WIFIA PROGRAM The Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) program accelerates investment in our nation's water infrastructure by providing long-term, low-cost supplemental loans for regionally and nationally significant projects. FY 2018 SELECTION ROUND NUMBER OF PROJECTS SELECTED: 39 TOTAL LOAN AMOUNT REQUESTED: $5 billion for loans ranging from $5 to $617 million TOTAL WATER INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT SUPPORTED: Over $10 billion for projects costing from $11 million to $1.3 billion SELECTED BORROWERS THAT RESUBMITTED FROM FY 2017: 8 PROJECTS REDUCING LEAD OR OTHER CONTAMINANTS: 12 PROJECTS ADDRESSING REPAIR, REHABILITATION, OR REPLACEMENT: 37 NUMBER OF PEOPLE BENEFITTED: 22 million in 16 states and Washington, D.C. TYPES OF BORROWERS: Private corporations, public entities, and public-private partnerships TYPES OF PROJECTS: Wastewater collection and treatment, drinking water distribution and treatment, stormwater management, desalination, and water recycling projects. WIFIA APPLICATION PROCESS PHASE 1: PROJECT SELECTION • On April 12, 2018, EPA announced the amount of funding available and solicited letters of interest from prospective borrowers. • On July 31, 2018, EPA received 62 letters of interest in response to this request. • EPA reviewed these letters of interest following the framework established in the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of 2014. The assessment includes an eligibility screening, a preliminary creditworthiness assessment, a preliminary engineering feasibility analysis, and selection criteria scoring. • On November 1, 2018, EPA announced the 39 projects selected to continue with the application process. PHASE 2: PROJECT REVIEW, NEGOTIATION, AND CLOSING • After an invitee applies for WIFIA credit assistance, the WIFIA program conducts a detailed financial and engineering review of the project. • Based on that review, the WIFIA program proposes terms and conditions for the project and negotiates them with the applicant until they develop a mutually agreeable term sheet and loan agreement. • After the Administrator and the Office of Management and Budget approve the loan, the prospective borrower executes the credit agreement, which is the binding legal document that allows the borrower to receive WIFIA funds. £V JV United States Environmental Protection WEBSITE: www.epa.gov/wifia Agency EMAIL: wifia@EPA.gov ------- |