(1)    Feasibility work contracted under s. 33.13 (2) (b) is eligible for financial assistance subject to guidelines established by rule by the department for funding feasibility studies. Receipt of financial assistance for feasibility work does not guarantee financial assistance for implementation costs and the department may not make this type of commitment for future financial assistance.

   (3)   A district desiring financial assistance shall apply to the department on forms provided by it and prescribing the information to be submitted.

   (4)   The department shall review all applications for financial assistance under this section. In the course of review of applications for financial assistance for implementation work the department shall consider, without limitation because of enumeration, the following factors where appropriate:

      (a)    Whether the citizens of the state will reasonably benefit from any improvements made or information obtained, and the degree of benefit;

      (b)    Whether sufficient long- and short-term benefits will be derived from the project, in relation to its cost;

      (c)    Whether the project is financially viable, given the resources of the district and the possibility of financial and nonmonetary aid;

      (d)    Whether adequate steps have been or will be taken to ensure that the improved conditions resulting from the project will be sustained by adequate controls over potential sources of lake degradation including, where appropriate, control of sediments as suggested by the county land conservation committee;

      (e)    Whether experimental techniques involving a high risk of failure are being undertaken;

      (f)    Whether contamination from deleterious substances emitted by residential, municipal or industrial sources, sedimentation, siltation and nutrient fertilization from uncontrolled agricultural sources or septic tanks, groundwater, municipal and industrial wastes and other drainage sources, and any other sources responsible for lake degradation, are or will be substantially eliminated as a source of lake degradation, in order that any lake rehabilitated under this chapter may be protected or maintained in its protected or rehabilitated state;

      (g)    Whether the project involves dredging and, if it does, the expected useful duration of the proposed dredging, whether other techniques are available to provide relief from the problem to be solved by dredging and whether long-term controls are or will be undertaken to prevent sedimentation; and

      (h)    Whether the project involves algae or aquatic plant abatement programs and, if it does, whether long-term controls are or will be undertaken to reduce or prevent nutrient pollution.

   (5)   The department may not approve any application for financial assistance for the implementation of any project which involves dredging if the expected useful duration of the dredging is less than 50 years. The department may not approve any application for financial assistance for the implementation of any project which involves dredging if the state funding provided by the department under the financial assistance program would provide more than 50 percent of the funding necessary for dredging other than dredging to provide public access. The department may not approve any application for financial assistance for the implementation of dredging if the amount of the financial assistance to be provided for dredging for a single project exceeds 10 percent of the funds available for all projects in the biennium. The department may not approve any application for financial assistance for the implementation of dredging unless no other reasonable alternative is available to provide relief from the problem to be solved by dredging.

   (6)   The department shall act upon each application for financial assistance within 60 days following plan approval and issuance of permits unless lack of adequate funding or the need to invoke a priority system dictates a delay in determination. Plan disapproval, delay in funding or other action not approving the application shall be explained by the department to the district in writing.

   (7)   

      (a)    District share. The department may not grant financial assistance for implementation work in an amount which reduces a district’s share of the project cost to less than 10 percent, except that up to 100 percent funding may be allowed on high-risk experimental projects where eventual results are highly uncertain.

      (b)    Grant limit. No grant for financial assistance under this section may exceed 25 percent of state funds available in the biennium.

      (c)    Dredging limit. No grant for financial assistance under this section may provide for funding for dredging in an amount which exceeds 10 percent of the funds available in the biennium.

      (d)    Renewal. The department may not renew a grant for financial assistance under this section in future bienniums unless the council finds that a special situation exists and recommends renewal of the grant.

      (e)    North-south split. The department shall grant financial assistance under this section so that not less than 25 percent of the moneys granted in any fiscal year are granted to districts north of a line running east-west across the state and commencing at the southernmost point on the southern boundary of the city of Stevens Point, except that this subsection does not preclude the full utilization of available funds if all applications north of this line aggregate less than 25 percent of the annual appropriations.

      (f)    Level of funding; priorities. The department shall grant financial assistance under this section with the appropriate level of state funding based upon rules promulgated under s. 33.02 (1) (d). The department may deny financial assistance under this section based upon priorities promulgated by rule under s. 33.02 (1) (e).

   (8)   The department may evaluate or contract with the University of Wisconsin System to evaluate projects receiving financial assistance under this section.