AB 243 — Relating to: allocation of federal American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 funds for certain environmental purposes and granting rule-making authority. (FE)

-Date 2022of LEGISLATUREenactment: LRB-2877/1 MCP:all ASSEMBLY BILL 243 April 2, 2021 - Introduced by Representatives K ITCHENS, THIESFELD, K RUG, ARMSTRONG , CABRAL-G UEVARA, D UCHOW, E DMING, JAMES , KNODL, K URTZ, LOUDENBECK , M OSES, M URSAU, O LDENBURG , P ETRYK, R OZAR, S NYDER, SWEARINGEN , TRANEL, W ITTKE and ZIMMERMAN , cosponsored by Senators COWLES , MARKLEIN, ELZKOWSKI, BALLWEG and FEYEN.

ReferredAssembly toBill Committee243 onDate Stateof Affairs.publication*:

WISCONSIN ACT A N A CT to create 281.73 of the statutes;

allocation of federal American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 funds for certain environmental purposes and granting rule-makingrule−making authority.

AnalysisThe bypeople of the Legislativestate Referenceof BureauWisconsin, Thisrepresented billin requires(5) theAs governora tocondition allocateof fundsreceiving accepteda grant under thethis federalsec- Americansenate Rescueand Planassembly, Actdo ofenact 2021as (ARPA)follows: for certain environmental purposes.

Leadtion, servicea linecounty replacementshall Underdo currentall law, the Department of Administration and the Departmentfollowing: of Natural Resources administer the Safe Drinking Water Loan Program (SDWLP), which provides low-interest loans and grants in the form of principal forgiveness to municipalities for drinking water infrastructure projects to help them comply with federal drinking water standards.

DNR(a) establishesProvide amatching fundingfunds listequal forto SDWLPthe projects,amount andof DOAthe allocatesSECTION funding1. for those projects.

The current program does not provide financial assistance to private users of public water systems.

The bill requires the governor to allocate $40,000,000 of the ARPA funds received by the state to provide, under SDWLP, principal forgiveness to municipalities to 1) cover up to 50 percent of the costs of lead service line replacement on private property or 2) provide grants to private users of public water systems to cover up to 50 percent of the costs of lead service line replacement on private property.

Urban nonpoint source program Under current law, DNR administers a program to provide financial assistance for projects that manage urban storm water and runoff.

The bill requires the - 2022 Legislature - 2 - LRB-2877/1 MCP:all ASSEMBLY BILL 243 governor to allocate $12,000,000 of the ARPA funds received by the state to this program.

Rural nonpoint source program Under current law, DNR administers a program to provide financial assistance for projects that control pollution that comes from diffuse sources, rather than from a single concentrated discharge of pollution, in areas that qualify as high priority due to water quality problems.

The bill requires the governor to allocate $6,500,000 of the ARPA funds received by the state to this program.

Well compensation grant program Under the well compensation grant program under current law, certain individual owners or renters of certain contaminated private wells may apply for a grant from DNR to cover a portion of the costs to treat the water, reconstruct the well, construct a new well, connect to a public water supply, or fill and seal the well.

The bill requires the governor to allocate $2,000,000 of the ARPA funds received by the state to this program.

Grants for well testing and public education The bill requires DNR to create and administer a program to provide grants to counties to either 1) test and map privately owned wells to assess groundwater quality and to determine the extent and type of any contamination and study and map geologic characteristics and well construction practices in the county to determine any correlation between water quality, geology, and well construction;

or 2) if a county has completed this type of study, to notify the public of the results of the study and to notify private well owners whose wells may be contaminated based on the results of the completed study.

Under the bill, DNR may not provide more than $10,000 to any single county for testing and study under the first type of grant, or more than $2,500 per county for notifications under the second type of grant.

Counties may apply for a grant individually or as a group.

The bill requires a county that receives a grant under this program to provide an equal amount of matching funds.

The county must also share the results of its testing with the Center for Watershed Science and Education, but may not include any personally identifiable information with the submitted results.

The bill requires the governor to allocate $500,000 of the ARPA funds received by the state for these purposes.

For further information see the state and local fiscal estimate, which will be printed as an appendix to this bill.

The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

LRB-2877/1proposed -grant. 2022 Legislature - 3 - MCP:all SECTION 1 ASSEMBLY BILL 243 281.73 County grants for well testing and public education.

(1)(b) TheSubmit departmentthe shallresults administerof aits programtesting to providethe grantsUniversity to281.73 countiesCounty grants for eitherwell oftesting theand followingpublic purposes:education.

(a)(1) ToThe conductdepartment countywideshall testingadminister anda mappingpro- of privatelyWisconsin−Stevens ownedPoint wellsCenter tofor assessWatershed groundwaterSci- qualitygram and to determineprovide thegrants extent and type of any contamination and to studycounties andfor mapeither geologicof characteristics and well construction practices in the county,fol- includingence depth to bedrock and wellEducation. age, to determine any correlation between water quality, geology, and well construction.

(b)Information Forsubmitted countiesunder thatthis havelowing completedpurposes: the type of study described under par.

(a),subsection tomay notifynot theinclude publicany ofpersonally theidentifiable results(a) ofTo theconduct completedcountywide studytesting and tomapping notify private well owners whose wells may be contaminated based on the results of theinformation. completed study.

(2)privately Aowned countywells mayto receiveassess groundwater quality and (6) In making grants under this section, the depart- to determine the extent and type of any contamination ment shall seek to make a grant underto eitherevery sub.county that and to study and map geologic characteristics and well applies.

(1)construction (a)practices orin (b),the county, including depth to (7) The department may promulgate rules necessary bedrock and well age, to determine any correlation to implement this section but may not both.impose substantive between water quality, geology, and well construction.

(3)requirements Moreon thanapplicants oneother countythan maythose applyprovided forin a(b) jointFor grantcounties underthat thishave subsectioncompleted if the countiestype areof applyingstudy forthis thesection. same grant category.

(4)described The department may not provide more than $10,000 per county under sub.par.

(1)(a), (a)to ornotify morethe thanpublic $2,500of perthe countyresults underSECTION sub.9101.

Nonstatutory provisions;

Adminis- of the completed study and to notify private well owners tration.

whose wells may be contaminated based on the results of (1) PRIVATE LEAD SERVICE LINE REPLACEMENT.

Of the the completed study.

moneys the governor accepts from the federal govern- (2) Acountymay receive a grant under either sub.