Chapter NR 7

Register March 2002 No. 555

Chapter NR 7

RECREATIONAL BOATING FACILITIES PROGRAM

NR 7.01   Purpose.

NR 7.02   Applicability.

NR 7.03   Definitions.

NR 7.04   General aids provisions.

NR 7.045   Qualified lake associations.

NR 7.05   Eligible projects.

NR 7.06   Type and content of studies.

NR 7.07   Applications for funding for feasibility studies.

NR 7.08   Application for funding to develop a safe recreational boating facility.

NR 7.083   Application for the dredging of a channel of a waterway.

NR 7.084   Applications for the acquisition of capital equipment to collect floating trash and debris from a waterway.

NR 7.085   Application for the acquisition of capital equipment to cut and remove aquatic plants.

NR 7.086   Applications for the chemical removal of Eurasian water milfoil.

NR 7.087   Application for the acquisition of aids to navigation and regulatory markers.

NR 7.088   Projects of statewide or regional significance.

NR 7.09   Commission to approve or deny requests for funding and establish priority lists.

NR 7.10   Agency liaison.

NR 7.01 NR 7.01 Purpose. The purpose of this chapter is to establish directions for the implementation of the safe recreational boating facilities program in order to provide easy access to all waters of the state giving due regard to the need for environmental quality and the needs of all the population for water based recreation.

NR 7.01 History History: Cr. Register, April 1979, No. 280, eff. 5-1-79.

NR 7.02 NR 7.02 Applicability. The provisions of this chapter are applicable to all governmental units and qualified lake associations applying for financial assistance for safe recreational boating projects under s. 30.92, Stats.

NR 7.02 History History: Cr. Register, April 1979, No. 280, eff. 5-1-79; am. Register, December, 1986, No. 372, eff. 1-1-87; am. Register, January, 1993, No. 445, eff 2-1-93.

NR 7.03 NR 7.03 Definitions. The following definitions are applicable to terms used in this chapter.

NR 7.03(1) (1) “Approval” means the signing by the secretary or secretary’s designee of a project agreement that encumbers a specified amount of state aid funds for a specific purpose.

NR 7.03(2) (2) “Commission” means the Wisconsin waterways commission appointed by the governor under s. 15.345, Stats.

NR 7.03(3) (3) “Department” means the Wisconsin department of natural resources.

NR 7.03(3a) (3a) “Donations” means the cash or non-cash contributions of materials, equipment, services or labor provided by a third party to the sponsor that are reasonable and necessary for carrying out the project and meet the same test of eligibility as any other cost item.

NR 7.03(4) (4) “Feasibility study” means an investigation of the environmental, economic and engineering aspects of a safe recreational boating facility project to determine if the project may be successfully carried out.

NR 7.03(5) (5) “Force account” means the forces and resources of a sponsor including the use of the sponsor’s own employees and equipment for construction, construction related activities (including architectural or engineering services), repair or improvement to a facility.

NR 7.03(6) (6) “Fringe benefits” means employers’ contributions or expenses for social security, employee’s life and health insurance plans, unemployment insurance coverage, worker’s compensation insurance, pension retirement plans and employee benefits in the form of regular compensation and sick, court or military leave.

NR 7.03(7) (7) “Governmental unit” means the department, a city, village, town, county, public inland lake protection and rehabilitation district organized under ch. 33, Stats., or the Fox river management commission.

NR 7.03(8) (8) “Indirect costs” means those costs not directly assignable to a project. Such costs are generally administrative in nature, are incurred for a common or joint purpose, or are not readily assignable to a project.

NR 7.03 Note Note: Examples of indirect costs include central office heat, light, utilities, administrative salaries, secretarial services, postage, etc., which are not supported by time reports or other documentation which links the expenditure to a particular project.

NR 7.03(8a) (8a) “In-kind contributions” means the non-cash contributions of materials, equipment, services or labor provided by the sponsor that are reasonable and necessary for carrying out the project and meet the same test of eligibility as any other cost item.

NR 7.03(9) (9) “Project” means a specific recreational boating facility development, dredging of channels of waterways for recreational boating purposes, acquisition of capital equipment necessary to cut and remove aquatic plants, and acquisition of aids to navigation and regulatory markers.

