Wisconsin Water Quality Planning Grants

The Local Water Quality Planning Grant Program supports regional and local water quality planning activities through state and federal funds. The program has an annual budget of approximately $300K per year (down from over $400K in 2002) which is distributed to designated planning agencies and contract agencies in designated planning areas.

If funding exists beyond the core water quality planning work for these agencies, grant recipients are determined based on statutory requirements, bureau priorities and emerging issues. WDNR receives authority for this grant program from 604(b)of the Federal Clean Water Act, s. 281.51, Wis. Stats. (previously s. 144.235(2)(c), Wis. Stats.), and from Chapter NR121 of the Wisconsin Administrative Code.

• Grant Project Priorities
• 2009-2010 Supplemental Recovery Act Planning Funds

Grant Priorities & Eligibility

Financial support for local and regional planning agencies to assist the DNR in the development and implementation of watershed and areawide water quality management planning activities.

First priority is the funding of water quality implementation in designated management areas of the state, defined in NR121, which include the seven county Southeast Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission (SEWRPC) area, Dane County, and the Fox Valley Region (Brown County and portions of the East Central Regional Planning area).

Second priority are areas in the state required to develop sewer service area plans, or long-term plans that identify where public sewer will be placed in the future. (What is Sewer Service Area Planning?) Muncipalities with populations greater than 10,000 are required to develop such a plan. These are called "undesignated" or "nondesignated" management areas. (Designated versus Undesignated Planning Areas) This grant program generally funds the first of these plans for the community. The community is then responsible for the implementation of the plan, including updates.

Third priority are plans and studies that support watershed management, including municipal stormwater analyses for municipalities with populations greater than 10,000, regional wastewater facility planning studies, identification and protection of environmentally sensitive areas ('environmental corridors'), or special watershed studies in support of pollution trading, for example.