Guest Columns

Earlier in August, the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly approved FY19 appropriations legislation that would provide level funding for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and its water infrastructure financing programs next year. The minibus, approved by a 92-6 vote, joined together four bills, including the fiscal 2019 EPA-InteriorRead More

As part of a draft infrastructure bill released last week by House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) program would be reauthorized at $250 million over five years. According toRead More

The House of Representatives has approved FY19 appropriations legislation that would provide funding for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) next year. The bill as approved by the House would facilitate billions of dollars’ worth of low-cost water infrastructure loans. The bill, an Interior and EnvironmentRead More

According to the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA) in its Monday Morning Briefing for July 16, things got heated on Capitol Hill last week when supporters of the proposed SRF WIN Act clashed with committee members over the bill during a Senate Environment andRead More

Nicolette N. Bateson, CPA, chief financial officer (CFO) and treasurer of the Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA) will serve as the keynote speaker at the fourth annual Water Finance Conference to be held Aug. 28-29 at the Washington Court Hotel in Washington, D.C. The keynote addressRead More

Scott Pruitt is out as the nation’s top environmental chief. President Donald J. Trump announced in a July 5 tweet he has accepted Pruitt’s resignation as administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The news comes amid growing controversy over ethical questions regarding Pruitt. TrumpRead More

The U.S. Senate has passed the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 on an 86-11 vote. The bipartisan legislation would reauthorize the Farm Bill – as it is commonly referred to – for five years. The measure includes provisions that would extend programs that protect drinking water sources fromRead More

New Financing Options Demand New Evaluation Tools By Mike Matichich Water agencies are faced with a widening array of delivery and finance options for their major capital programs. That is good news, as the industry likely will need everything from the U.S. EPA’s relatively new WIFIARead More

By Diane VanDe Hei Washington has heard a lot of talk over the past year about the need to address the nation’s aging infrastructure, but there has been little agreement among Democrats and Republicans about how to go about it. However, a program created by CongressRead More

The Senate Appropriations Committee has approved its version of FY19 EPA spending legislation that would maintain level funding for the Drinking Water and Clean Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) programs, as well as the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) program.  The full Senate could vote onRead More