Environmental Loans October 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.
Reminder: Market Rate Increase Effective Oct. 1
The market rates have increased 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 Oct. 1, 2025. For more information about the rate increase, please review the Sept. 9, 2025 New Market Interest Rates bulletin.
The Lead Service Line Replacement Program interest rate is not tied to the current market rate and is instead set at 0.25%. Learn about market rates and program-subsidized interest rates on the DNR’s Interest Rates webpage.
Please direct any market or interest rate questions or concerns to the Wisconsin Department of Administration (DOA) Capital Finance Office at DOAEIF@Wisconsin.gov.
2024 Financial And Single Audit Reminders
Single Audit
The Wisconsin Department of Administration (DOA) sent notification to all municipalities that may need a Single Audit for funds received between Jan. 1, 2024, and Dec. 31, 2024. If you are required to submit a Single Audit, the deadline to submit your 2024 Single Audit to the Environmental Improvement Fund (EIF) was Sept. 30, 2025.
Financial Audit
This is a friendly reminder regarding your EIF loan agreement. As outlined in the agreement, audited financial statements must be submitted within 180 days of the end of each fiscal year. Since the municipal fiscal year ended on Dec. 31, 2024, the deadline to submit your 2024 audit to the EIF was June 30, 2025.
If you haven’t already, please email your audited financial statements to DOAEIF@wisconsin.gov. Also, ensure your auditor includes the EIF on the distribution list when the audit is finalized.
Note: If your municipality does not conduct an audit, please send your 2024 sewer/water utility financial statements – including the balance sheet and income/expense statements – to the same email address.
If you have any questions or need assistance, please don't hesitate to contact us at DOAEIF@wisconsin.gov.
Thank you for your prompt attention to this requirement.
EIF Nov. 1, 2025 Debt Service Payment – Invoice
As part of the Environmental Improvement Fund (EIF)’s ongoing commitment to providing quality customer service, we send debt service invoices to borrowers in mid-March and mid-September, approximately 45 days before the payment due dates of May 1 and Nov. 1.
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Monday, Nov. 3, 2025, is the debt service payment due date because Nov. 1 falls on a weekend this year.
We want to remind you that the Wisconsin Department of Administration (DOA) sent the semi-annual debt service invoices via email on Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025. If you have not received your invoice, we ask you to reach out to us at DOAEIF@wisconsin.gov to verify and/or update your contact information.
Loan Payment Notice and Instruction
If you have not yet returned the “Loan Payment Notice and Instruction” sheet, please ensure it is submitted on or before Monday, Oct. 13, 2025.
We are committed to continually enhancing our payment process to ensure it remains seamless and efficient. We sincerely thank the municipalities that have already submitted their payment response to our mailbox, which enables us to track payments accurately. Timely submission is essential to maintain accurate records and avoid processing delays.
Lead Service Line Loans ONLY
If you currently have an outstanding Lead Service Line (LSL) loan and wish to pay off the balance, please email us at DOAEIF@wisconsin.gov no later than Friday, Oct. 17, 2025, to request a pay-off statement.
Schedule Payment in Advance
To simplify your November debt service payment, you may access the eBill website to schedule your debt service payment before the due date of Monday, Nov. 3, 2025. The link to eBill will be available on your invoice and the following websites:
The EIF’s commitment to our planet is to be as environmentally friendly as possible from start to finish. The EIF prefers electronic payment options as they are timely, safe and secure. The US Bank eBill portal is secure, timely, environmentally friendly and free.
Debt Service Contact Information
If you have questions or concerns about the eBill portal, invoice process or your scheduled loan repayments, please reach out to us at DOAEIF@wisconsin.gov or call Andrea Ceron at 608-267-0374.
Learn about Clean Water Fund Program and Safe Drinking Water Loan Program loan repayments on the DNR's Loan Repayment webpage.
Updated Request For Disbursement Form Available
The DNR Environmental Loans Section recently made minor updates to its Request for Disbursement Form 8700-215 and released it on Aug. 26, 2025. The new version of this form should be used going forward.
- We added ‘by noon’ to the deadline to reflect the recent policy change. For details, read the “New Noon Submittal Deadline For Disbursement Requests” article in the Environmental Loans April 2025 Newsletter.
