EPA Invites 38 New Projects To Apply For Water Infrastructure Loans To Improve Water Quality

Projects will provide water infrastructure upgrades for 24 million Americans and will create almost 200,000 jobs

At an event held recently in Detroit, Michigan, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler announced that 38 new projects in 18 states are being invited to apply for Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) loans. Together, the selected borrowers will apply for WIFIA loans totaling approximately $6B to help finance over $12B in water infrastructure investments and create almost 200,000 jobs.

“Through WIFIA, EPA is playing an integral role in President Trump’s efforts to improve and upgrade our nation’s water infrastructure and ensure all Americans have access to clean and safe water,” said EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler. “This announcement highlights billions of dollars in needed water infrastructure investments to upgrade aging infrastructure, reduce exposure to lead and emerging contaminants and improve the lives of millions of Americans across the country – all while creating almost 200,000 jobs.”

EPA’s WIFIA loans will allow communities across the country to implement projects to address national water priorities – including providing for clean and safe drinking water by reducing exposure to lead and emerging contaminants, addressing aging water infrastructure and developing water recycling and reuse projects. Specifically, eight of the selected projects are water reuse or recycling projects, 11 projects will reduce lead or emerging drinking water contaminants, and 33 will address aging infrastructure. EPA received 51 letters of interest from both public and private entities in response to the 2019 WIFIA Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA). After a robust, statutorily required review process, the WIFIA Selection Committee chose the following 38 prospective borrowers’ projects to submit applications for loans:

• City of Phoenix (Arizona): Zone 3D and 4A Improvements Program; $172M
• City of San Mateo (California): Basins 2 and 3 Collection System Improvements Project; $85M
• Soquel Creek Water District (California): Pure Water Soquel; $49M
• City of Oceanside (California): Buccaneer Sewer Lift Station and Force Main Project; $47M
• City of Oceanside (California): Pure Water Oceanside and Lower Recycled Water Distribution System Expansion Project; $57M
• South Coast Water District (California): Doheny Ocean Desalination Project; $60M
• Monterey One Water (California): Pure Water Monterey Groundwater Replenishment Project; $44M
• Poseidon Resources LP (Channelside, California): Huntington Beach Desalination Plant; $585M
• City of Daly City (California): Vista Grande Drainage Basin Improvement Project; $61M
• City of Roseville (California): Roseville’s Water Future Initiative; $37M
• San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (California): Southeast Plant New Headworks Facility Project; $236M
• San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority (California): Jones Pumping Plant Unit Motor Rehabilitation Project; $19M
• Vallejo Flood & Wastewater District (California): Secondary Effluent Project; $12M
• East County Advanced Water Purification Joint Powers Authority (California): Water Purification Project; $342M
• Polk Regional Water Cooperative (Florida): Alterative Water Supplies Program; $235M
• Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department (Florida): South District Wastewater Treatment Plant Expansion; $223M
• City of Atlanta (Georgia): Water Distribution System Resiliency Program; $35M
• City of Joliet (Illinois): Joliet Alternative Water Source Program; loan amount TBD
• Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans (Louisiana): Sewer System Evaluation & Rehabilitation Program; $111M
• Baltimore City Department of Public Works (Maryland): Water Infrastructure Rehabilitation; $209M
• Baltimore City Department of Public Works (Maryland): Wastewater Infrastructure Rehabilitation; $129M
• Baltimore City Department of Public Works (Maryland): Stormwater Management Project; $54M
• Downriver Utility Wastewater Authority (Michigan): Biosolids Dryer Facility & Other Critical Projects; $13M
• New Jersey Infrastructure Bank (New Jersey): Infrastructure Bank Pool; $149M
• Greenville Utilities Commission (North Carolina): GUC Water Treatment Plant Phase 1 Upgrades; $29M
• Metro Flood Diversion Authority (North Dakota): Fargo-Moorhead Metropolitan Area Flood Risk Management Project; $561M
• City of Beaverton (Oregon): Water Supply Improvement Program; $58M
• City of Portland (Oregon): Bull Run Treatment Program; $554M
• Narragansett Bay Commission (Rhode Island): Bucklin Point Resiliency Improvements; $17M
• Bristol County Water Authority (Rhode Island): Pawtucket Pipeline; $26M
• Columbia Power & Water Systems (Tennessee): Long Term Water Supply Program; $106M
• Salt Lake City (Utah), Department of Public Utilities: Water Reclamation Facility Nutrient Project; $355M
• City of Alexandria (Virginia), Virginia, Sanitation Authority: Tunnel System; $189M
• Hampton Roads Sanitation District (Virginia): Sustainable Water Initiative for Tomorrow; $930M
• City of Newport News (Virginia), Waterworks Department: Advance Metering Infrastructure Project; $24M
• City of Tacoma Sewer Utility (Washington): Central Wastewater Treatment Plant Electrical Distribution System Replacement Project; $17M
• King County (Washington): Ship Canal Water Quality Project; $98M
• City of Wausau (Wisconsin): Drinking Water System Treatment Facility Project; $22M

Six prospective borrowers that submitted letters of interest in response to a previous WIFIA Notice of Funding Availability resubmitted them for 2019 and have been invited to proceed in the 2019 funding round. Eight borrowers who have already received a WIFIA loan or are in the process of closing a loan have been invited to apply for additional financing this round. WIFIA is also expanding its geographic scope by inviting entities from seven states that had not previously received WIFIA funding: Illinois, Louisiana, Michigan, New Jersey, North Dakota, Utah, and Virginia. To learn more about the 38 projects that are invited to apply, visit: https://www.epa.gov/wifia/wifia-selected-projects.

Background
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 aim is to accelerate investment in the nation’s water infrastructure by providing long-term and low-cost supplemental credit assistance for regionally and nationally significant projects. EPA’s WIFIA program plays an important part in President Trump’s infrastructure plan, which calls for expanding project eligibility. The WIFIA program has an active pipeline of pending applications for projects that will result in billions of dollars in water infrastructure investment and thousands of jobs.

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