Environmental Loans March 2025 Newsletter
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR)’s 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.
Market Rate Unchanged
The market rate for the Clean Water Fund Program and Safe Drinking Water Loan Program loans with municipal meetings (resolutions approving the municipal obligations and the financial assistance agreements) on or after April 1, 2025, will remain as is today. The market rates will be as follows:
- The market rate for tax-exempt loans with loan terms of 20 years or less will remain at 4.000%, and with loan terms of 21-30 years will remain at 4.200%.
- The market rate for taxable loans with loan terms of 20 years or less will remain at 4.494%, and with loan terms of 21-30 years will remain at 4.719%.
The Lead Service Line Replacement Program interest rate is not tied to the current market rate and is instead set at 0.25%. View current market rates and program-subsidized interest rates on the DNR’s Interest Rates webpage.
State Fiscal Year 2026 Principal Forgiveness Data Available
The Clean Water Fund Program and the Safe Drinking Water Loan Program use a municipality’s median household income (MHI), population size, family poverty percentage, lowest quintile household income, county unemployment rate and population trend to determine principal forgiveness eligibility.
All data, except for the county unemployment rate, that the programs will use to determine state fiscal year 2026 principal forgiveness points is available on the Data Sources webpage.
The county unemployment rate data will be pulled at the start of the state fiscal year, which begins on July 1, 2025. The unemployment data listed in the data sources document should only be used as an estimate at this time.
Median Household Income
The Clean Water Fund Program and the Safe Drinking Water Loan Program use a municipality’s MHI and population size to determine the amount of interest rate subsidy.
For State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2026 Projects:
- Wisconsin State MHI = $75,670
- 80% of State MHI for determinations = $60,536
- Municipality's MHI must be $60,536 or less to meet the 80% of MHI criterion for program determinations.
- 65% of State MHI for determinations = $49,185
- Municipality’s MHI must be $49,185 or less to meet the 65% of MHI criterion for program determinations.
All MHI calculations used to determine the subsidized interest rate will be rounded to the third place after the decimal. This policy is truer to language in sections of the Clean Water Fund Program and Safe Drinking Water Loan Program statutes that read XX% or less. (e.g., 80.0001% would be equal to 80.000%; 80.0005% would be equal to 80.001% and considered greater than 80.000%.)
New Population Projections Published By DOA
The Department of Administration’s Demographic Services Center recently published updated population projections based on the 2020 Census. Going forward, proposed facilities plans must be in conformance with these updated population projections, pursuant to s. NR 110.09(2)(j)1., Wis. Adm. Code. For questions on the facilities plan requirement, please contact DNR wastewater systems plan review staff.
Prepare Now For State Fiscal Year 2026 Application Submittals
All projects with a valid state fiscal year 2026 notice of intent to apply submittal will be placed, in priority score order, on the corresponding program’s project priority list and will be eligible to submit a financial assistance application for the state fiscal year 2026 funding cycle. We anticipate posting the Safe Drinking Water Loan Program and the Clean Water Fund Program state fiscal year 2026 project priority lists in early spring 2025 to the Project Lists and Intended Use Plans webpage.
We encourage you to submit your application early to ensure it is complete and to be able to contact DNR staff prior to the deadline if there are any questions.
Prep Work
DNR strongly recommends that applicants give themselves at least a couple of weeks to complete the application in the online system. The online application system has help text built-in to clarify what information and supporting documentation are needed for that question/section.
To further help applicants through the application process, information, instructions, and guidance documents are on our Online Systems webpage.
- The "Next Steps" publication is a timeline on when to procure the documents required for the application.
- The "Application Process and Contents" publication is a detailed checklist of required documentation, including the financial information that is required by the Department of Administration.
- The "Application Help" publication explains how to navigate the online application system and what information and supporting documentation are required for each question/section of the application.
- WAMS ID and Switchboard registration instructions (see related “Coming Soon – My Wisconsin ID And Multi-Factor Authentication For The Environmental Loans’ Online Systems” article in the Environmental Loans December 2024 Newsletter).
- Online Submittal Authorization Certificate (Form 8700-377).
- Access link to the online application system.