- We increased the character count in the budget categories and the “Payment Request Worksheet” fields to accommodate larger dollar amounts based on feedback from our financial assistant recipients and their consultants.
- We updated our mailing address for the United States Postal Service (USPS) and added a second for all other carriers.
- We removed the fax number as it was no longer in service.
Do Not Use Old Versions of Form 8700-215
Due to concerns regarding safeguarding bank account information for the municipalities, this component was removed from the Request for Disbursement form in winter 2022-2023. The bank account information is now handled exclusively by the Department of Administration (DOA).
- For new financial assistance agreements (loans), the DOA staff will call the municipal contact to verify the bank information.
- If a municipality changes banks or its account number, the municipality must notify the DOA immediately so future disbursements will be transferred to the proper bank account. If your municipal bank account information changes, notify the DOA staff at DOAEIF@wisconsin.gov.
Form Troubleshooting
For best results, open forms and PDFs using Internet Explorer mode in Microsoft Edge. If you have trouble opening a form or PDF, read the DNR’s Site Requirements and PDF Help webpages for assistance.
Submittals
We encourage you to submit your complete disbursement requests as PDFs via email to dnrcfeldisbursements@wisconsin.gov, however, you may submit your complete disbursement requests via mail. Please note that any response to mail may be slow because most staff are teleworking a couple of days during the week. To learn more about the disbursement request process, read the DNR’s Requests for Disbursement webpage.
ACH Transfer Reminders
After the loan closing, the municipality can choose to set up automated clearing house (ACH) transfers for subsequent disbursements requests. Many municipalities switch to ACH to avoid bank wire fees. The drawback of an ACH is that it can sometimes take up to three (3) business days to be deposited into the receiving bank account. For details, read the “New Transfer Option For Disbursements” article in the Environmental Loans September 2024 Newsletter.
Direct questions and feedback about the revised form to Kim Leizinger, Environmental Loans Section disbursement specialist, at Kimberly.Leizinger@Wisconsin.gov or 608-695-0875. Direct project specific questions to the assigned DNR loan project manager.
Federal Equivalency Updates
The DNR released its updated Federal Equivalency Projects Assurances And Certification (Form 8700-201) on Aug. 15, 2025. The new version of this form should be used going forward.
On July 8, 2025, the DNR Environmental Loans Section updated its Federal Equivalency webpage based on Executive orders and feedback from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
What federal regulations were added or updated?
- Administration of the Clean Air Act and the Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1973, (Executive Order 11738).
- Section 306 of the Clean Air Act, 42 U.S.C. §7606 et seq.
- Section 508 of the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. §1368 et seq
- Civil Rights Laws.
- Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (P.L. 88-352), 42 U.S.C. §2000d et seq.
- CWFP only - Section 13 of the Federal Water Pollution Contract Act Amendments of 1972.
- Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. §794.
- The Age Discrimination Act of 1975, 42 U.S.C. §6102 et seq.
- Floodplain Management (Executive Order 11988, as amended by Executive Order 12148).
- Protection of Wetlands (Executive Order 11990, as amended by Executive Order 12608).
What federal regulations were removed?
- Investing in America Signage Requirement, also known as Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) Signage Requirement.
- Environmental Justice (Executive Order 12898).
- Equal Employment Opportunity (Executive Order 11246).
Contact Information
Direct federal equivalency questions to the appropriate federal liaison:
- Suzy Hasheider, DNR safe drinking water federal liaison and policy analyst, at Hasheider@Wisconsin.gov or 608-438-3055.
- Casey Sweeney, DNR clean water federal liaison and policy analyst, at Sweeney@Wisconsin.gov or 608-852-1576.
Wastewater Facility Plan Reminders
A DNR-approved facilities plan is a required component of the Clean Water Fund Program application, regardless of the “reviewable” or “maintenance” project classification. The facility plan must be approved prior to application submittal. Applicants must upload a facility plan approval letter with their Clean Water Fund Program application for the application to be considered complete.
