EPA Invites 39 New Projects To Apply For Water Infrastructure Loans

Projects will help modernize water infrastructure for 25 M Americans while creating up to 49,000 jobs

Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that 39 new projects are being invited to apply for Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) loans and 4 projects are being added to a waitlist. The agency anticipates that, as funds become available, $6.7B in WIFIA loans will help finance over $15B in water infrastructure projects to protect public health and water quality across 24 states.

“Far too many communities still face significant water challenges, making these transformative investments in water infrastructure so crucial,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “The WIFIA invited projects will deliver major benefits like the creation of good-paying jobs and the safeguarding of public health, especially in underserved and under-resourced communities. This program is a shining example of the public health and economic opportunities that will be achieved under President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.”

EPA’s WIFIA program will provide selected borrowers with innovative financing tools to address pressing public health and environmental challenges in their communities. Consistent with its announced priorities, the WIFIA program is making $1.2B in loans available to support infrastructure needs in historically underserved communities. Additionally, 14 projects will help protect infrastructure from the impacts of extreme weather events and the climate crisis. New and innovative approaches, including cybersecurity, green infrastructure, and water reuse, are included in 24 projects.

By diversifying its geographic reach and the types of selected borrowers, the WIFIA program will also expand the types of projects it supports. For the first time, entities in Connecticut, Delaware, and Hawaii are invited to apply. Three small communities, with populations of 25,000 or less, are selected for WIFIA loans totaling nearly $62M. In addition, seven projects submitted by private borrowers and public-private partnerships totaling over $1.5B in WIFIA financing are included.

EPA is also inviting state agencies in Indiana and New Jersey to apply for a total of $472M in WIFIA loans through EPA’s state infrastructure financing authority WIFIA (SWIFIA) program. EPA’s SWIFIA loans are available exclusively to state infrastructure financing authority borrowers, commonly known as State Revolving Fund (SRF) programs, and will allow these programs to finance more infrastructure projects in their states. These programs will combine state resources, annual capitalization grants, and the low-cost, flexible SWIFIA loans to accelerate investment in drinking water and wastewater infrastructure to modernize aging systems and tackle new contaminants.

WIFIA Invited Projects:

• Baltimore City Department of Public Works (Md.): $36M for the Water Infrastructure Advancement 2021 project.
• Charlotte Water (N.C.): $169M for the Mallard Creek Sewer Basin Wastewater Collection and Treatment Improvements Program.
• City of Ashland (Ore.): $36M for a 7.0 M Gallons per Day Water Treatment Plant.
• City of Bellingham (Wash.): $136M for the Post Point Resource Recovery Plant Biosolids Project.
• City of Boise (Idaho): $272M for Water Renewal Services Capital Investments Projects.
• City of Chattanooga (Tenn.): $186M for Wastewater Compliance and Sustainability Projects.
• City of Cortland (N.Y.): $12M for the Homer Avenue Gateway Project.
• City of Memphis (Tenn.): $44M for Stormwater Upgrades.
• City of Oregon City (Ore.): $12M for Water Rehabilitation, Resiliency and Improvement Projects.
• City of Philadelphia (Pa.): $260M for the Water Department 2021 project.
• City of Port Washington (Wis.): $12M for the Water Treatment Plant Improvement Project.
• City of Santa Cruz (Calif.): $164M for the Santa Cruz Water Program.
• City of Westminster (Colo.): $130M for the Water2025 project.
• City of Wichita (Kan.): $181M for the Wastewater Reclamation Facilities Biological Nutrient Removal Improvements Project.
• County of Hawaii (Hawaii): $24M for Hawaii Wastewater Treatment Upgrades.
• EPCOR Foothills Water Project Inc. (Ore.): $76M for the Lake Oswego Wastewater Treatment Replacement Project.
• Fishers Island Water Works Corporation (N.Y.): $14M for Water System Improvements.
• Gainesville Regional Utilities (Fla.): $14M for the Sanitary Sewer Replacement and Improvement Project.
• Helix Water District (Calif.): $16M for the Drinking Water Reliability Project.
• King County (Wash.): $287M Master Agreement.
• Marin Municipal Water District (Calif.): $11M for Marin Water.
• Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District (MSD) (Mo.): $278M for MSD Project Clear - Deer Creek Watershed / Lemay Service Area System Improvements.
• Metro Water Services (Tenn.): $186M for the Process Advancements at Omohundro and K.R. Harrington Water Treatment Plants Project.
• Narragansett Bay Commission (R.I.): $28M for Field's Point Resiliency Improvements.
• New Castle County (Del.): $32M for the Christina River Force Main Rehabilitation Project.
• Project 7 Water Authority (Colo.): $39M for the Ridgway Water Treatment Plant.
• Rialto Water Service LLC (Calif.): $68M for Microgrid and System Improvements.
• San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (Calif.): $618M for Wastewater Capital Plan Resilience Projects.
• Santa Clara Valley Water District (Calif.): $575M for the Pacheco Reservoir Expansion Project.
• Santa Clara Valley Water District (Calif.): $80M for the Safe, Clean Water and Natural Flood Protection Program.
• Santa Margarita Water District (Calif.): $22M for Recycled Water Conversion.
• Sharyland Water Supply Corporation (Texas): $14M for Sharyland Water Supply Corporation Water System Infrastructure Improvements.
• South Central Connecticut Regional Water Authority (Conn.): $20M for Lake Whitney Dam and Spillway Improvements.
• Tualatin Valley Water District (Ore.): $16M for the Water System Upgrades Program.
• United Water Conservation District (Calif.): $52M for the Santa Felicia Safety Improvement Project.
• Upper Santa Ana River Watershed Infrastructure Financing Authority (Calif.): $177M for the Watershed Connect project.
• Village of New Lenox (Ill.): $70M for Phase 1 Improvements projects.

Waitlist Projects:

• American Infrastructure Holdings (S.D.): $20M for the Sioux City Biosolids to Fertilizer Project.
• Lake Restoration Solutions, LLC (Utah): $893M for the Utah Lake Restoration Project.
• Northern Water (Colo.): $464M for the Northern Integrated Supply Project - Glade Reservoir Complex.
• Southland Water Agency (Ill.): $479M for the Southland Water Agency Infrastructure System.

Background on WIFIA
Established by the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of 2014, the WIFIA program is a federal loan and guarantee program administered by EPA. WIFIA’s goal is to accelerate investment in the nation’s water infrastructure by providing long-term, low-cost supplemental credit assistance for regionally and nationally significant projects.

Since the first WIFIA loan closed in 2018, EPA has announced 63 WIFIA loans that are providing over $12B in credit assistance to help finance approximately $26B for water infrastructure while creating more than 73,000 jobs and saving ratepayers over $4.5B. EPA received 50 letters of interest from public and private entities as well as State Infrastructure Financing Authorities in response to the 2021 WIFIA Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) and the 2021 State Infrastructure Financing Authorities WIFIA NOFA.

For more information about the WIFIA program, visit https://www.epa.gov/wifia.

For more information about the SWIFIA program, visit https://www.epa.gov/wifia/what-swifia