Chapter 281

281.59(9)(b)1. 1. Pledge the security, if any, required by the rules promulgated by the department of administration under this section and s. 281.58 or 281.61.

281.59(9)(b)2. 2. Demonstrate to the satisfaction of the department of administration the financial capacity to assure sufficient revenues to operate and maintain the project for its useful life and to pay the debt service on the obligations that it issues for the project.

281.59(11) (11) Financial assistance payments.

281.59(11)(a) (a) The department of natural resources and the department of administration may enter into a financial assistance agreement with an applicant for which the department of administration has allocated financial assistance under s. 281.58 (9m) or 281.61 (8) if the applicant meets the conditions under sub. (9) and the other requirements under this section and s. 281.58 or 281.61.

281.59(11)(am) (am) The department of administration shall make the financial assistance payments to an applicant that has entered into a financial assistance agreement under par. (a) or to the applicant’s designated agent.

281.59(11)(b) (b) If a municipality fails to make a principal repayment or interest payment after its due date, the department of administration shall place on file a certified statement of all amounts due under this section and s. 281.58 or 281.61 or s. 281.60, 2021 stats. After consulting the department, the department of administration may collect all amounts due by deducting those amounts from any state payments due the municipality or may add a special charge to the amount of taxes apportioned to and levied upon the county under s. 70.60. If the department of administration collects amounts due, it shall remit those amounts to the fund to which they are due and notify the department of that action.

281.59(11)(c) (c) The department of administration may retain the last payment under a financial assistance agreement until the department of natural resources and the department of administration determine that the project is completed and meets the applicable requirements of this section and s. 281.58 or 281.61 or s. 281.60, 2021 stats., and that the conditions of the financial assistance agreement are met.

281.59(12) (12) Municipal obligations. The department of administration may purchase or refinance obligations specified in s. 281.58 (6) (b) 1. and guarantee or purchase insurance for municipal obligations specified in s. 281.58 (6) (b) 3. if the department of administration and the department of natural resources approve the financial assistance under this section and s. 281.58.

281.59(13) (13) Loans for transition projects.

281.59(13)(a) (a)

281.59(13)(a)1. 1. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section and s. 281.58, a municipality that submits to the department by January 2, 1989, a facility plan meeting the requirements of s. 281.57 which is approvable under this chapter and that does not receive a grant award before July 1, 1990, only because the municipality is following a schedule contained in the facility plan and approved by the department and the municipality is in compliance with all applicable schedules contained in a permit issued under ch. 283 or because there are insufficient grant funds under s. 281.57, is eligible to receive financial assistance under this paragraph. The form of the financial assistance is a loan with an interest rate of 2.5 percent per year except that s. 281.58 (8) (b), (f) and (k) applies to projects receiving financial assistance under this paragraph.

281.59(13)(a)2. 2. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section or s. 281.58, the department shall make all loans under subd. 1. to municipalities ready to construct treatment works before the department provides or approves any other financial assistance under this section except for loans under par. (b).

281.59(13)(b) (b)

281.59(13)(b)1. 1. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section or s. 281.58, an unsewered municipality is eligible to receive financial assistance under this paragraph, in the form of a loan with an interest rate of 2.5 percent per year, which may be for original financing or refinancing for a collection system that is ineligible for financial assistance under s. 281.57 because of s. 281.57 (4) (b) 1. and that is being connected to an existing wastewater treatment plant if all of the following apply:

281.59(13)(b)1.a. a. The municipality applies to the department for financial assistance under s. 281.57 (5) for a construction project during 1988.

281.59(13)(b)1.b. b. Before January 1, 1989, the department issues a notice under s. 281.57 (6) that the department is ready to allocate funds to the municipality for the project.

281.59(13)(b)1.c. c. The municipality invites bids for the project in 1989.

281.59(13)(b)1.d. d. The municipality receives a grant under s. 281.57 for the construction of the project from the list developed by the department under s. 281.57 (6) (a) for applications received in 1988.

281.59(13)(b)1m. 1m. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section or s. 281.58, a town sanitary district is eligible to receive financial assistance under this paragraph, in the form of a loan with an interest rate of 2.5 percent per year, for the extension of a collection system into an unsewered area that is added to the sanitary district if all of the following apply:

281.59(13)(b)1m.a. a. The department has awarded a grant to the town sanitary district under s. 281.57 (4) (b) 1. c. for a collection system.

