Wisconsin Legislature: 27,4235

144.241 (1) (cm) “Median household income" means median household income determined by the U.S. bureau of the census as adjusted by the department to reflect changes in household income since the most recent federal census.

27,4218 Section 4218 . 144.241 (1) (cs) of the statutes is created to read:

144.241 (1) (cs) “Residential user" means a structure or part of a structure, including a mobile home, that is used primarily as a home, residence or sleeping place by one person or 2 or more persons maintaining a common household and that uses a publicly owned treatment work. “Residential user" does not include an institutional, commercial, industrial or governmental facility.

27,4219 Section 4219 . 144.241 (2) of the statutes is amended to read:

144.241 (2) Rules. The department shall promulgate rules that are necessary for the proper execution of its responsibilities under this section.

27,4220 Section 4220 . 144.241 (3m) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:

144.241 (3m) (a) A list of wastewater treatment projects that the department estimates will receive notices of financial assistance commitment under sub. (15) apply for financial assistance under this section and s. 144.2415 during the next biennium.

27,4221 Section 4221 . 144.241 (3m) (c) of the statutes is amended to read:

144.241 (3m) (c) The estimated rank of each project on the priority list under sub. (10) (8e).

27,4223d Section 4223d. 144.241 (6) (b) (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:

144.241 (6) (b) (intro.) In approving financial assistance, the department may use the The following methods of providing financial assistance may be used under this section and s. 144.2415:

27,4226 Section 4226. 144.241 (8) (g) of the statutes is amended to read:

144.241 (8) (g) The sum of all of the financial assistance to a municipality approved under this section and s. 144.2415, except financial assistance under sub. (13m), for a project may not result in the municipality paying less than 30% 10% of the cost of the project.

27,4227 Section 4227 . 144.241 (8) (h) of the statutes is amended to read:

144.241 (8) (h) Except as provided in par. (k) or (m), a municipality that is a violator of an effluent limitation at the time that the notice of financial assistance commitment is given the application for a treatment work project is approved under sub. (9m) may not receive financial assistance of a method specified under sub. (6) (b) 1., 2., 3., 4. or 5. for that part of a the treatment work project that is needed to correct the violation. This paragraph does not apply to a municipality that after May 17, 1988, is in compliance with a court or department order to correct a violation of the enforceable requirements of its ch. 147 permit, and that is applying for financial assistance under s. 144.2415 (13) to correct that violation.

27,4228 Section 4228 . 144.241 (8) (j) of the statutes is repealed.

27,4230 Section 4230 . 144.241 (8) (m) of the statutes is repealed.

27,4231 Section 4231 . 144.241 (8m) of the statutes is created to read:

144.241 (8m) Notice of intent to apply. (a) A municipality shall submit notice to the department of its intent to apply for financial assistance under this section and s. 144.2415 in a year no later than December 31 of the preceding year. The notice shall be in a form prescribed by the department and the department of administration.

(b) If a municipality does not apply for financial assistance under this section and s. 144.2415 by December 31 of the 2nd year following the year in which it submitted notice under par. (a), the municipality shall submit a new notice under par. (a).

27,4232 Section 4232 . 144.241 (8s) of the statutes is created to read:

144.241 (8s) Facility plan. A municipality seeking financial assistance for a project under this section, except for a municipality seeking a capital cost loan, shall complete a facility plan as required by the department by rule.

27,4233 Section 4233 . 144.241 (9) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:

144.241 (9) (a) A After the department approves a municipality's facility plan submitted under sub. (8s), the municipality which desires to participate in the program under this section and s. 144.2415 shall submit an application for participation to the department. The application shall be in such form and include such information as the department and the department of administration prescribe and shall include design plans and specifications that are approvable by the department under this chapter. The department shall review applications for participation in the program under this section and s. 144.2415. The department shall determine which applications meet the eligibility requirements and criteria under subs. (6), (7), (8), (10) (8m) and (13).

27,4233m Section 4233m. 144.241 (9) (ae) of the statutes is created to read:

144.241 (9) (ae) A municipality that submits an application under par. (a) without design plans and specifications may obtain an initial determination of financial eligibility from the department of administration. The department of natural resources may not approve a municipality's application until the municipality submits approvable design plans and specifications.

27,4234 Section 4234 . 144.241 (9) (am) of the statutes is created to read:

144.241 (9) (am) A municipality may not submit more than one application under par. (a) in any 12-month period except that this paragraph does not apply to applications for financial assistance for additional costs of an approved project.

27,4235 Section 4235 . 144.241 (9) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:

144.241 (9) (b) A municipality seeking financial assistance, except for a municipality seeking a capital cost loan, for a project under this section and s. 144.2415 shall complete a staged facility plan, design plans and specifications and an environmental analysis sequence as required by the department by rule.

