281.58(8m)(a)(a) A municipality shall submit notice to the department of its intent to apply for financial assistance under this section and
s. 281.59. A municipality shall submit the notice at least 6 months before the beginning of the fiscal year in which it will request to receive financial assistance. The notice shall be in a form prescribed by the department and the department of administration.
281.58(8m)(c)
(c) The department may waive
par. (a) upon the written request of a municipality.
281.58(8s)
(8s) Facility plan. A municipality seeking financial assistance for a project under this section shall complete a facility plan as required by the department by rule.
281.58(9)(a)(a) After the department approves a municipality's facility plan submitted under
sub. (8s), the municipality 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. The department shall review applications for participation in the clean water fund program. The department shall determine which applications meet the eligibility requirements and criteria under
subs. (6),
(7),
(8),
(8m) and
(13).
281.58(9)(ae)
(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 design plans and specifications.
281.58(9)(am)
(am) A municipality may not submit more than one application under
par. (a) for any single project in any 12-month period except that this paragraph does not apply to applications for financial assistance for additional costs of an approved project.
281.58(9)(b)
(b) A municipality seeking financial assistance for a project under the clean water fund program shall complete an environmental analysis sequence as required by the department by rule.
281.58(9)(c)
(c) If a municipality is serviced by more than one sewerage district for wastewater pollution abatement, each service area of the municipality shall be considered a separate municipality for purposes of obtaining financial assistance under the clean water fund program.
281.58(9)(d)
(d) The department of administration and the department jointly may charge and collect service fees, established by rule, which shall cover the estimated costs of reviewing and acting upon the application and servicing the financial assistance agreement. No service fee established by rule under this paragraph may be charged to or collected from an applicant for financial assistance under
s. 281.59 (13).
281.58(9)(e)
(e) If the department of natural resources and the department of administration determine that the governor's recommendation, as set forth in the executive budget bill, for the amount under
s. 281.59 (3e) (b), the amount available under
s. 20.866 (2) (tc), or the amount available under
s. 281.59 (4) (f) for a biennium is insufficient to provide funding for all projects for which applications will be approved during that biennium, the department shall inform municipalities that, if the governor's recommendations are approved, clean water fund program assistance during a fiscal year of that biennium will be available only to municipalities that submit financial assistance applications by the June 30 preceding that fiscal year.
281.58(9)(f)
(f) The fees collected under
par. (d) shall be credited to the environmental improvement fund.
281.58(9m)
(9m) Acceptance of application; allocation of funding. 281.58(9m)(a)(a) Subject to
pars. (c) and
(d), the department shall approve an application after all of the following occur:
281.58(9m)(a)1.
1. The department determines that the project meets the eligibility requirements and criteria under
subs. (7),
(8),
(8m) and
(8s).
281.58(9m)(c)
(c) The department may approve an application under
par. (a) in a year only after the amount under
s. 281.59 (3e) (b) for the biennium in which that year falls has been approved by the legislature under
s. 281.59 (3e) (b).
281.58(9m)(d)
(d) The department may not approve an application under
par. (a) for a project that is not on the priority list under
sub. (8e).
281.58(9m)(e)1.1. Except as provided under
par. (f) and
sub. (13), if a sufficient amount of subsidy is available under
s. 281.59 (3e) (b) for the municipality's project, based on the calculation under
s. 281.59 (3e) (f), when the department approves the application under
par. (a), the department of administration shall allocate that amount to the project.
281.58(9m)(e)2.
2. If a sufficient amount of subsidy is not available under
s. 281.59 (3e) (b) 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.
281.58(9m)(f)
(f) If the department of natural resources and the department of administration determine that the amount approved under
s. 281.59 (3e) (b), the amount available under
s. 20.866 (2) (tc), or the amount available under
s. 281.59 (4) (f) for a biennium is insufficient to provide funding for all projects for which applications will be approved during that biennium, all of the following apply:
281.58(9m)(f)1.
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).
281.58(9m)(f)2.
2. The department of administration shall allocate funding to projects in the order in which they appear on the funding list under
subd. 1.