281.59(13)(b)1m.b. b. The department determines that extension of the collection system into the unsewered area is necessary and cost-effective.

281.59(13)(b)1m.c. c. The sanitary district invites bids for and begins construction of the extension of the collection system before January 1, 1990.

281.59(13)(b)2. 2. Section 281.58 (8) (b), (f) and (k) applies to projects receiving financial assistance under this paragraph.

281.59(13)(b)3. 3. Notwithstanding any provision of this section or s. 281.58, the department shall annually allocate funds for loans under subds. 1. and 1m. before the department provides or approves any other financial assistance under this section or s. 281.58.

281.59(13)(e) (e) The department of administration and the department may not make loans under s. 144.241 (20), 1987 stats., as affected by 1989 Wisconsin Acts 31, 336 and 366, or under this subsection to a metropolitan sewerage district that serves a 1st class city that total more than $230,900,000.

281.59(13f) (13f) Municipal funding of financial assistance. Subject to the terms and conditions of its financial assistance agreement, a municipality may repay financial assistance costs received from the clean water fund program under s. 281.58 and under this section by any lawful method, including any one of the following methods or any combination of the methods:

281.59(13f)(a) (a) Payment out of its general funds.

281.59(13f)(b) (b) Payment out of the proceeds of the sale of obligations issued by it under ch. 67.

281.59(13f)(c) (c) Payment out of the proceeds of the sale of public improvement bonds issued by it under s. 66.0619.

281.59(13f)(d) (d) Payment out of the proceeds of revenue obligations issued by it under s. 66.0621.

281.59(13f)(e) (e) Payment as provided under s. 66.0709.

281.59(13f)(f) (f) Payment as provided under s. 66.0821 (2) (a) 1.

281.59(13m) (13m) Legislative moral obligation. The building commission may, at the time the loan is made, by resolution designate a loan made under the clean water fund program as one to which this subsection applies. If at any time the payments received or expected to be received from a municipality on any loan so designated are pledged to secure revenue obligations of the state issued pursuant to subch. II of ch. 18 and are insufficient to pay when due principal of and interest on such loan, the department of administration shall certify the amount of such insufficiency to the secretary of administration, the governor and the joint committee on finance. If the certification is received by the secretary of administration in an even-numbered year before the completion of the budget under s. 16.43, the secretary of administration shall include the certified amount in the budget compilation. In any event, the joint committee on finance shall introduce in either house, in bill form, an appropriation of the amount so requested for the purpose of payment of the revenue obligation secured thereby. Recognizing its moral obligation to do so, the legislature hereby expresses its expectation and aspiration that, if ever called upon to do so, it shall make the appropriation.

281.59(13s) (13s) Powers. The department of administration may audit, or contract for audits of, projects receiving financial assistance under the clean water fund program or the safe drinking water loan program or projects that received loans under s. 281.60, 2021 stats.

281.59(14) (14) Rules. The department of administration shall promulgate rules that are necessary for the proper execution of this section and of its responsibilities under ss. 281.58 and 281.61 and s. 281.60, 2021 stats.

281.59(15) (15) Construction. This section shall be liberally construed in aid of the purposes of this section.

281.59 History History: 1989 a. 366 ss. 40, 63, 65, 66, 97, 99, 106, 108 to 110, 115; 1991 a. 32, 39, 189, 315; 1993 a. 16; 1995 a. 27; 1995 a. 227 s. 426; Stats. 1995 s. 281.59; 1995 a. 452; 1997 a. 27, 237; 1999 a. 9; 1999 a. 150 s. 374, 672; 2001 a. 16; 2003 a. 33; 2005 a. 25; 2007 a. 20; 2009 a. 28; 2011 a. 32, 146, 261; 2013 a. 12, 20; 2015 a. 55; 2017 a. 59; 2019 a. 9; 2021 a. 58; 2023 a. 6, 19.

281.59 Cross-reference Cross-reference: See also ch. NR 166, Wis. adm. code.

281.605 281.605 Outstanding loans under the former land recycling loan program. Section 281.60 (8m), 2021 stats., s. 281.60 (11), 2021 stats., s. 281.60 (11m), 2021 stats., s. 281.60 (13) (c), 2021 stats., s. 281.60 (13) (d), 2021 stats., s. 281.60 (13) (f), 2021 stats., and s. 281.60 (13) (h), 2021 stats., shall continue to apply to any outstanding loans made under the former land recycling loan program under s. 281.60, 2021 stats.

