281.57(1)(1) Legislative intent. The legislature finds that state financial assistance for facility planning, engineering design and construction of point source pollution abatement facilities is a public purpose and a proper state government function in that the state is the trustee of the waters of the state and that this financial assistance is necessary to protect the purity of state waters. In order that facility planning, engineering design and construction of point source pollution abatement facilities necessary to the protection of state waters be encouraged, a state program of assistance to municipalities for the financing of these activities is established. The legislature further finds that in order for the construction of point source pollution abatement facilities to proceed in an expeditious manner it is appropriate to meet the costs through the issuance of public debt, extending the financial obligation incurred over a generation of beneficiaries of these facilities.

281.57(2)(2) Administration; rules. The state’s point source pollution abatement program shall be administered by the department. The department shall make such rules as are necessary for the proper execution of the program.

281.57(3)(a)(a) “Federal act” means the federal water pollution control act P.L. 92-500, as amended.

281.57(3)(b)(b) “Point source pollution abatement facilities” means those facilities eligible for financial assistance under title II of the federal act.

281.57(3)(c)(c) “State program” means the program of financial assistance for point source pollution abatement established under this section.

281.57(4)(a)(a) The department shall, by rule, specify criteria for determining eligible municipalities and projects for funding by grants under this section. Where a municipality is serviced by more than one sewerage district for wastewater pollution abatement, each service area of the municipality shall be considered as a separate municipality for purposes of obtaining financial assistance under the state program. Except as provided in this subsection, the department shall promulgate rules which specify criteria for determining eligible participants and projects which comply with the federal act and rules promulgated under the federal act.

281.57(4)(b)1.a.a. A collection system in an unsewered municipality which is constructing a new wastewater treatment plant and collection system rehabilitation which is necessary to maintain the total integrity of a sewerage system.

281.57(4)(b)1.b.b. A collection system which the department orders under s. 281.43 (1) notwithstanding the outcome of the annexation referendum under s. 281.43 (1m). Notwithstanding sub. (7) (a) and any rules promulgated under this section, the department shall award funding under this subd. 1. b. in an amount that totals 60 percent of all costs of the project, rather than of eligible costs of the project.

281.57(4)(b)1.c.c. A collection system in an unsewered community which is being connected to an existing wastewater treatment plant if the municipality applied to the department under sub. (5) for financial assistance on or after January 1, 1986, and the municipality received, before January 1, 1987, a notice under sub. (6) that the department was ready to allocate funds to the municipality.

281.57(4)(b)2.2. Funding may not be provided for that portion of any project related to industrial capacity that is defined under 33 USC 1284 (b) (1), as amended on May 16, 1978, as subject to industrial cost recovery. Notwithstanding the federal act and regulations promulgated under that act, the state program does not require an industrial cost recovery system.

281.57(4)(b)3.3. The amount of reserve capacity for treatment works eligible for grant assistance is limited to that future capacity required to serve the users of the treatment works expected to exist within the service area of the project 10 years from the time the treatment works are estimated to become operational or, in the case of interceptor sewers and associated appurtenances, the estimated date of operation. The department, in consultation with the demographic services center in the department of administration under s. 16.96, shall promulgate rules defining procedures for projecting population used in determining the amount of reserve capacity.

281.57(4)(c)1.1. Every applicant seeking grants for construction purposes under this section shall complete a staged facility planning, engineering design and environmental analysis sequence developed by the department. The department shall model the required sequence after the staged planning, design and environmental analysis sequence under title II of the federal act.

281.57(4)(c)2.2. If sources of funding for the facility planning prescribed under this paragraph are not available for these activities, grants provided under this section may pay 50 percent of the cost of facility planning.

281.57(4)(c)3.3. If sources of funding for the engineering design prescribed under this paragraph are not available for these activities, grants provided under this section may pay 75 percent of the cost of engineering design activities.

281.57(4)(c)4.4. Engineering design cost grants made from the appropriation under s. 20.866 (2) (tn) shall be awarded at the time a construction grant is awarded and may be awarded only if an advance commitment for reimbursement is made under sub. (9m).

281.57(4)(d)(d) If a project funded under this section fails, the department may not require the recipient of the grant to reimburse the department for costs determined to be eligible under this section if all of the following apply:

281.57(4)(d)1.1. The applicant initiates legal action and pursues the action to completion, unless the department agrees otherwise, to recover costs from parties potentially liable for the project’s failure and the legal action is not resolved before May 11, 1990.

281.57(5)(5) Application. Municipalities which desire to participate in the financial assistance program under this section shall submit an application for participation to the department. The application shall be in such form and include such information as the department prescribes. The department shall review applications for participation in the state program. It shall determine those applications which meet the criteria it established under sub. (4).

281.57(6)(a)(a) Each municipality shall notify the department of its intent to apply for a grant under this section by January 1 of each year. For those municipalities that notify the department by January 1, the department shall annually compile a funding list which ranks these municipalities in the same order as they appear on the federal priority list, prepared under the federal act, as of January 1 of each year. Except as provided in sub. (7) (c) 4., if there is not sufficient funding available under this section to fund all grant applications in one year, the department shall allocate available funding to projects in the order in which they appear on the funding list. The department shall not allocate funds to a municipality that is on the funding list in a particular year if the municipality is not ready to begin construction within 3 months of the time when the department is ready to allocate the funds, and the municipality can reasonably expect to receive funds under the federal program within 12 months of the time when the department is ready to allocate the funds.