281.58(9m)(fm)
(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.
281.58(9m)(g)
(g) In allocating subsidy under this subsection, the department of administration shall adhere to the amount approved by the legislature for each biennium under
s. 281.59 (3e) (b).
281.58(11)(a)(a) 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.
281.58(11)(b)
(b) For municipalities meeting the financial hardship assistance requirements under
sub. (13), the department of natural resources may approve financial hardship assistance.
281.58(12)(a)1.1. Except as modified under
par. (f) and except as restricted by
sub. (8) (b),
(c),
(f) or
(h), the interest rate for projects specified in
sub. (7) (b) 1. and
2. is 60 percent of market interest rate for projects for which the subsidy is allocated from the amount under
s. 281.59 (3e) (b) for a biennium before the 2011-13 biennium and 75 percent of market interest rate for projects for which the subsidy is allocated from the amount under
s. 281.59 (3e) (b) for the 2011-13 biennium or later.
281.58(12)(a)2.
2. Except as modified under
par. (f) and except as restricted by
sub. (8) (b),
(c),
(f) or
(h), the interest rate for projects specified in
sub. (7) (b) 5. is 65 percent of market interest rate for projects for which the subsidy is allocated from the amount under
s. 281.59 (3e) (b) for a biennium before the 2011-13 biennium and 75 percent of market interest rate for projects for which the subsidy is allocated from the amount under
s. 281.59 (3e) (b) for the 2011-13 biennium or later.
281.58(12)(a)3.
3. Except as modified under
par. (f) and except as restricted by
sub. (8) (b),
(c),
(f) or
(h), the interest rate for projects specified in
sub. (7) (b) 4. is 70 percent of market interest rate for projects for which the subsidy is allocated from the amount under
s. 281.59 (3e) (b) for a biennium before the 2011-13 biennium and 75 percent of market interest rate for projects for which the subsidy is allocated from the amount under
s. 281.59 (3e) (b) for the 2011-13 biennium or later.
281.58(12)(a)5.
5. Notwithstanding
subd. 1., the interest rate for the portion of a project that provides facilities for receiving and storing septage and capacity for treating septage is zero percent.
281.58(12)(c)
(c) The department and the department of administration shall attempt to ensure all of the following:
281.58(12)(c)1.
1. That increases in all state water pollution abatement general obligation debt service costs do not exceed 4% annually.
281.58(12)(c)2.
2. That state water pollution abatement general obligation debt service costs are not greater than 50% of all general obligation debt service costs in any fiscal year.
281.58(12)(f)
(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 rate established in
par. (a) 1.
281.58(13)(b)(b) A municipality with an application that is approved under
sub. (9m) is eligible for state financial hardship assistance for the project costs that are eligible under the clean water fund program, except for costs to which
sub. (8) (b),
(c),
(f) or
(h) applies, if the municipality meets all of the following criteria:
281.58(13)(b)1.
1. The median household income in the municipality is 80% or less of the median household income in this state.
281.58(13)(b)2.
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.
281.58(13)(c)
(c) The department shall provide assistance 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.
281.58(13)(cm)
(cm) The amount and type of assistance to be provided to a municipality that receives state financial hardship assistance shall be determined under rules promulgated by the department.
281.58(13)(d)
(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).
281.58(13)(e)
(e) In each fiscal year, the department shall allocate financial hardship assistance under this subsection in the following order:
281.58(13)(e)2.
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.
281.58(13)(e)3.
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.
281.58(13)(f)
(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.
281.58(13m)
(13m) Minority business development and training program. 281.58(13m)(a)(a) The department shall make grants to projects that are eligible for financial assistance under the clean water fund program and that are identified as being part of the minority business development and training program under
s. 200.49 (2) (b).
281.58(13m)(b)
(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 the clean water fund program. Grants awarded under this subsection are not considered for the purposes of
sub. (9m) (e) or
s. 281.59 (3e) (b).
281.58(14)
(14) Conditions of financial assistance. 281.58(14)(b)(b) As a condition of receiving financial assistance under the clean water fund program, a municipality shall do all of the following:
281.58(14)(b)1.