281.605 History History: 2023 a. 6.

281.61 281.61 Safe drinking water loan program.

281.61(1) (1) Definitions. In this section:

281.61(1)(ag) (ag) “Community water system” means a public water system that serves at least 15 service connections used by year-round residents or that regularly serves at least 25 year-round residents.

281.61(1)(am) (am) “Local governmental unit” means a city, village, town, county, town sanitary district, public inland lake protection and rehabilitation district, joint local water authority created under s. 66.0823, or municipal water district.

281.61(1)(b) (b) “Market interest rate” has the meaning given in s. 281.59 (1) (b).

281.61(1)(c) (c) “Public water system” means a water system providing piped water to the public for human consumption if the water system has at least 15 service connections or regularly serves an average of at least 25 individuals daily for at least 60 days each year.

281.61(1)(d) (d) “Safe drinking water loan program” means the program administered under this section, with financial management provided under s. 281.59.

281.61(2) (2) General. The department and the department of administration shall administer a program to provide financial assistance to local governmental units and to the private owners of community water systems that serve local governmental units for projects for the planning, designing, construction or modification of public water systems, if the projects will facilitate compliance with national primary drinking water regulations under 42 USC 300g-1 or otherwise significantly further the health protection objectives of the Safe Drinking Water Act, 42 USC 300f to 300j-26.

281.61(2g) (2g) Ineligible projects. A local governmental unit or the private owner of a community water system that serves a local governmental unit is not eligible for financial assistance under this section if the local governmental unit or the private owner of the community water system that serves a local governmental unit does not have the technical, managerial or financial capacity to ensure compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act, 42 USC 300f to 300j-26, or the public water system operated by the local governmental unit or private owner of the community water system that serves a local governmental unit is in significant noncompliance with any requirement of a primary drinking water regulation or variance under 42 USC 300g-1 unless the financial assistance will ensure compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act.

281.61(2r) (2r) Methods of providing financial assistance. The following methods of providing financial assistance may be used under the safe drinking water loan program:

281.61(2r)(a) (a) Making loans below the market interest rate for projects described in sub. (2).

281.61(2r)(b) (b) Purchasing or refinancing the obligation of a local governmental unit or private owner of a community water system that serves a local governmental unit if the obligation was incurred to finance the cost of a project described in sub. (2) and the obligation was initially incurred after July 1, 1993.

281.61(2r)(c) (c) Guaranteeing, or purchasing insurance for, obligations incurred to finance the cost of projects described in sub. (2) if the guarantee or insurance will provide credit market access or reduce interest rates.

281.61(2r)(d) (d) Providing payments to the board of commissioners of public lands to reduce principal or interest payments, or both, on loans made to local governmental units under subch. II of ch. 24 by the board of commissioners of public lands for projects that are eligible for financial assistance under the safe drinking water loan program.

281.61(2r)(e) (e) Using funds received as federal capitalization grants under 42 USC 300j-12, any other method that is consistent with the federal program for safe drinking water state loan funds under 42 USC 300j-12 or any other federal law providing funding for or otherwise relating to that program, except that funds received as federal capitalization grants may not be used to provide principal forgiveness to a private owner of a community water system.

281.61(4) (4) Engineering report. The department may require a local governmental unit or private owner of a community water system that serves a local governmental unit seeking financial assistance for a project under this section to submit an engineering report. If an engineering report is required by the department, the local governmental unit or private owner of a community water system shall submit the engineering report prior to or concurrent with the submission of the application for financial assistance.

281.61(5) (5) Application.

281.61(5)(a) (a) A local governmental unit or private owner of a community water system that serves a local governmental unit shall submit an application for safe drinking water financial assistance and an engineering report, if required, to the department. The t department shall at least annually provide application submittal instructions to applicants, including a deadline for submitting applications, if any. The application shall be in the form and include the information required by the department and the department of administration and shall include plans and specifications that are approvable by the department under this section.

281.61(5)(b) (b) 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). The fees collected under this paragraph shall be credited to the environmental improvement fund.

281.61(6) (6) Priority list. The department shall establish a priority list that ranks each safe drinking water loan program project. The department shall promulgate rules for determining project rankings that, to the extent possible, give priority to projects that address the most serious risks to human health, that are necessary to ensure compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act, 42 USC 300f to 300j-26, and that assist applicants that are most in need on a per household basis, according to affordability criteria specified in the rules. For the purpose of ranking projects under this subsection, the department shall treat a project to upgrade a public water system to provide continuous disinfection of the water that it distributes as if the public water system were a surface water system that federal law requires to provide continuous disinfection.

