E-Bulletin Newsletter September 2017 Volume 6, Issue 05 Environmental Loans E-Bulletin Newsletter

Legal notice: This document is intended solely as guidance and does not include any mandatory requirements except where requirements found in statute or administrative rule are referenced. This guidance does not

establish or affect legal rights or obligations and is not finally determinative of any of the issues addressed. This guidance does not create any rights enforceable by any party in litigation with the State of Wisconsin or the

Department of Natural Resources. Any regulatory decisions made by the Department of Natural Resources in any manner addressed by this guidance will be made by applying the governing statutes and administrative

rules to the relevant facts. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources provides equal opportunity in its employment, programs, services, and functions under an Affirmative Action Plan. If you have any questions,

please write to Equal Opportunity Office, Department of Interior, Washington, D.C. 20240.

Mailing Address DNR ENVIRONMENTAL LOANS-CF/2 101 SOUTH WEBSTER STREET PO BOX 7921 MADISON WI 53707-7921

Contact Information for Environmental Loans Section

CWFP 608-264-8986 | SDWLP 608-266-0849 | Web dnr.wi.gov/Aid/EIF.html

Staff Directory dnr.wi.gov/Aid/documents/EIF/Guide/managers.html

Upcoming Deadlines September 30

Deadline for SFY 2018 CWFP Principal Forgiveness (PF) applications.

October 20

Last day to request WAMS ID & Switchboard access and to submit authorization certifi-cates for SFY 2019 ITA/PERF submittals.

October 30

Deadline for SFY 2018 CWFP project priority score reevalua-tion requests.

October 31

Deadline for all SFY 2019 ITA/PERF (pre-application) submittals.

Inside this Issue

Increased interest rate subsidy

As anticipated, the biennial budget includes increased interest rate subsidy for the

Clean Water Fund Program (CWFP), which provides loans at or below the market rate.

Starting in the State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2018 funding cycle; and going forward, CWFP

loans will be provided at:

• 55% of market rate for municipalities not meeting financial need criteria.

• 33% of market rate for disadvantaged municipalities meeting the following

financial need criteria:

• < 10,000 population; and

• ≤ 80% of the WI median household income (MHI).

• 0% of market rate (i.e., a loan with a 0% interest rate) for extremely

disadvantaged municipalities meeting the following financial need criteria:

• < 1,000 population; and

• ≤ 65% of the WI MHI.

• 0% of market rate for the portion of eligible projects for receiving and

storing septage, and capacity for treating septage; as well as for mercury

remediation at wastewater treatment facilities.

• Note: Eligible CWFP pilot projects may be awarded loans with an interest rate

as low as 0%.

Repeal of the State Hardship program

These subsidies are in concert with the elimination of the CWFP Hardship program.

This hardship financial assistance program will cease after the SFY 2018 funding cycle,

with an exception for one (1) municipality for which a complete application for SFY

2019 funding can still be submitted by June 30, 2018.

Extended term financing

In addition, the budget includes authorization for extended term financing (30 years)

for which the DNR will be assessing applicability to the CWFP. Extended term financing

may be available for SFY 2019 projects and would be outlined in the SFY 2019 Intend-

ed Use Plan (IUP).

Recent changes at the federal level now allow loans of up to thirty years, depending

on the design life of the project. Increasing the loan term to thirty years has numerous

implications in various areas. These implications, and related changes that would be

required, are being evaluated. If thirty-year loans become an option, it will not occur

until at least SFY 2019.

Biennial Budget Includes Changes to CWFP Biennial Budget Includes

Changes to CWFP

1

Upcoming Deadlines 1

SFY 19 ITAs/PERFs 2

SFY 18 SDW Lists & IUP 2

Lowered Market Rate 3

Expedite Disbursements 3

Force Account Work 3

Revised FSP Form 4

MHIs for SFY 19 Projects 4

Water Policy Institute 4

Searching? Use CTRL+F 4

October 31, 2017 is the Intent to Apply (ITA) & Priority

Evaluation and Ranking Formula (PERF) (pre-application)

submittal deadline for a project to be eligible for funding

in State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2019.

This deadline requirement applies to all types of projects

funded under both the Clean Water Fund Program (CWFP)

and the Safe Drinking Water Loan Program (SDWLP).

