EPA would receive $15 million to leverage into loans through the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) pilot program under the FY17 budget request unveiled by President Obama last week.
The budget plan proposes a total of $20 million for WIFIA, with $15 million of that dedicated to providing “supplemental credit assistance to projects of major importance to the water sector.” The plan would reserve the remaining $5 million for the management and operation of the program. The plan also announces that EPA intends to begin issuing loans through WIFIA during the 2017 fiscal year – the first time the agency has identified a specific target date for having the program up and running.
Congress passed WIFIA in 2014 as a five-year pilot program aimed at major water infrastructure projects expected to cost more than $20 million. The budget summary released by EPA goes on to explain the proposed $15 million to support WIFIA could be leveraged into “a potential loan capacity of nearly $1 billion.”