Last week, Department of Transportation Secretary-designee Craig Thompson provided information on how the department intends to distribute the one-time available $75 million in local supplement transportation grants included in the state budget.

Funding split. The $75 million will be split between local government types in the same proportions as the Legislature had proposed dividing the original $90 million in the budget bill sent to the governor. Cities and villages are to receive 25% of the funding, counties 36%, and towns 39%.

The specific dollar amounts are:

​Counties​ ---$26,669,333

​Cities/Villages --- $19,039,500

Towns --- $29,291,167​

Funding for the Kaukauna Veterans Memorial Lift Bridge is to be included in the program. The total estimated cost of the bridge project is $2.2 million. The state is responsible for paying 80% of the cost of this project. According to Secretary Thompson, funding for the bridge project will be accomplished by taking $500,000 from each of the local government groups allocation.

Project eligibility. Grants will be available to local governments or groups of local governments on a competitive basis for projects statewide related to:

The program will pay up to 90% of total eligible costs with local governments providing the remaining 10%. 

Project selection process . The program will mirror aspects of the Local Roads Improvement Program (LRIP). The project selection process will include local government committees. The department will solicit applications beginning probably in early fall. The department will create a common form to facilitate application review. The department will balance awards throughout DOT's five regions. The Secretary's office will make a final determination of the list of approved projects.

Project delivery/Oversight. The emphasis will be on local project delivery with minimal WisDOT oversight. Grant recipients will be required to report project outcomes to the department. The department will provide funding through reimbursements as a local government incurs costs throughout the project until completion. A six-year project completion will be required for approved projects.

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We will report more details regarding the program as they become available.

As reported in last week's Legislative Bulletin, the state budget, Act 9, mandates a reduction in municipal cable franchise fee percentages and requires the state to compensate municipalities for the lost revenue. In order to qualify for the 2020 reimbursement payment from the state, a municipality must report to the Department of Revenue no later than August 15, 2019: (1) the gross receipt amounts that Video Service Providers reported to them in 2018 and (2) how much they received in Video Service Provider fee revenue in 2018.

DOR has not yet indicated how they want communities to file the information the department needs to calculate each community's cable franchise fee reimbursement payment. DOR staff said last week that they were researching DOR's responsibilities regarding calculating and distributing the new video service reimbursement fee. DOR staff also said they plan to provide information to communities in the next couple of weeks, probably by email. We will report any more information from DOR as soon as we hear it.

Last month, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection announced recommendations for groundwater enforcement standards and preventive action limits for 27 substances. Two of the substances are per-and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS), which are human-made chemicals used in many products, including non-stick cookware, fast food wrappers, stain-resistant sprays and firefighting foam.

Wisconsin DHS has recommended one of the most restrictive proposed standards for PFAS in groundwater in the nation at 20 parts per trillion combined. In addition, DHS recommends a combined preventive action limit for PFOS and PFOA of just 2 parts per trillion, the lowest limit in the nation to date. If the standard is enforced, DNR could take regulatory action against any local government that has even trace amounts of these two chemicals in public water systems. Eliminating these compounds from drinking water will require water utilities to install expensive control equipment.

The DNR is expected to begin a rule-making process updating groundwater quality standards for these substances. The rulemaking process will likely take two years or more. The DNR will be conducting a public input period in coming months.

The League has helped create a Public Sector PFAS Coalition consisting of groups representing municipal water and wastewater utilities. The group's goals are to advocate for science based standards, educate the public about PFAS, and communicate our concerns about the potential high cost to municipal utilities of complying with the proposed PFAS standards.