Online System Ready for SFY 2019 ITAs/PERFs

To access & learn about the online submittal system, visit

http://dnr.wi.gov/Aid/OnlineSubmissions.html

Switchboard Requests & Authorization Certificates

October 20, 2017 is the final submittal date for WAMS ID

requests, DNR Switchboard access requests, and ITA/

PERF online submittal authorization certificates. At the

URL listed above, download the authorization certificate

and learn how to submit requests.

PERF Points and Supporting Documentation

Documentation will be required to receive PERF points (for

both loan programs). You will not receive points requested

if supporting documentation is not provided at the time of

the ITA/PERF submittal. Don’t submit your ITA/PERF until

you have uploaded all your documentation.

Submit SFY 2019 ITAs/PERFs Now

page 2 | Environmental Loans E-Bulletin Newsletter September 2017 Volume 6, Issue 05

SFY 2018 Draft Funding List

The Department received forty-eight (48) regular (not

lead service line) Safe Drinking Water Loan Program

(SDWLP) applications requesting $103,731,739 for State

Fiscal Year (SFY) 2018 funding that were submitted by the

June 30, 2017 deadline.

View the SFY 2018 SDWLP Draft Funding List at

http://dnr.wi.gov/Aid/documents/EIF/news/

SDWLP_SFY2018_DRAFT_Funding_List.pdf

Changes to Project Budgets

Make sure to work with your project manager to accom-

modate any budget changes for your SFY 2018 SDWLP

projects prior to the allocation of funds which will be

published on the SFY 2018 SDWLP Final Funding List in

October.

SFY 2018 Lead Service Line (LSL) Final Funding List

Thirty (30) applications were also received by the June

30, 2017 deadline for the second and final year of funding

for the Private Lead Service Line (LSL) Replacement Fund-

ing Program.

View the SFY 2018 LSL Final Funding List at

http://dnr.wi.gov/Aid/documents/EIF/news/

SDWLP_SFY2018_LSL_Funding_List.pdf

SFY 2018 SDWLP Funding Lists and Intended Use Plan

Supporting documentation and/or information that is

available at the time of the ITA/PERF online submittal

must be uploaded and included as a part of the original

submission and cannot be submitted after as part of an

objection to a PERF score.

Types of Documents

The help text in the online submittal system contains in-

formation about what type of supporting documentation

to attach for that question/section. You may wish to save

or print the Online Help Text to view during the process,

http://dnr.wi.gov/Aid/documents/OnlineHelpText.pdf

Tips for Document Uploads

Please name your supporting document file so it reflects

the question you’re addressing. For example, if you are

providing supporting documentation for bypasses, name

the file “[Muni]BypassInfo.pdf”.

Separate documentation for each question is most helpful

to us! If all information is in one document, please provide

an index of where to find specific information.

SFY 2018 SDWLP Final IUP

The Intended Use Plan (IUP) identifies the use of federal

capitalization grant monies and how the SDWLP supports

the goals of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), and

describes how the SDWLP will operate during SFY 2018.

View the SFY 2018 SDWLP Final IUP at

http://dnr.wi.gov/Aid/documents/EIF/news/

SDWLP_SFY_2018_FINAL_IUP.pdf

View Project Priority Lists (PPLs),

Intended Use Plans (IUPs), & Funding Lists at

http://dnr.wi.gov/Aid/projectListsIUPs.html

page 3 | Environmental Loans E-Bulletin Newsletter September 2017 Volume 6, Issue 05

The Wisconsin Department of Administration (DOA) has lowered the market rate to 3.200% for loans with municipal

meetings (at which the Financial Assistance Agreement (FAA) is signed) on or after October 1, 2017 through Decem-

ber 31, 2017. This is a change from the current market rate of 3.400%.

On a quarterly basis, the DOA assesses the market rate on which the Environmental Loans program subsidies are

based. The Clean Water Fund Program (CWFP) and the Safe Drinking Water Loan Program (SDWLP) provide loans at

or below the market rate. View the current market rate and loan interest rates at http://dnr.wi.gov/Aid/documents/

EIF/Guide/Interest.html

October 1st — December 31st Market Rate Lowered to 3.2%

The same requirements apply whether Requests for Dis-

bursement are submitted via mail, fax, or email. Request-

ed costs will be withheld until the requirements are met.

