Environmental Loans November 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.
State Fiscal Year 2026 Loan Capacity Updates
Due to continued high demand for financial assistance, loan capacity limitations may impact state fiscal year 2026 Clean Water Fund Program and Safe Drinking Water Loan Program applications.
The DNR and the Department of Administration have recently completed an evaluation of loan capacity for the state fiscal year 2026 Clean Water Fund Program and Safe Drinking Water Loan Program funding cycles.
Sufficient funding is available to meet the funding requests of all applicants who submitted complete, eligible applications by the corresponding program’s competitive application deadline.
- Supplemental Safe Drinking Water Loan Program applications will not be accepted for state fiscal year 2026.
- Supplemental Clean Water Fund Program applications will be accepted for state fiscal year 2026 on a first-come, first-served basis; there is no guarantee that there will be sufficient funding for all potential supplemental applications.
What Is a Supplemental Application?
Any Clean Water Fund Program or Safe Drinking Water Loan Program application submitted after the respective program’s competitive application deadline is considered a supplemental application. Supplemental applications are not eligible for principal forgiveness, other than energy efficiency principal forgiveness. The Safe Drinking Water Loan Program application deadline is June 30, while the Clean Water Fund Program application deadline is Sept. 30.
Additional information is available on the DNR’s Loan Capacity webpage.
Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Funding Update
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), also known as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) of 2021, is meant to provide over $900 million in additional funding in federal fiscal years 2022-2026 through the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR)’s Environmental Loans programs.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has provided the DNR with all of the clean water and safe drinking water-related capitalization grant allocations, except for the Lead Service Line Replacements allocation, for federal fiscal year 2025. The DNR has updated its BIL Funding webpage with the new funding amounts.
The detailed amounts of funding, including any reallocations and transfers, are detailed in the state fiscal year 2026 Clean Water Fund Program and Safe Drinking Water Loan Program intended use plans. The Lead Service Line Replacements amounts will be updated in an amended intended use plan when the EPA provides the final allocations. The intended use plans and amendments are posted on the DNR’s Project Lists and Intended Use Plans webpage.
Reallocations
When states do not use the entirety of their BIL/IIJA capitalization grants, the EPA can reallocate the unused monies two years after the initial appropriation.
Transfer Of Funds
In accordance with 42 U.S.C. 300j-12 and 40 CFR 35.3530(c), the Clean Water Fund Program transferred $5,749,000 of the federal fiscal year 2024 Clean Water Emerging Contaminants grant to the Safe Drinking Water Loan Program due to a lack of demand for clean water emerging contaminants projects. The transferred funds will be used for drinking water emerging contaminants projects where project demand is greater.
These funds can be transferred back to the Clean Water Fund Program if there is sufficient demand for clean water emerging contaminants projects in the future. The Clean Water Fund Program reserves the right to transfer additional funding under this authority. The DNR is not currently considering transferring Base or Supplemental capitalization grant funds.
Contact Information
Annual Reports Available For State Fiscal Year 2025
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) published the state fiscal year 2025 Clean Water Fund Program and Safe Drinking Water Loan Program annual reports to its Project Lists and Intended Use Plans webpage.
These reports describe the portions of the programs funded by the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds and the activities that occurred during state fiscal year 2025. As required, the DNR provides the annual reports to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Contact Information
Direct annual report questions to:
Available Lead Service Line Replacement Outreach Funding
Reduce the struggles of starting and completing lead service line (LSL) replacement projects with effective community outreach and public education. These efforts can help residents, property owners, consumers and community leaders understand the importance and process of LSL replacements.
If community members know what to expect, it will likely reduce their concerns, increase their cooperation and make for successful LSL replacements. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR)’s Lead Service Line Replacement (LSLR) Community Outreach Grant Program, funded through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), provides communities with the funding needed to coordinate this crucial outreach.
The purpose of this program is to provide eligible municipal community public water systems with the funds to carry out on-the-ground community outreach to residents served by the system in support of an ongoing or upcoming LSL replacement project. This funding does not cover construction costs, including any construction associated with LSL replacement.
“We are pleased to offer this grant funding to help community public water systems obtain outreach assistance for lead service line replacement,” said Steve Elmore, DNR Drinking Water and Groundwater Bureau director. “One thing we have learned is that community outreach is key to successful lead service line replacement. This grant is helping move this initiative forward in Wisconsin.”
The DNR encourages interested applicants to review the BIL LSLR Community Outreach Grant Announcement for detailed eligibility information and instructions on preparing an application.
- Applications will be accepted continually until April 30, 2026, or until funds are exhausted, whichever comes first.
Learn more about the BIL-funded LSLR Community Outreach Grant Program on the DNR’s LSLR Outreach Funding webpage.
