Date of enactment: April 3, 2024
2023 Senate Bill 222 Date of publication*: April 4, 2024
2023 WISCONSIN ACT 265
AN ACT to create 323.63 of the statutes; relating to: a pre−disaster flood resilience grant program.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in
senate and assembly, do enact as follows:
SECTION 1. 323.63 of the statutes is created to read:
323.63 Pre−disaster flood resilience grant pro-
gram. (1) DEFINITIONS. In this section:
(a) “Assessment grant” means a grant awarded under
sub. (3).
(b) “Implementation grant” means a grant awarded
under sub. (4).
(c) “Local governmental unit” means any city, vil-
lage, town, county, regional planning commission, or
federally recognized American Indian tribe or band in
this state.
(d) “Program” means the pre−disaster flood
resilience grant program described in sub. (2) (a).
(2) CREATION AND ADMINISTRATION. (a) The division
shall create and administer a pre−disaster flood resilience
grant program to provide grants to applicants for the pur-
pose of identifying flood vulnerabilities, identifying
options to improve flood resiliency, and restoring hydrol-
ogy in order to reduce flood risk and damages in flood−
prone communities.
(b) The program shall provide grants as described in
subs. (3) and (4), and shall establish an annual grant
cycle.
(c) In each fiscal biennium, for each dollar the pro-
gram awards for an assessment grant under sub. (3), the
program may award no more than 67 percent of a dollar
for an implementation grant under sub. (4).
(3) ASSESSMENT GRANTS. (a) Assessment grants
awarded under this subsection shall support applicants’
generation and gathering of information on vulnerabili-
ties and identification of flood resilience priorities on a
watershed, catchment, or stream reach−scale through one
or more of the following activities:
1. Assessments aimed at understanding flood flows
and erosion hazards and vulnerabilities and identifying
opportunities to increase flood resilience, including
opportunities to restore wetland, stream, and floodplain
hydrology.
2. Development of culvert inventories using the
Great Lakes Stream Crossing Inventory, or using another
road−stream crossing inventory method that considers
structural risk factors, aquatic organism passage, and
upstream hydrologic conditions, and that is at least as
effective as the Great Lakes Stream Crossing Inventory.
3. Conducting hydrologic and hydraulic studies that
help develop hydrologic models.
(b) Data generated from activities under par. (a) may
not be deemed proprietary and shall be provided to enti-
ties that develop local hazard mitigation plans.
(c) The division may award an assessment grant of
up to $300,000 for any combination of activities enumer-
ated in par. (a). An assessment grant awarded under this
* Section 991.11, WISCONSIN STATUTES: Effective date of acts. “Every act and every portion of an act enacted by the legislature over the governor’s
partial veto which does not expressly prescribe the time when it takes effect shall take effect on the day after its date of publication.” − 2 −2023 Wisconsin Act 265 2023 Senate Bill 222
subsection shall be for a maximum of 75 percent of the
total anticipated project cost, and the assessment grant
recipient shall secure the remaining funding. The
remaining funding secured by the assessment grant recip-
ient or local governmental unit may include the value of
in−kind contributions, including goods and services and
administrative costs.
(d) An assessment grant application shall include the
following information:
1. Written documentation from the local governmen-
tal unit’s main decision−authorizing body indicating that
the body has authorized the local governmental unit’s
participation in the grant project.
2. Written documentation from the local governmen-
tal unit’s body responsible for expending the local gov-
ernmental unit’s funds indicating the body of the local
governmental unit’s commitment or intention to expend
funds or provide in−kind contributions for the grant proj-
ect.
3. Information detailing all sources of funding for the
project that will not be covered by the grant award under
this subsection.
(4) IMPLEMENTATION GRANTS. (a) Implementation
grants awarded under this subsection shall be used for
implementation of hydrologic restoration projects that
have been either identified or designed through an activ-
ity specified under sub. (3) (a), or through a comparable
assessment process, as determined by the division.
Implementation grants awarded under this subsection
shall support the regulatory coordination, engineering
and design, construction, or post−construction monitor-
ing of an applicant’s hydrologic restoration project that
reconnects streams and floodplains, reestablishes
healthy channel form and condition, mitigates erosion
hazards, removes or reduces wetland drainage, restores
or improves natural flow and movement of water or sedi-
ment, or reestablishes vegetation to support site stability
and help manage flow and infiltration.
