The House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee approved a new “Water Resources Reform and Development Act” (WRRDA) on September 19, after the committee’s chairman said the possible addition of a WIFIA program would be addressed during future conference negotiations with the Senate.
Introduced as H.R. 3080, WRRDA would authorize U.S. Army Corps of Engineers activities to maintain and upgrade the nation’s water resource infrastructure (such as ports, canals, and waterways), while also implementing a series of reforms intended to cut bureaucratic red tape that often delays project approvals for years. The bill has the backing of House Republican leaders, and could receive a vote on the House floor in early October.
But the deal making required to advance WRRDA on a bipartisan basis caused House lawmakers to omit a proposed “Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act” (WIFIA) from the legislation – at least for the time being. While WIFIA does enjoy support in the House of Representatives – most notably from Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee Chairman Bob Gibbs (R-Ohio) – T&I leaders held concerns that conservative House members could view WIFIA as extraneous to WRRDA. Additionally, some Democrats see WIFIA as a threat to ongoing funding for the Drinking Water and Clean Water State Revolving Funds (SRFs). Not wanting to have those issues sidetrack the overall WRRDA bill, the decision was made to leave WIFIA out of H.R. 3080.
The omission of WIFIA does not mark the end of the line for the proposal; instead the new program is expected to be a topic of discussion during the eventual House-Senate negotiations that will be necessary to formulate a final water resources bill later this year. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) – the Senate’s leading WIFIA proponent – is expected to chair the conference, likely ensuring WIFIA’s place on the agenda. Additionally, House T&I Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Penn.) said during a September 11 news conference that he expects WIFIA to be a topic of discussion during the House-Senate negotiations.
The Senate’s WIFIA, approved in May as Title X of S. 601, would authorize two separate pilot programs at EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers to competitively offer loans to eligible large scale water infrastructure projects. AMWA has joined other water sector associations in supporting the proposal and defending it against criticism that it could harm future SRF appropriations (see related story).
Chairman Gibbs has indicated he may introduce a stand-alone WIFIA bill in the coming weeks. The bill would probably not advance through the House, but instead could demonstrate House support for the concept and serve as the House’s starting point for WIFIA negotiations with the Senate. Gibbs has not publicly released a WIFIA draft recently, but versions he circulated last year resembled the Senate version in focusing on water and wastewater projects costing more than $20 million and directing EPA – rather than individual state agencies – to evaluate WIFIA project applications and award loan funding.