经过长期持续了三年多的长期热身，环境保护局的水基础设施贷款计划终于滚动。自4月以来，EPA清除了其前四个水基础设施融资和创新法案，即贷款，总计超过10亿美元，以帮助建立主要的水项目。18luck官网
EPA’s WIFIA activity is likely to pick up steam. The agency still has fiscal 2017 funds available for other loans, and more are on the horizon. EPA on Aug. 16 said that for the fiscal 2018 WIFIA round, it received 62 letters of interest from applicants in 24 states and two territories. They requested a total of $9.1 billion, which far exceeds EPA’s $5.5-billion loan capacity for 2018. The agency says it plans to announce the winners in the fall.
Allen S. Gray, director of the Associated General Contractors of America’s utility infrastructure division, says the number of requests “shows that there is a larger demand out there that is not met and people are trying their hardest to find funding in any way they can.” Gray says WIFIA loans are “another tool in the tool box to fund these badly needed projects.”
国会于2014年6月授权Wifia为EPA和陆军工程兵团项目授权，其基于1998年为运输项目创建的运输部TIFIA计划。18luck官网但是部分由于拨款滞后，EPA直到今年4月才批准其第一笔贷款：华盛顿州金县的1.345亿美元，用于废水 - 索托沃特处理设施。到目前为止，其他三项贷款已获得批准：奥马哈市6,970万美元；6.99亿美元给旧金山公共事业委员会，最近8月1日向加利福尼亚的奥兰治县水区提供了1.35亿美元。军团尚未在Wifia上完全进行。
Wifia贷款提供有吸引力的条款。除了较低的，联邦补贴的利率外，借款人还可以花费35年的时间来偿还，而不必在项目“实质性完成”之后五年内开始还款。18luck官网
全国清洁水机构立法事务总监Kristina Surfus说：“我们对此感到非常兴奋。”“我认为最初认为[Wifia]在饮用水方面将是一个非常强大的计划。”她补充说：“但是，清洁水方至少在获得一些应用程序批准的情况下至少具有浓厚的兴趣和成功。”
迄今为止已清理的四项贷款中有三项是用于废水或雨水项目。18luck官网在2018财年的62份请求中，有27个用于废水处理项目，23个用于饮用水项目。18luck官网
Congress has stepped up WIFIA funding, appropriating $63 million in direct funds for the program in fiscal 2018, up from 2017’s $30 million. A further hike could happen. A House-passed 2019 spending bill has $75 million for WIFIA; the Senate version has $63 million. More than 85% of those sums may go for loan subsidies and support an estimated loan volume of up to $8 billion.
