The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is preparing to help fund more water infrastructure projects with $7.5 billion in funding from the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act, to announce on September 6.
The WIFIA program provides low-cost loans to help finance the planning, design and construction of water infrastructure projects. The EPA says it offers favorable terms not typically offered by banks, such as interest rate resets, debt restructuring and quick disbursements, and loan recipients can defer payment for up to five years after the project is completed. Borrowers can combine the financing of several projects into a single WIFIA loan.
This round of funding, which is the program’s eighth since it was established in 2014, includes $6.5 billion available through WIFIA and an additional $1 billion through the State Water Infrastructure Financing Authority (SWIFIA ), which is available exclusively to states to help finance their projects.
EPA says it prioritizes projects focused on improving health and livability in disadvantaged communities, replacing service lines, addressing PFAS and other contaminants, strengthening infrastructure for resilience climate and support for innovation in the water sector.
“With these resources, communities will continue to take advantage of progress to replace lead pipes, reduce PFA pollution and protect people from climate change,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan said in a statement.
EPA is accepting letters of interest for the WIFIA program on an ongoing basis. A wide variety of treatment, transmission and distribution, source, storage and other projects are eligible for the program. To qualify, they would have to be estimated to cost at least $20 million, or $5 million for small communities serving no more than 25,000 people. WIFIA loans can cover up to 49% of eligible costs or 80% of costs for small community projects.
The EPA aims to allocate 15% of the funding to small community projects.
Just one day earlier, EPA officials announced that they had selected the Upper Thompson Sewage District in Colorado for a $96 million WIFIA loan to support construction of a facility $124 million water reclamation project in Estes Park, Colorado. The facility will implement new treatment technology. and replace another treatment facility that is reaching the end of its useful life.
“As we prepare for our long-term, sustained environmental stewardship, loans through the WIFIA program enable the construction of critical new infrastructure to serve the residents of the Estes Valley and protect the Big Thompson River for the next few decades,” said Chris Bieker. the manager of the sanitation district, in a statement.
In that case, the sanitation district expects to save about $79 million by partially funding the work through WIFIA.