27,4235m Section 4235m. 144.241 (9) (e) of the statutes is created to read:

144.241 (9) (e) If the governor's recommendation, as set forth in the executive budget bill, for the amount under s. 144.2415 (3) (d), the amount available under s. 20.866 (2) (tc) or the amount available under s. 144.2415 (4) (f) for a biennium is 85% or less of the amount of present value subsidy, general obligation bonding authority or revenue bonding authority, respectively, requested for that biennium in the biennial finance plan submitted under s. 144.2415 (3) (bm) 1., the department shall inform municipalities that, if the governor's recommendations are approved, clean water fund assistance during a fiscal year of that biennium will only be available to municipalities that submit financial assistance applications by the June 30 preceding that fiscal year.

27,4236 Section 4236 . 144.241 (9m) of the statutes is created to read:

144.241 (9m) Acceptance of application; allocation of funding. (a) Subject to pars. (c) and (d), the department shall approve an application after all of the following occur:

1. The department determines that the project meets the eligibility requirements and criteria under subs. (7), (8), (8m) and (8s).

2. The department of administration initially determines that the municipality will meet the requirements of s. 144.2415 (9) (b).

(e) 1. Except as provided under par. (f) and sub. (13), if a sufficient amount of subsidy is available under s. 144.2415 (3) (d) for the municipality's project, based on the calculation under s. 144.2415 (3) (i), when the department approves the application under par. (a), the department of administration shall allocate that amount to the project.

2. If a sufficient amount of subsidy is not available under s. 144.2415 (3) (d) for the municipality's project when the department approves the application under subd. 1., the department shall place the project on a list for allocation when additional subsidy becomes available.

(f) If the amount approved under s. 144.2415 (3) (d), the amount available under s. 20.866 (2) (tc) or the amount available under s. 144.2415 (4) (f) for a biennium is 85% or less of the amount of present value subsidy, general obligation bonding authority or revenue bonding authority, respectively, requested for that biennium in the biennial finance plan submitted under s. 144.2415 (3) (bm) 1., all of the following apply:

1. The department shall establish a funding list for each fiscal year of the biennium that ranks projects of municipalities that submit financial assistance applications under sub. (9) (a) no later than the June 30 preceding the fiscal year in the same order that they appear on the priority list under sub. (8e).

2. The department of administration shall allocate funding to projects in the order in which they appear on the funding list under subd. 1.

(fm) The department, in consultation with the department of administration, shall promulgate, by rule, methods to establish deadlines for actions that must be taken by a municipality to which subsidy has been allocated. The methods may provide for extending deadlines under specified circumstances. If a municipality fails to meet a deadline, including any extension, the department of administration shall release the amount of subsidy allocated to the municipality's project.

27,4237 Section 4237 . 144.241 (10) (title) of the statutes is renumbered 144.241 (8e) (title).

27,4238 Section 4238 . 144.241 (10) (a) of the statutes is renumbered 144.241 (8e), and 144.241 (8e) (intro.), as renumbered, is amended to read:

144.241 (8e) (intro.) The department shall establish a priority list under in accordance with 33 USC 1381 to 1387 which ranks each project. The ranking on the priority list shall be based on all of the following:

27,4239 Section 4239 . 144.241 (10) (b) of the statutes is repealed.

27,4240 Section 4240 . 144.241 (10) (c) to (f) of the statutes are repealed.

27,4241 Section 4241 . 144.241 (11) (title), (a) and (b) of the statutes are amended to read:

144.241 (11) (title) Approval Type of financial assistance. (a) The Except as provided in par. (b), the department of administration shall specify the method by which financial assistance is to be provided for each approved application that it approves. The methods by which the department may provide financial assistance are the methods specified under sub. (6) (b).

(b) For municipalities meeting the financial hardship assistance requirements under sub. (13), the department of natural resources may approve financial hardship assistance and shall specify the method by which it will provide financial hardship assistance, including but not limited to a combination of loans at or below the market rate and grants, deferred payment loans, state payment of the loan for a number of years, or longer amortization periods.

27,4242 Section 4242 . 144.241 (11) (c) of the statutes is renumbered 144.241 (9m) (d) and amended to read:

144.241 (9m) (d) The department may not approve financial assistance under this section and s. 144.2415 approve an application under par. (a) for a project that is not on the priority list under sub. (10) (a) (8e).

27,4243 Section 4243 . 144.241 (11) (d) of the statutes is renumbered 144.241 (9m) (g) and amended to read:

144.241 (9m) (g) In approving financial assistance under this section and s. 144.2415 allocating subsidy under this subsection, the department of administration shall adhere to the amount approved by the legislature for each biennium under s. 144.2415 (3) (d).

27,4247b Section 4247b. 144.241 (12) (c) of the statutes is repealed and recreated to read:

144.241 (12) (c) 1. Except as modified under par. (f), the interest rate for tier 1 projects is 50% of market interest rate.

2. Except as modified under par. (f), the interest rate for tier 2 projects is 70% of market interest rate.

3. The interest rate for tier 3 projects is market interest rate.

27,4251b Section 4251b. 144.241 (12) (d) of the statutes is repealed.