(b) The maximum amount of an implementation
grant award under this subsection shall be $250,000. An
implementation grant awarded under this subsection
shall be for a maximum of 75 percent of the total antici-
pated project cost, and the implementation grant recipi-
ent shall secure the remaining funding. The remaining
funding secured by the assessment grant recipient or
local governmental unit may include the value of in−kind
contributions, including goods and services and adminis-
trative costs.
(c) An implementation grant application shall
include the following information:
1. Written documentation from the local governmen-
tal unit’s main decision−authorizing body indicating that
the body has authorized the local governmental unit’s
participation in the grant project.
2. Written documentation from the local governmen-
tal unit’s body responsible for expending the local gov-
ernmental unit’s funds indicating the body of the local
governmental unit’s commitment or intention to expend
funds or provide in−kind contributions for the grant proj-
ect.
3. Information detailing all sources of funding for the
project that will not be covered by the grant award under
this subsection.
(5) ELIGIBILITY. (a) The following persons are eligi-
ble to apply for a grant under this section:
1. One or more local governmental units.
2. A nonprofit organization applying on behalf of one
or more local governmental units.
3. A private consulting organization applying on
behalf of one or more local governmental units.
(b) The division may consider an application for a
grant under this section only if one of the following
applies:
1. The application includes in its project area an area
that has been the site of a presidentially declared disaster
for flooding at any time in the 10 years preceding the
applicable grant cycle.
2. The application includes in its project area an area
that has previously been the site of a governor−issued
state of emergency for flooding at any time in the 10 years
preceding the applicable grant cycle.
3. The application is for a local governmental unit
that has a division−approved hazard mitigation plan that
identifies localized exposure to flood risk.
(6) GRANT RECIPIENT REQUIREMENTS. (a) 1. A grant
recipient shall spend all of the grant money received from
the program under this section on the project described in
the grant application within 2 years of receiving the grant
money.
2. Notwithstanding subd. 1., the division may extend
the time by which a grant recipient shall spend all of the
grant money received from the program under this sec-
tion to match a timeline requirement of a federal grant.
(b) A grant recipient shall provide to the division a
report within 90 days of completion of the grant project,
or 2 years after receiving the grant money, whichever
occurs first. The report shall summarize project goals,
activities conducted with the grant, and data and other
observations demonstrating progress−to−date toward
project goals.
(7) POWERS AND DUTIES. (a) The division shall
develop methods for evaluating grant applications and
shall consider all of the following in evaluating a grant
application:
1. The extent to which the project area has been sub-
ject to, or is upstream from areas that have been subject
to, repetitive flooding and erosion damage.
2. The extent to which the project demonstrates a
cost−effective basis for the proposed actions.
3. The extent to which the project has a clear plan for
demonstrating measurable results. − 3 − 2023 Wisconsin Act 265 2023 Senate Bill 222
4. For assessment grant applications, the extent to
which the project will generate data useful for updates to
hazard mitigation plans, land and water resource man-
agement plans, or other local watershed plans or priori-
ties.
5. Other criteria that help prioritize projects with the
most beneficial impacts, as developed by the division.
(b) The division shall establish by policy grant appli-
cation requirements, including requirements relating to
project narratives, scopes of work, budgeting informa-
tion, supporting documentation, and project timelines.
(c) The division may consult with other state agen-
cies on the administration of the program or the review
of grant applications.
(d) The division shall make publicly available on the
division’s website each report received under sub. (6) (b).
(e) 1. Except as provided in subd. 2., no later than July
1, 2024, and annually thereafter, the division shall submit
a report to the governor and the appropriate standing
committees of the legislature under s. 13.172 (3). The
report shall describe program activities and accomplish-
ments of the preceding fiscal year, list the grant recipients
and grants awarded, and make a recommendation on pro-
gram continuation and funding levels.
2. A report under subd. 1. is not required in any year
in which there are no moneys appropriated to the depart-
ment for the grant programs under this section for the pre-
ceding fiscal year and all moneys that have been appro-
priated to the department for the grant programs under
this section in any previous fiscal year have been
expended and have previously been the subject of a
report under subd. 1.