Environmental Loans March Newsletter
The Environmental Loans programs provide affordable financial assistance to Wisconsin communities for water infrastructure projects that protect and improve public health and water quality for current and future generations.
Upcoming Deadlines And Events
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Early Spring 2024: We intend to publish the state fiscal year 2025 Clean Water Fund Program and Safe Drinking Water Loan Program project priority lists.
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April 30: The last recommended date for opening bids for the state fiscal year 2024 Clean Water Fund Program and Safe Drinking Water Loan Program projects.
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May 31: Executed construction contracts due for the state fiscal year 2024 Safe Drinking Water Loan Program projects.
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June 15: Public Service Commission-approved contracts due for the state fiscal year 2024 Safe Drinking Water Loan Program projects.
Market Rate Unchanged
There is no change in the market rate for financial assistance agreements approved by a municipality’s governing body on or after April 1, 2024. The market rate for loans that have a final maturity of:
- 20 years or less will remain at 3.9%
- 21-30 years will remain at 4.1%
Schedule Loan Payments In Advance
As part of the Environmental Improvement Fund’s ongoing commitment to providing quality customer service, we want to remind you about the eBill portal/website. Many of our customers have shared their positive experiences using eBill, including Cameron Sawyer, the finance director for the village of Cottage Grove.
“The new online portal for Environmental Improvement Fund debt service payments is simple and incredibly easy to use," said Sawyer. "From start to finish, making a payment in the portal can be completed accurately in minutes. After making a payment, an email confirmation is sent automatically for your records."
Video Tutorial
If you have questions about how to use the eBill portal and make a payment, view the Wisconsin Department of Administration’s video.
Convenient And Proactive
To simplify your Environmental Improvement Fund invoice payment for May 1, you may access the eBill portal starting March 18, 2024, and schedule your debt service payment before the due date. The link to the eBill website will be available on your invoice and the following websites:
The Environmental Improvement Fund is committed to being as environmentally friendly as possible and prefers electronic payment options as they are timely, safe and secure.
Contact Information
If you have questions or concerns about the eBill portal/website, the invoice process or your scheduled loan repayments, please reach out to DOAEIF@wisconsin.gov.
Street Reconstruction Policy Available For Public Comment
Many municipal projects have evolved from a single utility replacement to a complete street reconstruction, replacing all underground utilities, roadbed, pavement, curb and gutter, sidewalk and lawn restoration. The change is driven by municipalities to maintain infrastructure effectively and efficiently in their communities.
For complete street reconstructions, the Street Reconstruction Cost Distribution Policy clarifies construction costs on what will be eligible under the Clean Water Fund and Safe Drinking Water Loan programs and applies it consistently and equitably across all municipalities.
Public Comments
This draft policy paper was posted on March 8, 2024, for a 21-day public comment period.
The final version of this policy paper, including any revisions made as a result of feedback received, will be published on the Statutes and Administrative Codes webpage following the end of the public comment period.
What Is The BIL Signage Requirement?
For construction projects funded in whole or in part by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the recipient municipality must install a physical sign at the construction site that displays the official Investing in America emblem and identifies the project as a “project funded by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.”
Here are the answers to some commonly asked questions.
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Do I Need A Sign?
- The BIL signage requirement applies to:
- Clean Water Fund Program and Safe Drinking Water Loan Program projects that are receiving principal forgiveness and/or
- Clean Water Fund Program and Safe Drinking Water Loan Program projects that are designated as federal equivalency
- For state fiscal year 2024, a municipality’s eligible project(s) will be designated as federal equivalency if the following criteria are met:
- Safe Drinking Water Loan Program: A municipality's population is ≥ 15,000
- Clean Water Fund Program: A municipality's population is ≥ 20,000
- Regardless of population size, the following project types that receive BIL funding must comply with equivalency requirements:
- Emerging contaminants (PFAS) projects
- Lead service line projects
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How Do I Make The Sign?
- The BIL Signage Packet provides guidance on how to design signs and examples of compliant signs.
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Where Do I Put The Sign?
- The sign must be installed in an easily visible location that can be directly linked to the work taking place and must be maintained in good condition throughout the construction period. Only one sign is required per municipality per state fiscal year funding cycle.
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Sign Location For Lead Service Line Projects
- In cases where the construction site covers a large area, such as lead service line replacement projects, a sign should be installed in an easily visible location near where the work is being performed (e.g., entrance to the neighborhood, along a main road through town, etc.). The funding recipient does not need to move the sign around the municipality.
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How Do I Show I Have Complied?
- To document the use of BIL signage, the recipient municipality or their authorized consultant must upload a photo of the installed sign to the online system prior to submitting the second request for disbursement after the loan closes.
Additional Information
The financial assistance agreement (loan) will also include language on the BIL signage requirement. For more information about the requirement, including how to comply and guidance on how to design the sign, visit the DNR’s BIL Signage Requirement webpage.
IRS Exempts Lead Service Line Replacement From Federal Taxes
The U.S. Internal Revenue Service determined that a government-subsidized project to replace the private portion of a lead service line “does not result in income to the residential property owners” and “accordingly, water systems and state governments are not required to file information returns or furnish payee statements.”
The policy means the cost of replacing the private portion of a lead service line is not taxable; therefore, state revolving funds and utilities are not required to issue a 1099 to homeowners for these projects. This determination is consistent with current practice and does not require lead service line replacement funding recipients to take action.
Loan Capacity
Due to historically high requests for financial assistance, limitations on the state fiscal year 2024 Safe Drinking Water Loan Program and Clean Water Fund Program supplemental applications are being implemented immediately.
