Cities Say Restrictions in New Infrastructure Financing Program Hamper Other Funding

摘要

Municipal water agencies expressed concerns about the value of a financing mechanism established under the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) because provisions in the new law bar cities from supplementing these project funds with money from tax-exempt bonds. Municipal water and wastewater treatment plant operators and their trade associations warned the Environmental Protection Agency at a July 22 public meeting in Chicago that WIFIA's limitations on tax-exempt financing would cause many communities to simply ignore the program. The fact-finding meeting was intended to solicit perspectives from affected parties on potential strategies for implementing the program.