281.60 Land recycling loan program.

(1) Definitions. In this section:

(a) “Eligible applicant" means a political subdivision, a redevelopment authority created under s. 66.1333 or a housing authority.

(am) “Landfill" has the meaning given in s. 289.01 (20).

(b) “Land recycling loan program" means the program administered under this section with financial management provided under s. 281.59.

(d) “Political subdivision" means a city, village, town or county.

(e) “Site or facility" has the meaning given in s. 292.35 (1) (f).

(2) General. The department and the department of administration may administer a program to provide financial assistance to eligible applicants for projects to remedy environmental contamination of sites or facilities at which environmental contamination has affected groundwater or surface water or threatens to affect groundwater or surface water. Eligible costs for a project include costs of demolition that is a necessary part of the remediation. The department and the department of administration may provide financial assistance under this section to an eligible applicant only if the eligible applicant owns the contaminated site or facility or, if the applicant is a political subdivision, if a redevelopment authority or a housing authority owns the contaminated site or facility. The department and the department of administration may not provide financial assistance under this section to remedy environmental contamination at a site or facility that is not a landfill if the eligible applicant caused the environmental contamination.

(2r) Methods of providing financial assistance. The following methods of providing financial assistance may be used under the land recycling loan program:

(a) Making loans for projects described in sub. (2).

(b) Purchasing or refinancing the obligation of an eligible applicant if the obligation was incurred to finance the cost of a project described in sub. (2) and the obligation was initially incurred after May 17, 1988.

(c) Guaranteeing, or purchasing insurance for, obligations incurred to finance the cost of projects described in sub. (2) if the guarantee or insurance will provide credit market access or reduce interest rates.

(d) Providing payments to the board of commissioners of public lands to reduce principal or interest payments, or both, on loans made to political subdivisions under subch. II of ch. 24 by the board of commissioners of public lands for projects that are eligible for financial assistance under the land recycling loan program.

(3) Notice of intent to apply.

(a) An eligible applicant shall submit notice of its intent to apply for financial assistance under the land recycling loan program. An eligible applicant shall submit the notice at least 6 months before the beginning of the fiscal year in which it will request to receive funding. The notice shall be in a form prescribed by the department and the department of administration.

(b) The department may waive par. (a) upon the written request of an eligible applicant.

(5) Application. After submitting a notice of intent to apply under sub. (3) (a) or obtaining a waiver under sub. (3) (b), an eligible applicant shall submit an application for land recycling loan program financial assistance to the department. The eligible applicant shall submit the application before the date established by the department. The department shall establish at least 2 application deadlines each year. The application shall be in the form and include the information required by the department and the department of administration. An eligible applicant may not submit more than one application per project per year.

(6) Priority list. The department shall establish a priority list that ranks each land recycling loan program project. The department shall promulgate rules for determining project rankings based on the potential of projects to reduce environmental pollution and threats to human health and, for sites and facilities that are not landfills, the extent to which projects will prevent the development of undeveloped land by making land available for redevelopment after a cleanup is conducted. Before the department establishes the priority list, the department shall consider the recommendations of the department of administration and the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation.

(7) Approval of application. The department shall approve an application received under sub. (5) after all of the following occur:

(a) The project is ranked on the priority list under sub. (6).

(b) The department determines that the project meets the eligibility requirements under this section.

(c) The department of administration determines that the eligible applicant will meet the requirements of s. 281.59 (9).

(8) Funding list; allocation of funding. The department shall establish a funding list for each fiscal year that ranks projects of eligible applicants that submit approvable applications under sub. (5) in the same order that they appear on the priority list under sub. (6). If sufficient funds are not available to fund all approved applications for financial assistance, the department of administration shall allocate funding to projects that are approved under sub. (7) in the order that they appear on the funding list, except that the department of administration may not allocate more than 40 percent of the funds allocated in each fiscal year to projects to remedy contamination at landfills.

(8m) Conditions of financial assistance. As a condition of receiving financial assistance under the land recycling loan program, an eligible applicant shall do all of the following:

(a) Establish a dedicated source of revenue for the repayment of the financial assistance.

(b) Comply with those provisions of 33 USC 1381 to 1387, this chapter, and the rules and regulations promulgated under those provisions, that the department specifies.

