AMWA is asking its members to write their congressional representatives and senators within the next few weeks to advocate for the inclusion of a “Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act” (WIFIA) as part of final water resources legislation that will be negotiated by House and Senate members starting this month.
Last month the House of Representatives approved the “Water Resources Reform and Development Act” (WRRDA) – its own version of a water resources bill that passed the Senate in May. But while the Senate version included a WIFIA pilot program designed to help water and wastewater utilities access low-cost financing for major infrastructure projects, the pilot was left out of the House-passed bill. Now, members of a House-Senate conference committee will decide the fate of the WIFIA provision as they work to formulate a final WRRDA bill.
On Friday AMWA circulated a memorandum to its membership encouraging letters to Congress in support of the WIFIA provision. The memo explained that several state-level organizations have begun to lobby Congress in opposition to WIFIA – claiming it could compete with the existing SRF programs – so support letters from utilities are necessary to counter this message. WIFIA would target water projects costing more than $20 million – far above the value of the typical SRF loan.
If you have any questions about this issue, or would like a copy of a WIFIA support letter, please contact AMWA’s Dan Hartnett at [email protected].