NR 7.03(10) (10) “Project agreement” means a contract between the sponsor and department setting forth the obligations with regard to a portion or all of a specific project.

NR 7.03(11) (11) “Project period” means the period of time specified in the project agreement during which all work shall be completed or all items acquired.

NR 7.03(12) (12) “Project priority list” means a ranking by the commission of various safe recreational boating facility projects in the order of their scheduled receipt of funds.

NR 7.03(13) (13) “Qualified lake association” has the meaning given in s. 30.92 (1) (br), Stats.

NR 7.03(14) (14) “Safe recreational boating facilities” means places where the public has access to the water by means of breakwaters and other similar physical structures, either naturally or artificially constructed, which provide safety and convenience for operators of recreational watercraft. “Recreational boating facilities” also includes locks and facilities which provide access between waterways for operators of recreational watercraft. Safe recreational boating facilities on the Great Lakes are commonly referred to as harbors of refuge. Safe recreational boating facilities on inland waters are commonly referred to as public accesses or launching ramps.

NR 7.03(15) (15) “Secretary” means the secretary of the department.

NR 7.03(16) (16) “Sponsor” means a governmental unit or qualified lake association receiving assistance under this chapter.

NR 7.03 History History: Cr. Register, April 1979, No. 280, eff. 5-1-79; r. (3), renum. (1), (2), (4) to (7) to be (2), (3), (5), (8), (9) and (1) and am. (9), cr. (4), (6), (7) and (10), Register, December, 1986, No. 372, eff. 1-1-87; renum. (1) to (10) to be (2) to (4), (7), (9) to (12), (14) and (15) and am. (9) and (11), cr. (1), (5), (6), (8), (13) and (16), Register, January, 1993, No. 445, eff. 2-1-93; CR 00-112: cr. (3a) and (8a), Register November 2001 No. 551, eff. 12-1-01.

NR 7.04 NR 7.04 General aids provisions.

NR 7.04(1) (1) Claims for payment shall be submitted within 6 months after the project termination date.

NR 7.04(2) (2) 

NR 7.04(2)(a) (a) Except as provided in pars. (b) and (c) expenditures shall be within the project period, project scope, and project amount as shown on the project agreement.

NR 7.04(2)(b) (b) Expenditures for engineering or planning costs, necessary to develop a construction project proposal for commission review, made prior to entering a project agreement may be reimbursed by the department if made a part of the project agreement..

NR 7.04(2)(c) (c) Expenditures for the acquisition of aids to navigation or regulatory markers made prior to entering a project agreement may be reimbursed by the department.

NR 7.04(3) (3) A request for a project extension shall be submitted prior to the project termination date.

NR 7.04(4) (4) All payments are contingent upon final audit. All financial records, including all documentation to support entries in the accounting records to substantiate changes for each project, shall be kept available by sponsors for review by state officials for a period of 3 years after final payment.

NR 7.04(5) (5) Grants of financial assistance for recreational boating facilities shall be consistent with the provisions of ss. NR 1.90 and 1.91.

NR 7.04(6) (6) Prior to project review by the commission, the sponsor shall have obtained all permits required under ch. 30, Stats., and s. 281.17 (2), Stats.

NR 7.04(7) (7) Sponsors shall comply with all applicable state and federal regulations regarding bidding and awarding contracts, wage and labor rates, access for individuals with disabilities, flood disaster protection, environmental quality and historical preservation.

NR 7.04(8) (8) 

NR 7.04(8)(a) (a) Sites to be developed with recreational boating facilities funds shall be owned in fee simple by a sponsor or the sponsor shall hold a lease or easement for the site. When a site to be developed is leased or subject to an easement, the degree of control over the site by the sponsor and the period of time that the lease or easement continues shall be factors in determining the amount of recreational boating facilities funds to be granted to the project. The minimum length of the lease or easement shall not be less than 20 years and shall include the right to construct, operate and maintain a recreational boating facility.

NR 7.04(8)(b) (b) The total amount of assistance from the recreational boating facilities program and other state or federal funds for projects on lands owned by the department and leased or for which the department has entered an agreement or lease with a sponsor to develop and maintain a recreational boating facility may not exceed 90% of the eligible project costs. No more than 50% of the eligible project costs may be funded with recreational boating facilities monies.