Time Period For Review
The department encourages communities seeking clean water funds for projects to submit the facility plan documents prior to March 31 to ensure that the department can complete the plan review prior to Sept. 30, the Clean Water Fund Program application submittal deadline.
The DNR cannot guarantee that submittals received after June 30 will be approved prior to Sept. 30. Please contact the DNR’s municipal wastewater plan review staff to determine an appropriate submittal timeline for your municipality’s facilities plan.
Requirements
The DNR’s Wastewater Section reviews and approves these facility plans in accordance with the applicable requirements of ch. NR 110, Wis. Adm. Code. Requirements for submitting a facilities plan are explained on the DNR’s Municipal Wastewater Facility Planning webpage. In addition, read the DNR’s “Submit Facilities Plan By End Of March 2025 For State Fiscal Year 2026 Clean Water Funding” article.
Professional Engineering
Please be advised that the Wastewater Section requests that all facility plans submitted to the department be signed and sealed by a Wisconsin-registered professional engineer. This is because the department considers facility planning to fall under the statutory definition of the ‘Practice of Professional Engineering’, pursuant to s. 443.01(6), Wis. Stats.
This statute defines the practice of professional engineering to be “any professional service requiring the application of engineering principles and data, in which the public welfare or the safeguarding of life, health or property is concerned and involved, such as consultation, investigation, evaluation, planning, design, or responsible supervision of construction, alteration, or operation, in connection with any public or private utilities, structures, projects, bridges, plants and buildings, machines, equipment, processes and works. A person offers to practice professional engineering if the person by verbal claim, sign, advertisement, letterhead, card or in any other way represents himself or herself to be a professional engineer; or who through the use of some other title implies that he or she is a professional engineer; or who holds himself or herself out as able to practice professional engineering.”
Facility plans received which are not signed and sealed by a Wisconsin-registered professional engineer may be considered incomplete until such time that the submittal is updated to include this.
Contact Information
Any questions regarding the department’s facility plan review and approval process can be directed to Nate Willis, Wastewater Section Manager at Nathaniel.Willis@Wisconsin.gov or 608-535-2369.
Get MyWisconsin ID Before Submittal Deadline
This is a reminder that you must have a MyWisconsin ID and access to the Environmental Loans Online Systems via the DNR Switchboard to apply for financial assistance from the Clean Water Fund Program or Safe Drinking Water Loan Program. Any users who have a WAMS account will be required to create a MyWisconsin ID account with a user ID, password and multi-factor authentication (MFA) preference. Read the “Get MyWisconsin ID Before Submittal Deadline” article in the Environmental Loans August 2025 Newsletter.
Authorization Certificates Due Oct. 17
If you are a consultant, the municipality must authorize you to submit online materials on its behalf by completing an Online Submittal Authorization Certificate (Form 8700-377).
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Friday, Oct. 17, 2025, is the final date to submit this certificate before the state fiscal year 2027 notice of intent to apply (ITA) submittal deadline.
We recommend you request access to the Environmental Loans Online Systems at least two weeks prior to the ITA submittal deadline. Requests received within 48 hours of the ITA submittal deadline cannot be accommodated.
- Oct. 31, 2025, is the ITA submittal deadline for the state fiscal year 2027 Clean Water Fund Program and Safe Drinking Water Loan Program funding cycles.
Resources
State Fiscal Year 2027 ITAs For Lead Service Line Projects
Oct. 31, 2025, is the notice of intent to apply (ITA) submittal deadline for the state fiscal year 2027 Safe Drinking Water Loan Program funding cycle. The application process for the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) lead service line (LSL) funding has been integrated with the regular Safe Drinking Water Loan Program.
Applicants should keep lead service line work completely separate from any other Safe Drinking Water Loan Program project because just the LSL-only projects are eligible for the BIL LSL principal forgiveness and 0.25% interest rate loans for all eligible project costs. Note that the LSL projects are not eligible for general Safe Drinking Water Loan Program principal forgiveness.
Submit Separately
Any projects that include lead service line costs should be submitted as a separate LSL-only project. Submit a separate ITA for lead service line work, even those replacements that will occur as part of a watermain replacement project.