1. Establish a dedicated source of revenue, that is acceptable to the department of administration under
s. 281.59 (9) (am) and
(b), for the repayment of any financial assistance.
281.58(14)(b)5.
5. Develop and adopt a program of water conservation as required by the department.
281.58(14)(b)6.
6. Develop and adopt a program of systemwide operation and maintenance of the treatment work, including the training of personnel, as required by the department.
281.58(14)(b)7.
7. Develop and adopt a system of equitable user charges to ensure that each recipient of treatment work services pays its proportionate share of the costs of the operation and maintenance of the treatment work. The user fee system shall be in compliance with
33 USC 1284 (b) and the regulations promulgated thereunder. The department may issue an exemption from the requirement imposed under this subdivision if a city or village imposes a system of equitable dedicated charges based upon assessed property values, if the city or village does not operate a treatment work but is served by a regional wastewater treatment plant operated by a metropolitan sewerage district created under
ss. 200.21 to
200.65 and if the user charges imposed by that district are approved by the department and comply with
33 USC 1284 (b). The department may provide that the system of user charges for a project with estimated construction costs of $750,000 or less need only cover the costs of debt service and equipment replacement funds.
281.58(15)(a)(a) The department and the department of administration may, at the request of a municipality, issue a notice of financial assistance commitment to the municipality after the department approves the municipality's application under
sub. (9m) (a) and the department of administration has allocated subsidy for the municipality's project.
281.58(15)(am)
(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 repayment schedules and other terms of the financial assistance.
281.58(21)
(21) Construction. This section shall be liberally construed in aid of the purposes of this section.
281.58 Cross-reference
Cross-reference: See also ch.
NR 162, Wis. adm. code.
281.58 Note
NOTE: 2005 Wis. Act 347, which affected this section, contains extensive explanatory notes.
281.59
281.59
Environmental improvement fund; financial management. 281.59(1)(ag)
(ag) "Clean water fund program" means the program administered under
s. 281.58, with financial management provided under this section.
281.59(1)(as)
(as) "Land recycling loan program" means the program administered under
s. 281.60, with financial management provided under this section.
281.59(1)(b)
(b) "Market interest rate" means the effective interest rate on a fixed-rate revenue obligation issued by the state to fund a loan made under this section or, for a variable rate obligation, the effective interest rate that the department of administration determines would have been paid if the variable rate obligation had been sold at a fixed rate.
281.59(1)(c)
(c) "Municipality" means any city, town, village, county, county utility district, town sanitary district, public inland lake protection and rehabilitation district, metropolitan sewerage district or federally recognized American Indian tribe or band in this state.
281.59(1)(cm)
(cm) "Safe drinking water loan program" means the program administered under
s. 281.61, with financial management provided under this section.
281.59(1)(d)
(d) "Subsidy" means the amounts provided from the environmental improvement fund to clean water fund program, safe drinking water loan program and land recycling loan program projects for the following purposes:
281.59(1)(d)1.
1. To reduce the interest rate of clean water fund program, safe drinking water loan program and land recycling loan program loans from market rate to a subsidized rate.
281.59(1)(d)2.
2. For the clean water fund program only, to provide for financial hardship assistance, including grants.
281.59(1)(f)
(f) "Violator of an effluent limitation" means a person or municipality that after May 17, 1988, is not in substantial compliance with the enforceable requirements of its permit issued under
ch. 283 for a reason that the department determines is or has been within the control of the person or municipality.
281.59(1m)(a)(a) There is established a clean water fund program, administered under
s. 281.58, with financial management provided under this section.
281.59(1m)(b)
(b) There is established a safe drinking water loan program, administered under
s. 281.61, with financial management provided under this section.
281.59(1m)(c)
(c) There is established a private on-site wastewater treatment system replacement and rehabilitation loan program, administered under
s. 145.245 (12m).
281.59(2)
(2) General duties. The department of administration shall:
281.59(2)(b)
(b) Cooperate with the department in administering the clean water fund program, the safe drinking water loan program and the land recycling loan program.
