Loan Capacity

The Environmental Loans Section intends to provide loan capacity updates on this page and through other channels as additional information becomes available.

Dec. 12, 2024, Update

In December 2024, the DNR intends to publish the State Fiscal Year 2025 Funding List for the Clean Water Fund Program and the State Fiscal Year 2025 Final Funding List for the Safe Drinking Water Loan Program on the Project Lists and Intended Use Plans webpage.

• Total loan capacity for the Safe Drinking Water Loan Program is $199 million for the State Fiscal Year 2025 funding cycle.
  • There is enough funding available for all SFY 2025 SDWLP applicants.
  • Supplemental applications will be accepted; however, there is no guarantee that they will be funded.
• Total loan capacity for the Clean Water Fund Program is $400 million for the State Fiscal Year 2025 funding cycle. In addition, approximately $44 million in principal forgiveness funding is available for a total of $444 million available in funding.
  • For the first time in Clean Water Fund Program history, loan demand has exceeded capacity. Total Clean Water Fund Program demand in state fiscal year 2025 equaled more than $534 million.
  • Due to recent spikes in demand for funding, the Clean Water Fund Program has exhausted available revenue bonding authority and is therefore unable to allocate funding to all applicants. Additional funding will be allocated to unfunded projects if it becomes available.
  • The DNR and the Wisconsin Department of Administration are working together to request additional EIF bonding authority through the 2025-27 biennial budget process.
  • Supplemental applications are technically being accepted; however, unfunded projects listed on the funding list will have first priority. Funding all current applications, and then supplemental applications, will likely require additional bonding authority.

FAQs

The following questions and answers may be updated in the future if additional questions arise.

• Frequently asked loan capacity questions and answers (R 12/16/24).

Feb. 8, 2024, Webinar

• On Feb. 8, 2024, the Wisconsin DNR held a webinar to discuss loan capacity limitations and resulting impacts. A recording of the presentation is available here [VIDEO Length 0:14:55].

Why

The volume of total financial assistance requested in SFY 2024 and SFY 2025 represented a dramatic increase over historical norms.

Although the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) funding provides a substantial increase in the amount of principal forgiveness (PF) available, it only increased total loan capacity fractionally. The CWFP and SDWLP have the flexibility to accommodate moderate increases in funding requested over historic norms, but the level of funding requested in the past two years has strained that flexibility.

What is the impact to current applicants?

Safe Drinking Water Loan Program:

Base Program: Sufficient funding is available for all applicants that submitted applications by the July 1, 2024 application deadline for base program projects.

• Supplemental applications will be accepted but there is no guarantee for funding.

BIL-funded Drinking Water Emerging Contaminants Program: Sufficient funding is available for all applicants.

BIL-funded Lead Service Line Replacement Program: There was not enough BIL LSL loan funding for non-private side replacements for all applicants. Those applicants that were not allocated full funding have the opportunity to take base SDWLP loan funding at the standard subsidized loan rate.

Clean Water Fund Program:

Sufficient funding is not available for all SFY 2025 projects. Loan funding was allocated in priority score order on the SFY 2025 funding list. If additional funding becomes available, that funding can be allocated in priority score order to those projects below the initial loan cut-off line. Additional loan funding may become available if a project closes their loan under budget, a project withdraws, or if additional revenue bonding authority is authorized.

Contact information

Clean Water Fund Program

Direct questions about CWFP funding to:

Lisa Bushby, CWFP Coordinator, at Lisa.Bushby@Wisconsin.gov

Safe Drinking Water Loan Program

Direct questions about SDWLP funding to:

Noah Balgooyen, SDWLP Coordinator, at Noah.Balgooyen@Wisconsin.gov