Environmental Loans July 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.
State Fiscal Year 2028 Principal Forgiveness Policy Available For Public Comment
Starting in state fiscal year 2028, principal forgiveness (PF) dollars will be significantly lower due to the end of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, also known as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, funding.
The State Fiscal Year 2028 Principal Forgiveness Policy outlines the proposed changes to principal forgiveness with the goal of directing the limited amount of PF to municipalities where it makes the most difference, primarily smaller and more disadvantaged municipalities. The changes described in the policy are intended to reflect that goal, while focusing on Clean Water Fund Program and Safe Drinking Water Loan Program projects in those communities that improve water quality and protect public health.
Public Comments
This draft policy paper was posted on July 16, 2026, for public comment.
Webinar
You are invited to join our webinar on Aug. 6 at 3 p.m. to discuss these changes. For details on webinar participation, visit the DNR’s Principal Forgiveness webpage. The webinar will be recorded and posted to the same webpage for those unable to attend on Aug. 6.
Final Policy
The final version of this policy, including any revision made as a result of feedback received, will be posted on the Principal Forgiveness webpage and included in the state fiscal year 2028 intended use plans. The intended use plans are posted to the DNR’s Project Lists and Intended Use Plans webpage.
State Fiscal Year 2027 Principal Forgiveness Data Finalized
The DNR downloads the state and county unemployment data from the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development webpage in early July to have the most recent data for the state fiscal year 2027 projects.
Once we have the unemployment numbers, we finalize the data sources document that the Clean Water Fund Program and the Safe Drinking Water Loan Program will use to determine the state fiscal year 2027 principal forgiveness points. This final document has been uploaded to the DNR’s Data Sources webpage and replaces the document being used for estimates.
Two-Year Funding Deadline For Lead Service Line Projects Using A Prequalified List
The current Bipartisan Infrastructure Law-funded Lead Service Line Replacement Program allows municipalities to choose whether to bid a municipal contract for the work, to develop a list of prequalified licensed plumbers and/or utility contractors for property owners to contract with directly or both. For additional information, refer to the DNR website.
Two-Year Funding Limit
For any project utilizing a prequalified list, also known as PQL, we will not provide more than two years of funding at a time. Please note that the two-year restriction does not apply to municipal contracts.
The policy is intended to give applicants two full construction seasons to utilize the PQL funding. Project substantial completion will be considered to be Dec. 31 following the second full construction season.
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Attention: In subsequent years, when utilizing a PQL for private lead service line (LSL) replacements, a new PQL award will not be made unless at least 75% of any previous PQL award has been expended.
For additional policy information, refer to the Safe Drinking Water Loan Program’s corresponding annual intended use plan that is available on the Project Lists and Intended Use Plans webpage.
Deadlines For LSL Projects With A PQL
The assigned DNR Environmental Loans Section project manager may provide an extension to the two-year funding deadline depending on when work begins in relation to when the financial assistance agreement, also known as a loan, is executed.
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Attention: If you’re uncertain about your LSL project’s two-year funding deadline, contact the assigned DNR loan project manager to find out.
State Fiscal Year 2024 Projects
Most of the state fiscal year 2024 LSL projects with a PQL closed their loan very late in 2025, and if they had not started work before closing, the assigned DNR project manager should have extended the two-year funding deadline to December 2026.
- The deadline for completion of PQL work is Dec. 31, 2026.
- Disbursement requests for PQL work must be submitted before the end of June 2027.
- SFY 2024 projects that only utilize PQLs (not combined with municipal contracts) must submit their closeout documents with their final disbursement request by June 30, 2027.
State Fiscal Year 2025 Projects
For state fiscal year 2025 LSL projects with a PQL, depending on when they started their work, some may have until December 2027 to finish.
Contact Information
Preconstruction Meeting Updates And Reminders
Beginning with state fiscal year 2027 projects, the regional DNR construction management engineer (CME) must be invited to construction-related project meetings if Clean Water Fund Program or Safe Drinking Water Loan Program financial assistance is sought for the project.
The “Construction-Related Project Meetings” section of the corresponding program's draft state fiscal year 2027 intended use plan describes the requirement to invite CMEs to preconstruction conferences (also known as a pre-con meetings) and construction progress meetings. The section lays out the framework for a sanction to be applied, although the amount of the sanction is not yet described. The intended use plans are available on the DNR’s Project Lists and Intended Use Plans webpage.