Online Application Availability
The online application system is currently being updated; we anticipate this process to be completed during April 2025. Individual projects will be available to work on within the application system once all of the corresponding program’s notices of intent to apply have been reviewed.
- Applicants may begin submitting applications at any point after the system becomes available.
Deadlines
Complete and submit a financial assistance application with all required documentation through the online system by the corresponding program’s application deadline. The DNR recommends that all applicants (even those not competing for principal forgiveness) submit an application by the deadline due to potential limitations on loan capacity. For more information, see the Loan Capacity webpage.
June 30, 2025 – Safe Drinking Water Loan Program application deadline if competing for principal forgiveness for the state fiscal year 2026 funding cycle. Note the following reminders:
Sept. 30, 2025 – Clean Water Fund Program application deadline if competing for principal forgiveness for the state fiscal year 2026 funding cycle. Note the following reminders:
- A facility plan approval letter must be uploaded to the online application for all projects.
- Plans and specifications must be uploaded to the online application AND submitted to the DNR Bureau of Water Quality through the wastewater plan review process by the application deadline.
- The period to submit a priority score reevaluation request opens the day after the application deadline and runs for a period of 30 days (Oct. 1 through Oct. 30).
- Applications submitted after Sept. 30 may still receive a loan and be considered for Energy Efficiency Priority Principal Forgiveness if funding is available.
Exception
The financial assistance application for pilot projects is currently not available to submit through the online system. Any applications to the Pilot Projects Program must be submitted in hard copy or by email using the Pilot Projects Financial Assistance Application (Form 8700-378).
- Submit pilot project applications anytime during the state fiscal year.
- Pilot projects are not eligible for principal forgiveness.
Contact Information
- Direct questions about the Clean Water Fund Program application to Lisa Bushby, program coordinator, at Lisa.Bushby@Wisconsin.gov or 608-358-3330.
- Direct questions about the Safe Drinking Water Loan Program application to Noah Balgooyen, program coordinator, at Noah.Balgooyen@Wisconsin.gov or 608-720-0802.
- Direct questions about the application for lead service line projects to Kate Leja-Brennan, Lead Service Line Replacement Program specialist, at Kathryn.Leja@Wisconsin.gov or 608-261-7434.
- Direct questions about the application for pilot projects to Dave Calhoon, Pilot Projects Program specialist, at David.Calhoon@Wisconsin.gov or 608-234-0845.
- Direct questions about using the online systems to Suzy Hasheider at Suzan.Hasheider@Wisconsin.gov or 608-438-3055.
DNR Announces New Webpage For BIL-Funded Lead Service Line Replacement Program
The DNR’s Environmental Loans Section has created a new webpage for the Lead Service Line Replacement Program, which is a subprogram of the Safe Drinking Water Loan Program and is funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). This program provides funding to municipalities for both public and private side lead service line replacements and related lead service line inventory work.
The Environmental Loans Section has transitioned away from publishing information to the Private Lead Service Line Replacement Program webpage. This previous program was funded by the Water Infrastructure Fund Transfer Act (WIFTA) and provided funding to municipalities to assist in their efforts of replacing lead service lines under the control of private property owners.
Direct questions to Kate Leja-Brennan, Safe Drinking Water Lead Service Line Replacement Program specialist, at Kathryn.Leja@Wisconsin.gov or 608-261-7434.
DNR Announces New Webpage For Safe Drinking Water Loan Program Environmental Review Public Notices
We welcome public input on the environmental reviews and potential environmental impacts of water infrastructure projects seeking funding through the Safe Drinking Water Loan Program. The DNR’s Environmental Loans Section has created an Environmental Review Public Notices webpage. The section anticipates that the environmental reviews available for public comment will be posted early in the week, typically on Mondays, to this new webpage.
As the Environmental Loans Section transitions away from releasing Safe Drinking Water Loan Program environmental review news via the GovDelivery system, there may be overlap on the DNR’s Newsroom webpage and the new Environmental Review Public Notices webpage. The previous Safe Drinking Water Loan Program environmental review news releases are available currently from September 2020 through February 2025 from the Newsroom webpage.
For environmental review details, including how to comply, read the Safe Drinking Water Loan Program Environmental Review Guide (PUB-CF-60). Direct questions about the environmental review process to the Safe Drinking Water Loan Program environmental review team at DNRCFELEnvironmentalReview@wisconsin.gov.