Direct questions about this grant and program to DNRLSLROutreachGrants@wisconsin.gov.
Background
Lead can enter drinking water through the corrosion of the property’s plumbing materials and the water service line(s) connecting the property to the watermain(s). Lead is known to be harmful to human health if ingested. It is critical for municipalities to replace both publicly and privately owned portions of an LSL because partially replacing it can increase lead levels in the home’s drinking water. The DNR Drinking Water and Groundwater Bureau provides information and resources regarding the concerns of lead in drinking water.
Reminder: Submit Water Rate Case Applications To PSC
If a water rate increase is required for your state fiscal year 2026 Safe Drinking Water Loan Program project and you haven’t already, please submit an Application to Increase Water Rates to the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSC) sooner rather than later. It is important that accurate and complete information is filed as early as possible to help ensure sufficient time for processing. For details, refer to the PSC’s Rate Setting webpage, which contains links to rate case information and related materials.
Note that Sept. 30, 2025, was the DNR’s last recommended date to submit a rate case application to the PSC if necessary for the scored state fiscal year 2026 Safe Drinking Water Loan Program project. For a timeline and information on coordinating the Safe Drinking Water Loan Program requirements with the PSC’s rate case process, refer to the DNR’s Public Service Commission of Wisconsin webpage.
2026 Disbursement Schedule With 12-Month Calendar Available
The "Disbursement Schedule with 12-Month Calendar" publication is a visual aid that was created to help clarify the disbursement request deadlines and corresponding payment dates for the Clean Water Fund Program and the Safe Drinking Water Loan Program.
Information and guidance are available on the DNR’s Requests for Disbursement webpage.
Welcome Two New Loan Project Managers, Emily Martorano And Dan Olson
We are pleased to announce that two new project managers have joined the Environmental Loans Section. Please give a warm welcome to Emily Martorano and Dan Olson!
Currently, they are learning about the programs and general loan project management, as well as how to process loan disbursement requests. Both are working out of the Bureau of Community Financial Assistance in the DNR's Central Office in downtown Madison. Emily and Dan started their positions on Sept. 8, 2025.
The following are short bios to help you get to know them better.
Emily Martorano
I am excited to be joining the DNR team after many years as a grateful customer. I live outside of Spring Green with my partner Ana Maria, where we manage 55 wooded acres with the help of a motley menagerie.
Our two little tabby cats, Rita and Mika, keep laps warm and unwelcome critters on their toes, and our small flock of chickens keep eggs on the table. A few goats assist in invasive brush management, enjoying a seemingly endless buffet of honeysuckle and poison ivy all summer. Bogey, our Maremma livestock guardian dog, lives with his charges year-round, making sure the coyotes keep a wide berth. His hobbies include daytime naps, expressing his dislike of large trucks, expanding his burr collection and gladly accepting tips in the form of ear scritches and chunks of cheese.
When I’m not working, I can usually be found listening to audiobooks or podcasts while cooking, tending to the animals, growing veggies in our large community garden plot in town or chipping away at the latest project around the house.
Emily eating dinner under a wild grape arbor in rural Clyde, Wis., on Sept. 1, 2025. / Photo Credit: Ana Maria Vascan
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Dan Olson
Greetings! My name is Daniel Olson (I usually just go by Dan). I am excited to be joining the DNR in this position, and doubly excited to be returning to the DNR after initially starting my career here some 24 years ago as a part-time database analyst in the Drinking Water and Groundwater Program.
Since that time, I have been involved with a number of environmental efforts across the country, including hazardous material abatement projects, general consulting work for the EPA, energy efficiency program management in California and Chicago, transportation finance and most recently as an electric vehicle policy advisor for the State of Illinois. Intermingled with all these experiences, I have worked on a number of water-related grants, including flood/climate mitigation and watershed protection initiatives. I am looking forward to bringing my extensive project management experience to this role.
In 2024, after 15 years in the Chicago area, I moved back to Madison to be closer to family and help with overall parental care. I have set up shop just northeast of Verona and am an avid gardener, swimmer, hiker and camper. I am a 2001 graduate of the University of Wisconsin, with a major in International Relations and Environmental Studies. While I have lived all over the country, I am very excited to be home and enjoying this wonderful state and all the opportunities to be outdoors and explore.
Dan standing on his back porch on Sept. 8, 2025. / Photo Credit: Dan Olson
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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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December 2025: The DNR intends to publish the state fiscal year 2026 Safe Drinking Water Loan Program final funding list and 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.
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Late winter/spring 2026:
- The DNR intends to publish the state fiscal year 2027 Clean Water Fund Program and Safe Drinking Water Loan Program project priority lists.
- The DNR intends to publish the state fiscal year 2027 Lead Service Line Replacement Program intent to apply list.
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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