27,4252 Section 4252 . 144.241 (12) (f) of the statutes is amended to read:

144.241 (12) (f) The department and the department of administration jointly may request the joint committee on finance to take action under s. 13.101 (11) to modify the percentage of market interest rates established by rule for tier 1 and tier 2 projects.

27,4253b Section 4253b. 144.241 (13) of the statutes is repealed and recreated to read:

144.241 (13) Financial hardship assistance. (a) The department shall provide advance funding grants to fund a portion of the costs of preparing facility plans under sub. (8s) and project plans and specifications required under sub. (9) (a). The department shall approve an advance funding grant for a municipality if the median household income in the municipality is 80% or less of the median household income in this state. The amount of an advance funding grant for a facility plan is 50% of the cost of completing the facility plan, but not more than $20,000. The amount of an advance funding grant for project plans and specifications is 50% of the cost of completing plans and specifications but not more than $40,000.

(b) A municipality with an application that is approved under sub. (9m) is eligible for financial hardship assistance for the project costs that are eligible under this section and s. 144.2415, except for costs to which sub. (8) (b), (c), (f) or (h) applies, if the municipality meets all of the following criteria:

1. The median household income in the municipality is 80% or less of the median household income in this state.

2. The estimated total annual charges per residential user in the municipality that relate to wastewater treatment would exceed 2% of the median household income in the municipality without assistance under this subsection.

(c) The department shall provide assistance in the form of a grant of up to 90% of project costs that are eligible for financial hardship assistance under par. (b). The department shall provide a no-interest or low-interest loan for the remainder of those eligible costs so that estimated total annual charges per residential user in the municipality that relate to wastewater treatment do not exceed 2% of the median household income in the municipality, if possible. The department may not reduce the amount of financial hardship assistance for a municipality's project due to the municipality receiving assistance for the project from another source unless the combination of financial hardship assistance plus the assistance from the other source would reduce the estimated total annual charges per residential user in the municipality that relate to wastewater treatment to less than 2% of the median household income in the municipality.

(d) The department shall establish a financial hardship assistance funding list for each fiscal year that ranks projects of municipalities that are eligible under par. (b), and that submit complete financial assistance applications under sub. (9) (a) no later than June 30 of the preceding fiscal year, in the same order that they appear on the priority list under sub. (8e).

(e) In each fiscal year, the department shall allocate financial hardship assistance under this subsection in the following order:

1. Advance planning grants under par. (a).

2. Assistance under par. (b) for projects that were on a funding list under par. (d) for a prior fiscal year, that have not previously received funding and that were in the top 20% of projects on the priority list under sub. (8e) for the prior fiscal year, starting with projects on the funding list for the earliest fiscal year.

3. Assistance under par. (b) for projects on the current fiscal year's funding list under par. (d) in the order that they appear on the funding list.

(f) The department shall promulgate, by rule, a formula for estimating operating, maintenance and replacement costs for determining estimated wastewater treatment user charges under this subsection.

27,4254 Section 4254 . 144.241 (13m) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:

144.241 (13m) (b) Grants provided under this subsection are not included for the purposes of determining under sub. (8) (i) the amount that a municipality may receive for projects under this section and s. 144.2415. Grants awarded under this subsection are not considered for the purposes of sub. (11) (d) (9m) (e) or s. 144.2415 (3) (d).

27,4255 Section 4255 . 144.241 (14) (b) 1. of the statutes is amended to read:

144.241 (14) (b) 1. Establish a dedicated source of revenue, that is acceptable to the department of administration under s. 144.2415 (9) (am) and (b), for the repayment of any financial assistance.

27,4257 Section 4257 . 144.241 (14) (b) 8. of the statutes is repealed.

27,4258 Section 4258 . 144.241 (15) (a) (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:

144.241 (15) (a) (intro.) Subject to pars. (b) and (c), the The department shall and the department of administration may, at the request of a municipality, issue a notice of financial assistance commitment to a the municipality within 90 days after all of the following occur:

27,4259 Section 4259 . 144.241 (15) (a) 1. of the statutes is repealed and recreated to read:

144.241 (15) (a) 1. The department approves the municipality's application under sub. (9m) (a) and the department of administration has allocated subsidy for the municipality's project.

27,4261 Section 4261 . 144.241 (15) (a) 3. of the statutes is repealed.

27,4262 Section 4262. 144.241 (15) (am) of the statutes is amended to read:

144.241 (15) (am) The notice of financial assistance commitment shall include the conditions that the municipality must meet to secure the financial assistance and shall include the estimated loan payment and repayment schedules, as determined by the department and the department of administration, and other terms of the financial assistance.

27,4263 Section 4263 . 144.241 (15) (b) of the statutes is repealed.

27,4264 Section 4264 . 144.241 (15) (c) of the statutes is renumbered 144.241 (9m) (c) and amended to read:

144.241 (9m) (c) The department may issue a notice of financial assistance commitment to a municipality approve an application under par. (a) in a year only after the amount under s. 144.2415 (3) (d) for the biennium in which that year falls has been approved by the legislature under s. 144.2415 (3) (d).