Avoid delayed & partial payments with the following tips:

1. Sign the Request for Disbursement Form.

• Form 8700-215 must include the signature of

a municipal representative.

• Stamped and electronic signatures (e-signatures)

are not acceptable.

• For email submittals, we recommend the

following: sign the paper form, scan it to a

computer, save it as a PDF, then email the

complete submittal.

2. Contractor’s Pay Applications need to have the

contractor’s signature and the engineer’s signature.

3. If requesting reimbursement for construction costs,

complete the Davis-Bacon Act Payroll Certification

on the last page of Form 8700-215.

3 Tips to Expedite Your Disbursement Requests • If the Davis-Bacon certification is not included, the

requested costs will be withheld until the certifica-

tion is received.

For a municipality to receive a payment from an Environ-

mental Loans program, it must submit a complete Re-

quest for Disbursement. Invoices and supporting docu-

mentation for eligible costs are required before specialists

can approve the disbursement request.

The easier you make it for us to match the invoices to the

budget line item on Form 8700-215, the faster we can

process your payment requests.

If more staff time is needed to make corrections or clarify

information, then the expectation is that those disburse-

ment requests would be processed for the following dis-

bursement date.

Learn more about Requests for Disbursement and down-

load Form 8700-215 at http://dnr.wi.gov/Aid/documents/

EIF/Guide/pay.html

“Force Account Work" means engineering, construction,

or other project-specific activities performed by a munic-

ipality's employees, or using equipment owned by the

municipality, or both.

“Municipal employee” refers to staff of any municipal

entity including municipal utility staff.

In general, force account work means the work a munic-

ipality performs using its own employees for project

planning, design, construction and construction-related

activities, inspections, repairs, or improvements to a

treatment works or structural urban BMP, a water sys-

tem, a site or facility.

Municipal Certification Before FAA Preparation

If you plan on requesting reimbursement for project-

related force account work, you must submit to your

Force Account Work DNR project manager a complete Force Account Certifica-

tion (Form 8700-245) before they prepare your munici-

pality's Financial Assistance Agreement (FAA).

Requesting Reimbursement

You must submit to DNR a complete Request for Dis-

bursement (Form 8700-215) and supporting documenta-

tion of force account personnel time, equipment usage, or

both. These records must detail the following:

• employee name, hours, rate of pay, and dates

worked on the project; and/or

• machine or equipment usage dates, hours, rates,

and project function for which the machine/

equipment was used.

More information on Force Account Work can be found at

http://dnr.wi.gov/Aid/documents/EIF/Guide/force.html

Searching? Don't forget about keyboard shortcut CTRL+F You can search for a certain

word on the current webpage

or document you're viewing

by pressing Ctrl+F at the

same time on a PC or

Command+F on a Mac.

Pressing Ctrl+F (that is, the

Control button and F button

at the same time) will open

a search box.

Simply type the word to

look for and press the

Enter button.

This command shows you

every instance of the word

or phrase you search!

The revised Fiscal Sustainability Plan (FSP) Certification

will be available online soon for SFY 2018 CWFP projects.

This certification also includes an application for funding

to cover costs incurred developing FSP components for

those who are interested and qualify. Learn more at

http://dnr.wi.gov/Aid/documents/EIF/Guide/FSP.html

Revised FSP Certification

for SFY 2018 Find your municipality’s MHI for SFY 2019 projects.

In both the CWFP and the SDWLP, we use a municipality's

median household income (MHI) in multiple determina-

tions such as financial need and principal forgiveness

eligibility. Learn more at http://dnr.wi.gov/Aid/

documents/EIF/Guide/hardmhi.html

Find Your MHI for

SFY 2019 Projects

page 4 | Environmental Loans E-Bulletin Newsletter September 2017 Volume 6, Issue 05

National Governor’s Association (NGA) Water Policy Institute Robin Schmidt, DNR Environmental Loans Section Chief,

presented the Wisconsin Private Lead Service Line (LSL)

Replacement Funding Program basics to the National

Governor’s Association (NGA) Water Policy Institute in

Annapolis, MD in August of 2017.

The applicability of the federal Davis-Bacon wage

requirements to private homeowners was a topic of

interest.

States across the country participated in the institute

and heard about a broad range of water policy items.