Signatures Required On Contractor’s Application And Certification For Payment
The construction payment application must have both the engineer’s and the contractor’s signatures before the costs can be authorized for reimbursement by the DNR’s Clean Water Fund Program or Safe Drinking Water Loan Program.
The DNR prefers physical (or “wet”) signatures on the contractor’s application and certification for payment. Adobe signatures or electronic signatures are also acceptable. Note that a typed “signature” is not acceptable.
Background
For a municipality to receive a payment (disbursement of funds) from the Clean Water Fund Program or the Safe Drinking Water Loan Program, the municipality must submit a complete request for disbursement form with all the necessary invoice documentation to support the eligible costs identified on the request. The construction invoice is the application and certification for payment and includes a detailed list (e.g. continuation sheets) of all bid costs for the work that was performed.
The following invoice documentation is needed to support costs submitted for construction work:
- Application and certification for payment for all awarded contracts.
- Back-up documentation showing a description of work, quantity, unit price, amount, work completed to date and percent completed (e.g. continuation sheets).
- The period in which work was performed.
- Signatures from both the contractor and engineering firm.
Resources
Upcoming Deadlines And Events
The deadlines for the notice of intent to apply, application and loan closing are set in the corresponding program's annual intended use plan, see the Project Lists and Intended Use Plans webpage.
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March 13: The DNR published the state fiscal year 2026 Clean Water Fund Program project priority list.
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March 31: The last recommended date for submitting facilities plans to the DNR Bureau of Water Quality for the state fiscal year 2026 Clean Water Fund Program funding cycle.
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Spring 2025: The DNR intends to publish the state fiscal year 2025 Lead Service Line Replacement Program final funding list.
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April 2025: The DNR intends to publish the state fiscal year 2026 Safe Drinking Water Loan Program project priority list.
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April 2025: The DNR intends to publish the state fiscal year 2026 Safe Drinking Water Loan Program draft intended use plan for a public comment period.
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April 30: The last recommended date for opening bids for the state fiscal year 2025 Clean Water Fund Program and Safe Drinking Water Loan Program projects.
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May 2025: The DNR intends to publish the state fiscal year 2026 Clean Water Fund Program draft intended use plan for a public comment period.
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May 31: Executed construction contracts due to the DNR loan project manager for the state fiscal year 2025 Safe Drinking Water Loan Program projects (earlier submittal is encouraged).
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June 15: Public Service Commission-approved rate orders due to the DNR loan project manager for the state fiscal year 2025 Safe Drinking Water Loan Program projects.
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June 30: Application deadline if competing for principal forgiveness for the state fiscal year 2026 Safe Drinking Water Loan Program funding cycle. The DNR recommends that all applicants (even those not competing for principal forgiveness) submit an application by the June 30 deadline due to potential limitations on loan capacity. See the Loan Capacity webpage for more information. Note the following reminders:
- Plans and specifications must be uploaded to the online application AND submitted to the DNR Bureau of Drinking Water and Groundwater through the public water system plan review process by the application deadline.
- The period to submit either an appeal to an eligibility determination or a priority score reevaluation request opens the day after the application deadline and runs for a period of 30 days (July 1 through July 30).
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June 30: Readiness-to-proceed deadline for the state fiscal year 2025 Clean Water Fund Program principal forgiveness projects. All required bid documentation, including executed construction contracts, are due. Failure to meet this deadline will result in principal forgiveness funds being forfeited.
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Sept. 30: Application deadline if competing for principal forgiveness for the state fiscal year 2026 Clean Water Fund Program funding cycle. The DNR recommends that all applicants (even those not competing for principal forgiveness) submit an application by the Sept. 30 deadline due to potential limitations on loan capacity. See the Loan Capacity webpage for more information. Note the following reminders:
- A facility plan approval letter must be uploaded to the online application for all projects.
- Plans and specifications must be uploaded to the online application AND submitted to the DNR Bureau of Water Quality through the wastewater plan review process by the application deadline.
- The period to submit a priority score reevaluation request opens the day after the application deadline and runs for a period of 30 days (Oct. 1 through Oct. 30).
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