2023 WISCONSIN ACT 265
An Act to create 323.63 of the statutes; relating to: a pre-disaster flood resilience grant program.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do enact as follows:
265,1Section 1. 323.63 of the statutes is created to read: 323.63 Pre-disaster flood resilience grant program. (1) Definitions. In this section:
(a) “Assessment grant” means a grant awarded under sub. (3).
(b) “Implementation grant” means a grant awarded under sub. (4).
(c) “Local governmental unit” means any city, village, town, county, regional planning commission, or federally recognized American Indian tribe or band in this state.
(d) “Program” means the pre-disaster flood resilience grant program described in sub. (2) (a).
(2) Creation and administration. (a) The division shall create and administer a pre-disaster flood resilience grant program to provide grants to applicants for the purpose of identifying flood vulnerabilities, identifying options to improve flood resiliency, and restoring hydrology in order to reduce flood risk and damages in flood-prone communities.
(b) The program shall provide grants as described in subs. (3) and (4), and shall establish an annual grant cycle.
(c) In each fiscal biennium, for each dollar the program awards for an assessment grant under sub. (3), the program may award no more than 67 percent of a dollar for an implementation grant under sub. (4).
(3) Assessment grants. (a) Assessment grants awarded under this subsection shall support applicants’ generation and gathering of information on vulnerabilities and identification of flood resilience priorities on a watershed, catchment, or stream reach-scale through one or more of the following activities:
1. Assessments aimed at understanding flood flows and erosion hazards and vulnerabilities and identifying opportunities to increase flood resilience, including opportunities to restore wetland, stream, and floodplain hydrology.
2. Development of culvert inventories using the Great Lakes Stream Crossing Inventory, or using another road-stream crossing inventory method that considers structural risk factors, aquatic organism passage, and upstream hydrologic conditions, and that is at least as effective as the Great Lakes Stream Crossing Inventory.
3. Conducting hydrologic and hydraulic studies that help develop hydrologic models.
(b) Data generated from activities under par. (a) may not be deemed proprietary and shall be provided to entities that develop local hazard mitigation plans.
(c) The division may award an assessment grant of up to $300,000 for any combination of activities enumerated in par. (a). An assessment grant awarded under this subsection shall be for a maximum of 75 percent of the total anticipated project cost, and the assessment grant recipient shall secure the remaining funding. The remaining funding secured by the assessment grant recipient or local governmental unit may include the value of in-kind contributions, including goods and services and administrative costs.
(d) An assessment grant application shall include the following information:
1. Written documentation from the local governmental unit’s main decision-authorizing body indicating that the body has authorized the local governmental unit’s participation in the grant project.
2. Written documentation from the local governmental unit’s body responsible for expending the local governmental unit’s funds indicating the body of the local governmental unit’s commitment or intention to expend funds or provide in-kind contributions for the grant project.
3. Information detailing all sources of funding for the project that will not be covered by the grant award under this subsection.
(4) Implementation grants. (a) Implementation grants awarded under this subsection shall be used for implementation of hydrologic restoration projects that have been either identified or designed through an activity specified under sub. (3) (a), or through a comparable assessment process, as determined by the division. Implementation grants awarded under this subsection shall support the regulatory coordination, engineering and design, construction, or post-construction monitoring of an applicant’s hydrologic restoration project that reconnects streams and floodplains, reestablishes healthy channel form and condition, mitigates erosion hazards, removes or reduces wetland drainage, restores or improves natural flow and movement of water or sediment, or reestablishes vegetation to support site stability and help manage flow and infiltration.
(b) The maximum amount of an implementation grant award under this subsection shall be $250,000. An implementation grant awarded under this subsection shall be for a maximum of 75 percent of the total anticipated project cost, and the implementation grant recipient shall secure the remaining funding. The remaining funding secured by the assessment grant recipient or local governmental unit may include the value of in-kind contributions, including goods and services and administrative costs.
(c) An implementation grant application shall include the following information:
1. Written documentation from the local governmental unit’s main decision-authorizing body indicating that the body has authorized the local governmental unit’s participation in the grant project.
2. Written documentation from the local governmental unit’s body responsible for expending the local governmental unit’s funds indicating the body of the local governmental unit’s commitment or intention to expend funds or provide in-kind contributions for the grant project.
3. Information detailing all sources of funding for the project that will not be covered by the grant award under this subsection.
(5) Eligibility. (a) The following persons are eligible to apply for a grant under this section:
1. One or more local governmental units.
2. A nonprofit organization applying on behalf of one or more local governmental units.
3. A private consulting organization applying on behalf of one or more local governmental units.
(b) The division may consider an application for a grant under this section only if one of the following applies:
1. The application includes in its project area an area that has been the site of a presidentially declared disaster for flooding at any time in the 10 years preceding the applicable grant cycle.
2. The application includes in its project area an area that has previously been the site of a governor-issued state of emergency for flooding at any time in the 10 years preceding the applicable grant cycle.
3. The application is for a local governmental unit that has a division-approved hazard mitigation plan that identifies localized exposure to flood risk.
(6) Grant recipient requirements. (a) 1. A grant recipient shall spend all of the grant money received from the program under this section on the project described in the grant application within 2 years of receiving the grant money.
2. Notwithstanding subd. 1., the division may extend the time by which a grant recipient shall spend all of the grant money received from the program under this section to match a timeline requirement of a federal grant.
(b) A grant recipient shall provide to the division a report within 90 days of completion of the grant project, or 2 years after receiving the grant money, whichever occurs first. The report shall summarize project goals, activities conducted with the grant, and data and other observations demonstrating progress-to-date toward project goals.
(7) Powers and duties. (a) The division shall develop methods for evaluating grant applications and shall consider all of the following in evaluating a grant application:
1. The extent to which the project area has been subject to, or is upstream from areas that have been subject to, repetitive flooding and erosion damage.
2. The extent to which the project demonstrates a cost-effective basis for the proposed actions.
3. The extent to which the project has a clear plan for demonstrating measurable results.
4. For assessment grant applications, the extent to which the project will generate data useful for updates to hazard mitigation plans, land and water resource management plans, or other local watershed plans or priorities.
5. Other criteria that help prioritize projects with the most beneficial impacts, as developed by the division.
(b) The division shall establish by policy grant application requirements, including requirements relating to project narratives, scopes of work, budgeting information, supporting documentation, and project timelines.
(c) The division may consult with other state agencies on the administration of the program or the review of grant applications.
(d) The division shall make publicly available on the division’s website each report received under sub. (6) (b).
(e) 1. Except as provided in subd. 2., no later than July 1, 2024, and annually thereafter, the division shall submit a report to the governor and the appropriate standing committees of the legislature under s. 13.172 (3). The report shall describe program activities and accomplishments of the preceding fiscal year, list the grant recipients and grants awarded, and make a recommendation on program continuation and funding levels.
2. A report under subd. 1. is not required in any year in which there are no moneys appropriated to the department for the grant programs under this section for the preceding fiscal year and all moneys that have been appropriated to the department for the grant programs under this section in any previous fiscal year have been expended and have previously been the subject of a report under subd. 1.
