
Prorating payments
Under this rule, if grant awards in any state fiscal year exceed the grant funds appropriated for that fiscal year, DATCP must prorate grant awards based on each applicant's eligible ethanol production during the consecutive 12-month period identified in the applicant's grant application. An ethanol producer who receives a pro-rated grant may not apply for the balance of that grant in the next fiscal year.
Fiscal Estimate
This proposed rule was initiated when the legislature passed 1999 Wis. Act 55. This act created an ethanol grant program under s. 93.75, Wis. Stats. Under this program, the department is authorized to make grants to certain ethanol producers. The legislation requires the department to adopt rules for the program. Administrative costs associated with this program should be minimal and easily absorbed into the agency's general duties.
Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
1999 Wis. Act 55 created an ethanol grant program under s. 93.75, Wis. Stats. Under this program, the department is authorized to make grants to certain ethanol producers. The legislation requires the department to adopt rules for the grant program.
