Public Utility Finance

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced the 2022 notices of funding availability for the agency’s Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) program and the State Infrastructure Financing Authority WIFIA (SWIFIA) program. This year’s funding will provide up to $6.5 billion in totalRead More

Registration now open for 8th annual event; Early bird registration ends July 15 The eighth annual Water Finance Conference will be returning to the nation’s capital this summer, Aug. 17-18, 2022, at the Hilton Washington DC Capitol Hill Hotel. The agenda will be released in the comingRead More

By Tiffany Harrison & Wayne Hofmann The combination of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) has delivered a potent one-two punch for the water and sewer sectors.  ARPA provides more than $350 billion in financial assistance, with waterRead More

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee in May approved its version of biennial water resources legislation to authorize a series of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers flood control, navigation, and ecosystem restoration projects. Like a Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) measure advanced earlier this month by a Senate committee, the HouseRead More

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced $1.9 billion in grant funding to the State Revolving Funds (SRF) to accelerate progress on water infrastructure projects. Combined with historic investments through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, this funding will help states, Tribes, and territories upgrade waterRead More

Recently, the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee unanimously advanced the latest iteration of the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), biennial legislation that authorizes flood control, navigation, and ecosystem restoration projects carried out by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. According to the Association of Metropolitan Water AgenciesRead More

In April, associations representing the U.S. water utility sector submitted comments to EPA in response to its draft of the proposed Financial Capability Assessment Guidance, in which several groups said the agency’s proposal “falls well short” of meeting the purpose of the revision of theRead More

A rising interest rate environment could prove a boon for the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) program, according to a new Fitch Ratings report. The WIFIA loan program has been hugely successful for U.S. water utilities but is currently oversubscribed. The size ofRead More

By Wayne Hofmann This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Clean Water Act, which has generated a legacy of improved water quality in our rivers and lakes and healthier drinking water sources while creating significant fiscal challenges for many communities in removing hazardous materialsRead More

The FY23 budget request released by the White House would boost EPA spending to $11.9 billion in 2023, (an increase from $9.56 billion in FY22), while providing full funding for a new drinking water system resilience program long championed by the drinking water sector and the AssociationRead More