Scheduling
The CME must be contacted to confirm their availability at least one week prior to scheduling a construction-related project meeting. If a meeting is rescheduled or canceled, promptly notify the CME. Contact the CME for both preconstruction conferences and construction progress meetings.
Preconstruction Conferences
A preconstruction conference is required to be held to familiarize the construction contractor(s) and resident inspector(s) with the provisions and conditions of the approved plans and specifications along with all loan program requirements.
Additionally, the preconstruction conference should provide an understanding of the project plan and timing for the CME, provide the CME with the construction progress meeting schedule and ensure the CME has all the conformed construction documents before the preconstruction meeting. Refer to the Bids and Construction Contracts (PUB-CF-030) resource.
Sanctions
The DNR is considering sanctioning a portion of the requested project costs when a project fails to meet these requirements, which includes inviting the CME to construction-related meetings without proper notice. The sanctioned amount would become ineligible for Clean Water Fund Program or Safe Drinking Water Loan Program funding.
DNR Approvals
The DNR's Bureau of Drinking Water and Groundwater began adding conditional language about CME participation at construction-related project meetings to its approval letters for plans and specifications submitted during and after the week of June 19, 2026. Most state fiscal year 2027 Safe Drinking Water Loan Program projects should be covered, including:
- Regular drinking water projects
- Lead service line replacement projects
- Emerging contaminants projects
The Bureau of Water Quality began including similar conditional language to its plans and specifications approval letters in July 2025. All state fiscal year 2027 Clean Water Fund Program projects should be covered, including:
- Regular wastewater projects
- Storm water projects
- Emerging contaminants projects
Reminder: Prior to starting construction for any Clean Water Fund Program or Safe Drinking Water Loan Program project, the municipality must obtain the necessary DNR approvals for any engineering reports/facility plans, selected sites and plans and specifications, in accordance with ch. NR 108, Wis. Adm. Code.
Resources
Contact Information
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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July 19, 2026: The last date to submit written comments on the state fiscal year 2027 Clean Water Fund Program draft intended use plan to Casey.Sweeney@wisconsin.gov.
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Aug. 27, 2026: Requests for disbursements are due to the DNR at noon on Thursday, Aug. 27 to be paid on the disbursement date of Wednesday, Sept. 9 (schedule adjusted for Labor Day).
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Sept. 23, 2026: Final loan closing date for the state fiscal year 2026 Safe Drinking Water Loan Program projects.
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Sept. 30, 2026: Application deadline if competing for principal forgiveness for the state fiscal year 2027 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. Information on this application process is available on the DNR’s Online Systems webpage.
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Sept. 30, 2026: Last recommended date for submitting Application to Increase Water Rates to the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin for the state fiscal year 2027 Safe Drinking Water Loan Program projects.
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October 2026: The DNR intends to publish the state fiscal year 2027 Safe Drinking Water Loan Program draft funding list.
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Oct. 29, 2026: Requests for disbursements are due to the DNR at noon on Thursday, Oct. 29 to be paid on the disbursement date of Tuesday, Nov. 10 (schedule adjusted for Veterans Day).
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Attention — Oct. 31, 2026: The notice of intent to apply (ITA) submittal requirements are expected to change and the Oct. 31 deadline is planned to be moved back—date to be determined—for the state fiscal year 2028 Clean Water Fund Program and Safe Drinking Water Loan Program funding cycles.
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Sign up for the newsletter to get updates about changes to the ITA requirements and deadline as additional information becomes available.
- Information on this pre-application process will be updated and made available on the DNR’s Intent to Apply webpage.
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November 2026: The DNR intends to publish the state fiscal year 2027 Safe Drinking Water Loan Program final funding list.
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December 2026: The DNR intends to publish the state fiscal year 2027 Clean Water Fund Program funding list.
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Dec. 11, 2026: Requests for disbursements are due to the DNR at noon on Friday, Dec. 11 to be paid on the disbursement date of Wednesday, Dec. 23. Note: No loan closings will occur on Dec. 23.
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Dec. 23, 2026: Disbursements will occur for those who submitted complete requests for disbursement by noon on Friday, Dec. 11. Note: No loan closings will occur on Dec. 23.
Newsletter Subscription
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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