Section NR 155.22 - Cost-share agreement(1) PURPOSE OF AGREEMENT. (a) The cost-share agreement is an agreement listing the urban best management practices and establishing the conditions and considerations under which a cost-share recipient agrees to install the practices listed.(b) A local governmental unit shall use the cost-share agreement if serving as a cost-share provider to a landowner or land operator.(c) For urban best management practices to be eligible for cost-sharing, the cost-share agreement shall be signed by the cost-share provider and cost-share recipient before urban best management practice installation is initiated.(2) PARTIES TO THE AGREEMENT. (a) The cost-share agreement shall be between the governmental unit and the individual landowner or land operator. Agreements with land operators shall be co-signed by the landowner.(b) Governmental units, as cost-share agreement providers, shall enter into cost-share agreements only during the period specified in the runoff management grant agreement.(c) The cost-share agreement applies to all contiguous sites under the same ownership. At the discretion of the governmental unit, the cost-share agreement may also apply to noncontiguous sites under the same ownership or operation in the watershed. In this paragraph, "contiguous" means touching or sharing a common boundary with a second parcel of land. A lake, river, stream, road, railroad or utility right of way that separates any part of the parcel from any other part does not render the parcel of land noncontiguous.(d) A cost-share agreement may not be signed with an individual whose name appears on the statewide support lien docket under s. 49.854(2) (b), Stats., unless the individual submits to the provider a payment agreement that has been approved by the county child support agency under s. 59.53(5), Stats., and that is consistent with rules promulgated under s. 49.858(2) (a), Stats.(3) CONTENT OF THE AGREEMENT. The cost-share agreement shall contain or describe: (a) The name and address of the cost-share recipient.(b) The urban best management practices to be applied and the cost-share rates for those practices that are to be cost shared. The cost-share agreement shall require that all cost-shared urban best management practices be implemented and maintained as a condition of the agreement.(c) The estimated total practice cost, cost-share rate and estimated cost-share amount.(d) The installation schedule for applying the practices.(e) A statement of operation and maintenance requirements.(f) A prohibition against adopting any land use or practice which defeats the purposes of the urban best management practices, the cost-share agreement or the runoff management grant agreement.(g) A stipulation that the cost-share recipient may not discriminate against a contractor on the basis of age, sex, religion or other prohibited factor.(h) A provision describing the procedure for amendment.(i) The location of the land on which the cost-shared practice is to be installed, and a specific legal description of the land.(j) A prohibition against any change in land use or management on the entire property described on the cost-share agreement which may cause sources which were adequately managed at the time of cost-share agreement signing, including compliance with performance standards under ch. NR 151 to produce a significantly increased pollutant loading to surface water or groundwater. 1. If a change in land use or management occurs, the landowner or land operator shall control the source at the landowner or land operator's own expense or return any cost-sharing funds awarded through the cost-share agreement to the provider.2. Increases in urban pollutant loading resulting from the conversion of land to urban land cover may not be considered significant if the land development or redevelopment activity meets the non-agricultural and transportation performance standards in subchs. III and IV of ch. NR 151.(k) A requirement to amend the cost-share agreement if practices are added or deleted and to add or delete practices only if they are consistent with the project grant application. Note: Compliance with conditions in a cost-share agreement does not assure compliance with performance standards under ch. NR 151. For example, the operation and maintenance period for purposes of cost sharing is 10 years for most practices. However, compliance with non-agricultural and transportation performance standards under ch. NR 151 must be maintained in perpetuity.
(4) DEPARTMENT APPROVAL. The governmental unit shall obtain prior department approval of the cost share agreement. The department shall consider the cost-effectiveness of the urban best management practices and eligibility for cost sharing under this chapter in making its decision whether to grant approval.(5) SUBMITTAL TO DEPARTMENT. Unless required otherwise under sub. (4), the cost-share agreement provider shall submit a copy of the cost-share agreement and amendments to the department within 30 days of execution. The department may deny reimbursement to the governmental unit for costs associated with the installation of a urban best management practice not in conformance with the cost-share agreement, the runoff management grant agreement and the project grant application.(6) AGREEMENT PERIOD. The cost-share agreement period shall be the period from the cost-share agreement signing to the end of the operation and maintenance period. (a) The period during which practices in a signed cost-share agreement may be installed may not extend beyond the period of the runoff management grant agreement for the project.(b) For purposes of complying with the cost-share agreement, the operation and maintenance period for an urban best management practice begins when the urban best management practice installation is complete and ends after the required operation and maintenance period has expired. The operation and maintenance period for each cost-shared and not cost-shared urban best management practice shall last for a minimum of 10 years except that the operation and maintenance period shall last for a minimum of 15 years if a payment is made under s. NR 154.03(1) (i) 3.(7) FAILURE TO FULFILL AGREEMENT. If the cost-share recipient fails to fulfill any terms of the cost-share agreement, including failing to install, operate and properly maintain the practices of the agreement, the full amount of cost-shared funds received by the cost-share recipient shall be repaid to the governmental unit which is the provider of the agreement. The provider shall forward the repayment to the department.(8) INEFFECTIVE PRACTICES. If the practice becomes ineffective either during or beyond the grant period of the runoff management grant agreement for the project and the reason for the practice becoming ineffective is beyond the control of the cost-share recipient, the department may award a new grant agreement or amend and extend the existing runoff management grant agreement to cost share the maintenance or replacement of the practice. (a) The department may not provide cost sharing for the maintenance or replacement of a practice more than once.(b) An appropriate operation and maintenance period for the replacement practice shall be identified in the cost-share agreement.(9) CHANGE IN OWNERSHIP. If a change in ownership occurs during the cost-share agreement period, the new landowner shall be responsible for fulfilling all conditions of the cost-share agreement. Upon receiving written approval from the respective local governmental unit, the new landowner may implement alternative approved urban best management practices provided that an equal or greater level of pollution control is achieved.(10) RECORDING OF COST-SHARE AGREEMENTS WITH REGISTER OF DEEDS. (a) The governmental unit shall record the cost-share agreement and its amendments in the office of the register of deeds for each county in which the property is located.(b) The governmental unit shall record these documents prior to making reimbursements to the landowner or land operator.(11) RELEASE OF PROPERTY FROM OBLIGATIONS OF COST-SHARE AGREEMENTS. At the request of the cost-share recipient, a governmental unit may fully or partially release a property from the obligations of the cost-share agreement provided that the governmental unit has determined that the urban best management practices installed on the property will be maintained or replaced with practices which will not increase the pollutant loading to surface water or groundwater counter to the water resource objectives of the grant application. The governmental unit shall obtain written approval from the department before the property may be released. The release form shall be obtained from the department and filed with the cost-share agreement.Wis. Admin. Code Department of Natural Resources NR 155.22
CR 00-025: cr. Register September 2002 No. 561, eff. 10-1-02; CR 09-112: am. (3) (i), (4), (10) (a), (11) Register December 2010 No. 660, eff. 1-1-11.Forms can be obtained from the department's Bureau of Watershed Management or the department's Bureau of Community Financial Assistance, 101 S. Webster St., PO Box 7921, Madison, WI 53707-7921.