Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
EPA received 62 letters of interest from a wide range of prospective borrowers in response to the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) program’s 2018 Notice of Funding Availability. The agency is evaluating proposed projects’ credit worthiness, engineering feasibility, and alignment with WIFIA statutory or regulatory criteria.
“The more than $9 billion in loans requested is nearly double our lending capacity for 2018, demonstrating the critical need for investment in our nation’s water infrastructure and strong [WIFIA] support,” says EPA Office of Water Assistant Administrator David Ross. “EPA looks forward to reviewing the letters of interest as we advance the President’s infrastructure agenda and help communities better protect public health and water quality.”
Prospective borrowers from 24 states, the District of Columbia, and Guam detail a variety of WIFIA candidate projects involving wastewater or stormwater conveyance and management, drinking water supply and water recycling contracts. While the majority are municipal government agencies, other prospective borrowers include small communities, public-private partnerships, corporations, and a tribe. EPA announced the availability of additional WIFIA funding earlier this year, citing as much as $5.5 billion in loans. Leveraging private capital and other funding sources, the agency notes, forthcoming projects could support $11 billion in water infrastructure investment and create up to 170,000 jobs.