New WIFIA Criteria Allow Release Of FY20 Funds But Questions Remain

摘要

The Trump administration has developed new criteria to evaluate the award of loans and loan guarantees under an EPA water infrastructure program, responding to Congress' mandate to address a budget scoring concern that could limit the use of such funds - but it remains unclear whether the criteria will make it easier for utilities to obtain the funds. The criteria developed by EPA, the Treasury Department and the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and scheduled for publication in the June 30 Federal Register state that only non-federal projects are eligible for Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) money, as required by the fiscal year 2020 omnibus appropriations law. The publication of the criteria lifts a statutory hold on EPA announcing FY20 WIFIA funds are available, but a water utility source says it appears the new criteria create "a lot of extra hoops" for WIFIA applicants. "The program was cruising along just fine, creating lots of infrastructure investment and jobs, leveraging modest federal dollars in an astounding way, so it's hard to see why anything needed to be changed. This seems to go counter to efforts toward streamlining government," the source says.