NR 162.37NR 162.37 Applicability. This subchapter applies to any applicant for and recipient of interest rate subsidy provided under ss. 281.58 and 281.59, Stats., for reducing interest costs on a loan made to the recipient by the BCPL for engineering and construction of treatment works and BMPs with total estimated project costs, after awarding all contracts, of $2,000,000 or less. Compliance with the applicable requirements of this subchapter is a prerequisite to receiving interest rate subsidy under ss. 281.58 and 281.59, Stats. The following sections in subchs. I, II, III, and V apply to projects receiving interest rate subsidy under this subchapter: ss. NR 162.001 to 162.003, 162.01, 162.02, 162.04 (1) (a) and (2), 162.08 (1) to (3) and (5) to (7), 162.10 (1) (a) and (2), 162.15, 162.19, 162.20, and 162.49 to 162.52. The department will continue to accept applications for funding under this subchapter unless availability of funds for interest rate subsidies becomes a limiting factor for the department’s ability to continue this portion of the CWFP.

NR 162.38(1)(1) Eligible projects. An eligible applicant may receive financial assistance under this subchapter for a publicly owned project with total estimated project costs of $2,000,000 or less that meets any of the following criteria if the project did not reach substantial completion more than 3 years prior to the date on which the applicant submits a complete application for financial assistance under s. NR 162.40 (5):

NR 162.38(1)(a)(a) Traditional wastewater treatment plant and collection system projects. A municipality may receive financial assistance under this subchapter for a publicly-owned wastewater treatment works scored project that meets any of the following criteria:

NR 162.38(1)(a)1.1. The project is necessary to prevent a municipality from significantly exceeding a wastewater effluent limitation contained in a permit issued under ch. 283, Stats. All of the following types of projects are included under this paragraph:

NR 162.38(1)(a)1.a.a. Projects for which construction will completely take place inside the fence or on site of a wastewater treatment plant, such as projects to build or modify headworks, clarifiers, aeration basins, stabilization ponds, sludge processing equipment, sludge storage facilities, or on-site administrative buildings, and projects to build or modify facilities for the receiving, storage, or treatment of septage, as defined in s. NR 162.003 (68). The department may determine that a lift station pumping all of the wastewater flow directly to the wastewater treatment plant with no other influent pump at the plant site is part of a project that takes place inside the fence. The department may also determine that other facilities, such as a septage receiving station that conveys the septage directly into the wastewater treatment plant, are considered part of the work inside the fence.

NR 162.38(1)(a)1.b.b. Projects for which construction takes place outside of the fence of the wastewater treatment plant that are necessary to maintain the integrity and performance of wastewater treatment works facilities serving the municipality, including sanitary sewer replacement or rehabilitation, sanitary sewer lining, publicly-owned lateral lining, lift station or headworks upgrades, and construction of new interceptors, lift stations, pretreatment facilities, septage receiving stations, and other treatment works facilities outside of the fence of the wastewater treatment plant.

NR 162.38(1)(a)2.2. The project is necessary to achieve compliance with an enforceable wastewater requirement changed or established after May 17, 1988, if the municipality is in substantial compliance with its permit issued under ch. 283, Stats.

NR 162.38(1)(a)3.3. The project is necessary to eliminate actual or imminent pollution of groundwater or surface water or a threat to human health in unsewered areas within a municipality. All of the following types of projects are included under this subdivision:

NR 162.38(1)(a)3.a.a. Projects for construction of a new wastewater treatment plant or upgrade of an existing plant to accept and treat wastewater from a previously unsewered area, such as projects to build or add capacity to clarifiers, aeration basins, stabilization ponds, or sludge facilities.

NR 162.38 NoteNote: Traditional wastewater treatment plant and collection system projects are those that use common infrastructure and processes to collect and treat wastewater, including pipes to collect wastewater from homes and businesses and carry the water to a treatment plant that uses techniques and equipment to filter and settle out solids, aerate the water to encourage natural processes of growth of bacteria and other organisms to consume much of the waste, disinfect the processed water, and process the sludge removed from the wastewater. Traditional projects tend to collect and treat point-source pollution only, unless storm sewers contribute to the flow of water to the wastewater treatment plant or the system has infiltration or inflow problems. The purpose of some traditional projects is to fix these types of excess flow issues. Traditional wastewater treatment is discussed in the Primer for Municipal Wastewater Treatment Systems, Publication EPA 832-R-04-001, dated September 2004, available on the U.S. environmental protection agency’s website at: https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2015-09/documents/primer.pdf.