Select “Lead Service Line Only”
Applicants that have not previously submitted ITAs for LSL projects will need to create a new ITA for state fiscal year 2027. To start an ITA from scratch in the online system, click “Create New - ITA” and follow the prompts for a project that has not been previously submitted.
To create an ITA for an LSL-only project, select the following options.
- Select a general category for this project: Distribution/Transmission
- Lead Service Line Only: Yes
If an applicant resubmits a previous ITA for a watermain project with LSLs, the DNR will review it as a standard Safe Drinking Water Loan Program project that includes lead service line costs—not as an LSL-only project—when considering general principal forgiveness eligibility and the subsidized interest rate (either 55% or 33% of the market rate). Note that the DNR will not work with municipalities like we did previously to separate lead service line costs from watermain replacement projects.
Submit LSL-Specific PERF With Application
For LSL-only projects, the regular priority evaluation and ranking formula (PERF) does not need to be completed in the ITA online system and will not be accessible. Instead, the separate LSL Replacement Program PERF (Form 8700-383) must be submitted with the application.
Resources
Contact Information
Please reach out to our LSL Replacement Program specialists with any questions:
Welcome New Loan Project Manager, Katherine Burk
We are pleased to announce a new project manager in the Environmental Loans Section. Please give a warm welcome to Katherine Burk. Contact her at Katherine.Burk@Wisconsin.gov or 608-228-9403.
Katherine started her position on July 28, 2025, and is working out of the Community Financial Assistance Bureau space in the DNR’s Central Office. She is learning about the programs and general loan project management as well as how to process disbursement requests.
Katherine’s educational background and much of her prior work experience is as a city planner. She also spent five years working for Vierbicher where, among other duties, she did grant administration for 18 projects.
Katherine shared the following to help us get to know her better.
Over the past 12 years I have guided Wisconsin cities, towns, and villages through comprehensive plans, GIS driven studies, and state sourced financing, most recently as Director of Planning at Becker Professional Services.
Outside the office, I live with my seven-year-old daughter. We like playing basketball, volleyball, swimming, and all things Dinosaur. I keep busy as a volunteer backup scorekeeper for a local basketball league, squeeze in early morning yoga, and break out the sewing machine for the occasional craft project. A lifelong map nerd, I run a small Etsy shop featuring unique maps, and I have an illustrated map in a published book by a local writer.
Photo: Katherine Burk smiles while standing in front of artwork in Istanbul, Turkey. / Photo Credit: Bobby Boone
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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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Fall 2025: The DNR intends to publish the state fiscal year 2026 Safe Drinking Water Loan Program draft funding list.
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Oct. 17: Final date for submitting the Online Submittal Authorization Certificate (Form 8700-377) before the state fiscal year 2027 notice of intent to apply deadline.
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Oct. 30: Requests for disbursements are due to the DNR at noon on Thursday, Oct. 30 to be paid on the disbursement date of Wednesday, Nov. 12 (schedule adjusted for Veterans Day).
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Oct. 31: Notice of intent to apply deadline for the state fiscal year 2027 Clean Water Fund Program and Safe Drinking Water Loan Program funding cycles. Note: The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), also known as Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), is meant to provide additional funding in state fiscal years 2023-2027. For details, see the DNR’s BIL Funding webpage.
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November/December 2025: The DNR intends to publish the state fiscal year 2026 Safe Drinking Water Loan Program final funding list.
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December 2025: The DNR intends to publish the state fiscal year 2026 Clean Water Fund Program funding list.
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Dec. 11: Requests for disbursements are due to the DNR at noon on Thursday, Dec. 11 to be paid on the disbursement date of Tuesday, Dec. 23 (schedule adjusted for Christmas Day). Note: No loan closings will occur on Dec. 23.
Newsletter Sign Up
For timely delivery of future newsletters and bulletins, please send an email request with your contact information to Kay Christensen, DNR Environmental Loans Section outreach coordinator, at Kay.Christensen@Wisconsin.gov. She will add you to the email list. If you want, she can also remove you from this list.
The DNR Environmental Loans Section tries to publish a newsletter every 1-2 months. Previous newsletters and bulletins are available on our News webpage.
Note: You can also sign up to receive updates from the Wisconsin DNR on diverse topics.
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