281.61(7) (7) Approval of application. The department shall approve an application received under sub. (5) after all of the following occur:

281.61(7)(a) (a) The project is ranked on the priority list under sub. (6).

281.61(7)(b) (b) The department determines that the project meets the eligibility requirements under this section.

281.61(7)(c) (c) The department of administration determines that the applicant will meet the requirements of s. 281.59 (9) (b).

281.61(8) (8) Funding list; allocation of funding. The department shall establish a funding list for each fiscal year that ranks projects of applicants that submit approvable applications under sub. (5) in the same order that they appear on the priority list under sub. (6). If sufficient funds are not available to fund all approved applications for financial assistance, the department of administration shall allocate funding to projects that are approved under sub. (7) in the order that they appear on the funding list, except as follows:

281.61(8)(a) (a) The department of administration shall allocate to projects for public water systems that regularly serve fewer than 10,000 persons 15 percent of the available funds in each fiscal year or such lesser amount that fully funds the eligible projects for those public water systems.

281.61(8)(bL) (bL) In any biennium, no applicant may receive more than 25 percent of the amount of financial assistance planned to be provided or committed for projects under this section for that biennium.

281.61(8m) (8m) Conditions of financial assistance for local governmental units. As a condition of receiving financial assistance under the safe drinking water loan program, a local governmental unit shall do all of the following:

281.61(8m)(a) (a) Establish a dedicated source of revenue for the repayment of the financial assistance.

281.61(8m)(b) (b) Comply with those provisions of 42 USC 300f to 300j-26 and this chapter and the regulations and rules promulgated under those provisions that the department specifies.

281.61(8m)(c) (c) Develop and adopt a program of water conservation as required by the department.

281.61(8m)(d) (d) Develop and adopt a program of systemwide operation and maintenance of the public water system, including the training of personnel, as required by the department.

281.61(8m)(e) (e) Develop and adopt a user fee system.

281.61(8p) (8p) Conditions of financial assistance for private owners. As a condition of receiving financial assistance under the safe drinking water loan program, a private owner of a community water system that serves a local governmental unit shall do all of the following:

281.61(8p)(a) (a) Demonstrate that there is adequate security for the repayment of the financial assistance.

281.61(8p)(b) (b) Comply with those provisions of 42 USC 300f to 300j-26 and this chapter and the regulations and rules promulgated under those provisions that the department specifies.

281.61(8s) (8s) Limitation on financial assistance. The amount of a payment under sub. (2r) (d) may not exceed the amount necessary to reduce the interest rate on the loan from market rate to the interest rate that would have been charged on a loan to the local governmental unit under sub. (2r) (a).

281.61(9) (9) Financial assistance commitments. The department and the department of administration may, at the request of a local governmental unit, issue a notice of financial assistance commitment after the local governmental unit’s application for safe drinking water financial assistance has been approved under sub. (7) and funding has been allocated under sub. (8) for the local governmental unit’s project. The notice of financial assistance commitment shall specify the conditions that the local governmental unit must meet to secure financial assistance and shall include the estimated repayment schedules and other terms of the financial assistance.

281.61(11) (11) Loan interest rates.

281.61(11)(a) (a) Except as provided under par. (b), the interest rate on a safe drinking water loan program loan shall be as follows:

281.61(11)(a)1. 1. For an applicant that does not meet financial eligibility criteria established by the department by rule, 55 percent of market interest rate.

281.61(11)(a)2. 2. For an applicant that meets financial eligibility criteria established by the department by rule, 33 percent of market interest rate.

281.61(11)(b) (b) 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 under par. (a) 1. or 2.

281.61(12) (12) Duties of the department. The department shall do all of the following:

281.61(12)(a) (a) Promulgate rules establishing eligibility criteria for applicants and projects under this section.

281.61(12)(b) (b) Promulgate rules that are necessary for the execution of its responsibilities under the safe drinking water loan program.

281.61(12)(c) (c) Cooperate with the department of administration in administering the safe drinking water loan program.

281.61(12)(d) (d) By May 1 of each even-numbered year, prepare and submit to the department of administration a biennial needs list that includes all of the following information:

281.61(12)(d)1. 1. A list of drinking water projects that the department estimates will apply for financial assistance under the safe drinking water loan program during the next biennium.