(c) Allow access to the project by representatives of the department for the purpose of making inspections.

(8p) Security. Notwithstanding s. 281.59 (9) (b) 1., the department and the department of administration may not require an applicant to use general obligation bonds as security for financial assistance under this section but shall accept other collateral that meets typical underwriting criteria.

(8s) Limitation on financial assistance. The amount of a payment under sub. (2r) (d) may not exceed the amount necessary to reduce the interest rate on the loan from market rate to the interest rate that would have been charged on a loan to the political subdivision under sub. (2r) (a).

(9) Financial assistance commitments. The department and the department of administration may, at the request of an eligible applicant, issue a notice of financial assistance commitment after the eligible applicant's application for land recycling loan program financial assistance has been approved and funding has been allocated under sub. (8) for the eligible applicant's project. The notice of financial assistance commitment shall specify the conditions that the eligible applicant must meet to secure financial assistance and shall include the estimated repayment schedules and other terms of financial assistance.

(10) Deadline for closing. If funding is allocated to a project under sub. (8) for a loan and the loan is not closed within 12 months after the date on which funding is allocated, the department of administration shall release the funding allocated to the project.

(11) Loan interest. The department and the department of administration may not charge interest on a land recycling loan program loan.

(11m) Service fee. The department and the department of administration shall jointly charge and collect an annual service fee for reviewing and acting upon land recycling loan program applications and servicing financial assistance agreements. For the 1997-99 fiscal biennium, the service fee shall be 0.5 percent of the loan balance. Fee amounts for later biennia shall be established in the biennial finance plan under s. 281.59 (3) (a) 8. The department and the department of administration shall specify in the biennial finance plan a fee designed to cover the costs of reviewing and acting upon land recycling loan program applications and servicing financial assistance agreements.

(12) Sale of site or facility.

(a) An eligible applicant may not sell a site or facility, or portion of a site or facility, for which the eligible applicant has received a loan under this section, while the loan is outstanding, for less than fair market value.

(b) If an eligible applicant sells a site or facility, or portion of a site or facility, for which the eligible applicant has received a loan under this section, the eligible applicant shall do the following:

1. If the sale proceeds are less than or equal to the remaining loan balance, pay the sale proceeds to the department of administration to repay all or a portion of the loan.

2. If the sale proceeds are greater than the remaining loan balance but less than or equal to the cost of the land plus the cost of the cleanup, pay an amount equal to the remaining loan balance to the department of administration and retain the remainder of the sale proceeds.

3. If the sale proceeds are greater than the cost of the land plus the cost of the cleanup, pay to the department of administration an amount equal to the remaining loan balance plus the lesser of 75 percent of the amount by which the sale proceeds exceed the cost of the land plus the cost of the cleanup or the difference between the amount of interest paid on the loan and the amount of interest that would have been paid if the loan had been made at the market rate, and retain the remainder of the sale proceeds.

(13) Duties of the department. The department shall do all of the following:

(a) Seek approval of the federal environmental protection agency for the use of funds under 33 USC 1381 to 1387 for the land recycling loan program.

(b) Promulgate rules establishing eligibility criteria for applicants and projects under this section.

(c) Promulgate rules that are necessary for the execution of its responsibilities under the land recycling loan program.

(d) Cooperate with the department of administration in administering the land recycling loan program.

(e) Submit a biennial budget request under s. 16.42 for the land recycling loan program.

(f) Have the lead role with the federal environmental protection agency concerning the land recycling loan program.

(g) Have the lead role with eligible applicants in providing land recycling loan program information, and cooperate with the department of administration in providing that information to eligible applicants.

(h) Periodically inspect land recycling loan program projects to determine project compliance with the requirements of this section.

(i) By May 1 of each even-numbered year, prepare and submit to the department of administration a biennial needs list that includes all of the following information:

1. A list of land recycling loan program projects that the department estimates will apply for financial assistance under the land recycling loan program during the next biennium.

2. The estimated cost and estimated construction schedule of each project on the list under subd. 1., and the total of the estimated costs of all projects on the list under subd. 1.

3. The estimated rank of each project on the priority list under sub. (6).

History: 1997 a. 27, 237; 1999 a. 9; 2001 a. 16, 30; 2009 a. 28; 2011 a. 32; 2015 a. 55.