Environmental Loans February 2026 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.
Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Updates
Currently, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT)’s unified certification programs (UCP) directory of disadvantaged business enterprises (DBE) is not available due to a change in federal guidance. Rules relating to DBE solicitation for the Clean Water Fund Program and the Safe Drinking Water Loan Program remain in effect and are not directly impacted by the change at WisDOT.
Projects that are seeking funding from either the Clean Water Fund Program or the Safe Drinking Water Loan Program must continue to make good faith efforts to solicit DBEs.
The rules require good faith efforts when the municipality is hiring prime contractors and when the prime contractor is hiring subcontractors. To do so, municipalities and prime contractors have a choice of how to solicit DBEs: (1) publishing a bid advertisement that encourages DBEs to submit a proposal, and/or (2) contacting DBEs listed on an accepted directory to solicit bids.
Small Business Search
Given that the WisDOT directory is unavailable, we recommend using directories from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and then filtering to find the entities that meet our criteria. The entities must be certified as:
- an 8(a) or 8(a) joint venture,
- a Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB),
- an Economically-Disadvantaged Women-Owned Small Business (EDWOSB),
- or a self-certified Small Disadvantaged Business.
The Small Business Search Help Guide explains how the SBA’s Small Business Search interface works and how to use all of its features.
To see all the entities certified that meet our criteria, click "SBA certifications,” then select "8(a)" or "8(a) Joint Venture, Women-Owned Small Business, and Economically-Disadvantaged Women-Owned Small Business."
To see the self-certified small, disadvantaged businesses, first clear the filters, then click "Business type," then select "Self-Certified Small Disadvantaged Business."
Users can further filter by location and North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes:
- 561730 Landscaping Services
- 484 Trucking
- 23 Construction
- 238 Specialty Trade Contractors
- 2373 Highway, Street and Bridge Construction
- 23711 Water and Sewer Line and Related Structures Construction
- 2382 Building Equipment Contractors
- 2383 Building Finishing Contractors
- 2389 Other Specialty Trade Contractors
Updated DBE Forms
Previous versions of the DNR’s DBE forms (8700-294 and 8700-294a) included specific references to the WisDOT UCP directory. As mentioned earlier, the WisDOT UCP directory is currently unavailable. To avoid confusion, we have updated both forms and the new versions are live on our website. Other minor improvements were also included.
State Fiscal Year 2027 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 the county unemployment rate, that the programs will use to determine state fiscal year 2027 principal forgiveness points are 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, 2026. 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 2027 projects:
- Wisconsin State MHI = $77,485
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80% of State MHI for determinations = $62,276
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A municipality's MHI must be $62,276 or less to meet the 80% of MHI criterion for program determinations
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65% of State MHI for determinations = $50,365.
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A municipality's MHI must be $50,365 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 the 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% while 80.0005% would be equal to 80.001% and considered greater than 80.000%.)
2025 Financial Audit Reminder
This is a friendly reminder regarding your Environmental Improvement Fund (EIF) loan agreement. As outlined in the agreement, audited financial statements must be submitted within 180 days of the end of each fiscal year that the loan is outstanding. Since the municipal fiscal year ended on Dec. 31, 2025, the deadline to submit your 2025 audit to the EIF is June 30, 2026.
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 2025 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.
Background: In accordance with the requirements, terms and conditions of your municipality's loan with the Clean Water Fund Program or Safe Drinking Water Loan Program and s. Adm 35.07, Wis. Stats., it is imperative that you promptly submit to the Wisconsin Department of Administration a copy of your municipality's audited financial statements.
Upcoming Deadlines And Events
The deadlines for the notice of intent to apply submittal, financial assistance application submittal and loan closing are set in the corresponding program's annual intended use plan that is available on the DNR's Project Lists and Intended Use Plans webpage.
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Late winter/spring 2026: The DNR intends to publish the state fiscal year 2027 Clean Water Fund Program project priority list.
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Spring 2026: The DNR intends to publish the state fiscal year 2027 Safe Drinking Water Loan Program project priority list and the fiscal year 2027 Lead Service Line Replacement Program intent to apply list.
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March 31: The last recommended date for submitting facilities plans to the DNR for review and approval for the state fiscal year 2027 Clean Water Fund Program funding cycle. Information on submitting these facilities plans is available on the DNR's Municipal Wastewater Facility Planning webpage and/or Storm Water Technical Standards, Models and Best Management Practices webpage.
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April 2026: The DNR intends to publish the state fiscal year 2027 Safe Drinking Water Loan Program draft intended use plan for public comment. The DNR intends to host a webinar during the public comment period to discuss changes in the draft intended use plan and respond to questions from attendees.
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April 30: The last recommended date for opening bids for the state fiscal year 2026 Clean Water Fund Program principal forgiveness projects and for all state fiscal year 2026 Safe Drinking Water Loan Program projects.
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May 14: Requests for disbursements are due to the DNR at noon on Thursday, May 14, to be paid on the disbursement date of Wednesday, May 27 (schedule adjusted for Memorial Day).
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May 31: It is strongly recommended that executed construction contracts be submitted to the DNR loan project manager for the state fiscal year 2026 Safe Drinking Water Loan Program projects by this date (earlier submittal is encouraged).
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June 2026: The DNR intends to publish the state fiscal year 2027 Clean Water Fund Program draft intended use plan for public comment. The DNR intends to host a webinar during the public comment period to discuss changes in the draft intended use plan and respond to questions from attendees.
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June 15: Public Service Commission-approved water rate case orders due to the DNR loan project manager for the state fiscal year 2026 Safe Drinking Water Loan Program projects.
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June 30: Application deadline if competing for principal forgiveness for the state fiscal year 2027 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 with loan capacity. Information on the application process is available on the DNR's Online Systems webpage.
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June 30: Readiness-to-proceed deadline for the state fiscal year 2026 Clean Water Fund Program principal forgiveness projects. All required bid documentation, including executed construction contracts, is due for wastewater and stormwater projects. Failure to meet this deadline will result in principal forgiveness funds being forfeited.
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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