Note: Any Safe Drinking Water Loan Program or Clean Water Fund Program applications submitted after the respective program’s competitive application deadline for principal forgiveness are considered supplemental applications and are not eligible.
Sufficient funding is available to meet the funding requests of current applicants listed on the state fiscal year 2024 Safe Drinking Water Loan Program and Clean Water Fund Program funding lists. The state fiscal year 2025 Safe Drinking Water Loan Program and Clean Water Fund Program application cycles will continue as planned.
Additional Information
As additional information becomes available, particularly regarding funding availability for state fiscal year 2025 applicants, the DNR Environmental Loans Section intends to provide updates on our new Loan Capacity webpage and through other channels. Links to our webinar discussing loan capacity limitations and resulting impacts, as well as the frequently asked questions list, are also available on the website.
Intent To Apply Notice Deadline Extended
Because funding for lead service line replacement projects comes directly from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), lead service line projects are not subject to the same limitations on loan funding as all other Safe Drinking Water Loan Program projects (for limitation details, visit the DNR’s Loan Capacity webpage). Lead service line funding availability is expected to be sufficient to meet demand.
Since the BIL-funded Lead Service Line Replacement Program did not receive many notices of intent to apply (ITA) for the state fiscal year 2025 funding cycle, we are offering flexibility for those who may have missed the deadline.
ITA/PERF Deadline Adjustment
If you are interested in applying but did not submit an ITA with Priority Evaluation and Ranking Formula (PERF) information by the Oct. 31, 2023, deadline, or you would like to submit another ITA/PERF with a different project scope, you can request a waiver to this deadline (for state fiscal year 2025 lead service line projects only).
- Email your ITA/PERF deadline waiver request and include the name and Wisconsin Web Access Management System (WAMS) ID of the person who will submit the ITA/PERF to Becky Scott at Rebecca.Scott@wisconsin.gov by May 31, 2024 (earlier is encouraged). No justification is needed for these deadline waiver requests.
You must submit a complete ITA/PERF through the online system before filling out the application.
Application Deadline
Submit state fiscal year 2025 Safe Drinking Water Loan Program Applications for lead service line projects through the online system by June 30, 2024.
- Include the additional updated Safe Drinking Water Loan Program lead service line PERF (Form 8700-383) and complete the Environmental Review module in the online system.
- June 30, 2024, is the Safe Drinking Water Loan Program state fiscal year 2025 application deadline if competing for principal forgiveness.
Guidance
The DNR strongly recommends that you give yourself at least a couple of weeks to complete the online application. Information, instructions, and guidance documents are on the DNR's Online Systems webpage to help applicants through the application process. You can also find additional information in the “Online System Access And Authorization Reminders” section of this newsletter.
Principal Forgiveness Data Available
All data, except for the county unemployment rate that the Clean Water Fund Program and the Safe Drinking Water Loan Program will use to determine state fiscal year 2025 principal forgiveness points, is available on the DNR's Data Sources webpage.
The county unemployment rate data will be pulled at the start of the state fiscal year, which begins on July 1, 2024. The unemployment data listed in the data sources document should only be used as an estimate at this time.
Submit Facility Plans Now
Regardless of project classification, a DNR-approved facilities plan is required for all Clean Water Fund Program financial assistance applications. Last year, the DNR received a record number of 93 applications and expects a similar number this year.
Due to the anticipated increase of submittals, if your municipality plans to apply for a state fiscal year 2025 Clean Water Fund Program loan, the DNR recommends that you submit your facility plan this spring to ensure that its Bureau of Water Quality can complete the plan review prior to Sept. 30, 2024, the application deadline.
Please contact the municipal wastewater plan review staff to determine an appropriate submittal timeline for your municipality’s facilities plan.
Online System Access And Authorization Reminders
It’s never too early to request access to the online loan systems. We recommend you request access at least two weeks prior to the notice of intent to apply or financial assistance application submittal deadline.
- Requests received within 48 hours of the submittal deadline cannot be accommodated.
To gain access to the online systems, you must create a Wisconsin Web Access Management System (WAMS) ID and then register with the DNR Switchboard. If you are a consultant, the municipality must authorize you to submit materials through the online systems on its behalf by completing an online submittal authorization certificate (Form 8700-377).
Steps To Request Access
- Create a WAMS ID. It typically takes 1-3 business days for new WAMS IDs to become active.
- Request access to the online loan systems via the DNR Switchboard. It occasionally takes 24-48 hours for new access requests to function correctly.
- Submit an online submittal authorization certificate.
Additional information and guidance are available on the Online Systems webpage.
State Fiscal Year 2025 Applications
The online system is currently being updated. We anticipate that this process will be completed by April 1, 2024.
Individual projects will be available to work on within the application system once all of the corresponding program’s ITAs have been reviewed. The DNR strongly recommends that applicants give themselves at least a couple of weeks to complete the application in the online system.
- Safe Drinking Water Loan Program applicants may begin submitting applications at any point after the system becomes available.
- June 30, 2024: The Safe Drinking Water Loan Program state fiscal year 2025 application deadline if competing for principal forgiveness.
- Clean Water Fund Program applicants may begin submitting applications starting on July 1, 2024.
- Sept. 30, 2024: The Clean Water Fund Program state fiscal year 2025 application deadline if competing for principal forgiveness (with the exception of Energy Efficiency Priority principal forgiveness).
Contact Information
- Access request questions can be sent to: Suzy Hasheider, Database Manager, Suzan.Hasheider@wisconsin.gov
- Application content questions can be sent to:
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