Authorization for metropolitan sewerage districts containing a first class city to finance and construct a dredged material management facility located in the city of Milwaukee. (FE)

Current law allows a metropolitan sewerage commission for a sewerage district including a first class city to participate in certain shore protection projects, but the provision does not apply to any project after January 1, 1992. The bill would modify certain current law requirements, including the date restriction, to specifically allow the metropolitan sewerage commission to construct projects, including a dredged material management facility project, before January 1, 2032. Under the bill, the commission must pay for all the costs of the dredged material management facility project through its capital budget and may finance the project by issuance of bonds or notes that must be made payable within 35 years. The bill also provides that the commission may reserve space in the dredged material management facility for the disposal of sediment from flood management projects. The bill is contingent upon the commission adopting a resolution by the end of calendar year 2021 that establishes a requirement that through 2027, the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District's capital budget levy increases will be at or below 3 percent. The bill allows for an exemption to the 3 percent limit to address circumstances associated with a state, city, or county declared state of emergency or an emergency declaration or major disaster declaration by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, but only if enacted by a two-thirds majority vote by the commission.