NR 47.952(1) (1) “Applicant” means a Wisconsin town, village, city, county, tribal government or not-for-profit organization.

NR 47.952(2) (2) “Catastrophic storm event” means snow, ice, hail, wind or tornado of sufficient ferocity to cause damage to urban forests and for which the governor declares a state of emergency under s. 323.10, Stats. Catastrophic storm event does not include forest fires, drought, insect infestations or disease, or water saturation due to flooding.

NR 47.952(3) (3) “Concentrated development” means an area with an aggregate population of at least 100 persons per square mile as calculated by the Wisconsin department of administration.

NR 47.952(4) (4) “Department” means the department of natural resources.

NR 47.952(5) (5) “Grant agreement” means a legal contract between the applicant and the department that sets forth mutual obligations related to a specific urban forestry project.

NR 47.952(6) (6) “Grant period” means the period of time specified in the grant agreement during which all work shall be completed.

NR 47.952(7) (7) “Marshalling yard” means a location in which storm-related tree debris is collected, held or processed for future use.

NR 47.952(8) (8) “Not-for-profit organization” means an organization that is certified by the internal revenue service as meeting the requirements of section 501(c)(3) of the internal revenue code and has registered with the department of financial institutions.

NR 47.952(9) (9) “Urban forest” means trees in cities, villages and other concentrated development.

NR 47.952 History History: CR 08-062: cr. Register May 2009 No. 641, eff. 6-1-09; correction in (2) made under s. 13.92 (4) (b) 7., Stats., Register May 2010 No. 653.

NR 47.953 NR 47.953 Eligibility. Applicant eligibility is determined by the following:

NR 47.953(1) (1) A catastrophic storm event has occurred for which the governor has declared a state of emergency.

NR 47.953(2) (2) The applicant is applying on behalf of the community that sustained damage as a result of the catastrophic storm event.

NR 47.953(3) (3) The party applying for assistance must be an applicant as defined in s. NR 47.952 (1).

NR 47.953(4) (4) Two or more eligible applicants may enter into a cooperative agreement to jointly apply for funds under this subchapter, with one applicant designated as the fiscal agent on behalf of all applicants to administer the grant agreement on behalf of all cooperating members.

NR 47.953 History History: CR 08-062: cr. Register May 2009 No. 641, eff. 6-1-09.

NR 47.954 NR 47.954 Application procedures.

NR 47.954(1) (1) An eligible applicant may apply for a grant under this subchapter for the purpose specified under s. NR 47.950.

NR 47.954(2) (2) Eligible applicants shall request grant funding on the application forms provided by the department. The application shall include a resolution of the applicant’s governing body that authorizes its representative to file the grant application, serve as the contact for purposes of a grant under this subchapter, and submit reimbursement claims.

NR 47.954 Note Note: Application materials are available upon request from the Department of Natural Resources, Division of Forestry, 101 S. Webster Street, P.O. Box 7921, Madison, WI 53707-7921, [e-mail]. Completed forms and supporting documentation shall be mailed to the same address. Application materials may also be obtained from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources webpage at: http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/UrbanForests/grants/index.html.

NR 47.954(3) (3) An eligible applicant shall submit an application that is postmarked no later than 60 days from the date of the governor’s declaration of emergency for the catastrophic storm event for which funds are sought.

NR 47.954(4) (4) The department may request additional or missing grant application information in writing or by other means. Applicants shall submit additional or missing information to the department within 30 days of the date of the request. Failure of applicants to provide the requested information by the deadline will result in the department returning the incomplete application to the applicant.

NR 47.954(5) (5) The department shall evaluate all complete applications submitted using the criteria identified in s. NR 47.956.

NR 47.954(6) (6) The department shall notify both eligible and ineligible applicants in writing of the status of their grant application within 60 days from the date the application is deemed complete.

NR 47.954(7) (7) The department shall award grants in accordance with s. NR 47.957.

NR 47.954(8) (8) If an eligible applicant submits an application but all program funds have been expended during a fiscal year, the department shall hold the application for reconsideration when additional funds become available. The department shall notify the applicant in writing of the reason for the delay and the opportunity for reconsideration of the application when additional funds become available.

NR 47.954 History History: CR 08-062: cr. Register May 2009 No. 641, eff. 6-1-09.

NR 47.955 NR 47.955 Eligible and ineligible costs.

NR 47.955(1) (1) Eligible costs. Under this subchapter, the applicant’s cost of removing, repairing, and replacing trees in an urban forest that have been damaged by a catastrophic storm event shall be eligible for reimbursement so long as those costs are not otherwise reimbursed by federal disaster assistance or other funding sources. To be eligible for reimbursement, the applicant shall have incurred eligible costs within a 365-day period beginning on the date on which the governor makes the declaration of emergency. Eligible costs includes: