The director of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Water Infrastructure Finance & Innovation Authority (WIFIA) program Jorianne Jernberg is leaving the agency, according to a colleague.
The news was acknowledged in a Nov. 13 LinkedIn post from Tracy Mehan, AWWA’s executive director of government affairs. AWWA was a chief architect of the WIFIA program when it became law in 2014 and frequently advises EPA on water infrastructure funding policy.
“It is not a good sign that our great friend and colleague, Jorianne Jernberg, who has done a fantastic job running EPA’s WIFIA program, is leaving the agency for greener pastures in the water sector in California,” wrote Mehan.
Mehan wished Jernberg well and said her expertise will continue to serve the water industry in her next role, but also addressed a concerning situation unfolding with the recent slowdown of WIFIA loans being processed.
“Still, her departure, combined with the current slowdown (stoppage?) of WIFIA loans being processed, gives one pause,” Mehan added. “Recently, several water and wastewater associations, including AWWA, wrote EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin enquiring as to the reasons for this situation. We have yet to receive a response.”
EPA told WFM it would not comment on personnel matters but a staff directory updated Nov. 17 lists the WIFIA division director position as vacant.
The WIFIA program is an EPA-operated bank that provides supplemental, flexible, low-cost credit assistance to public and private borrowers for all types of drinking water, wastewater and stormwater projects. WIFIA offers long-term loans that can be combined with State Revolving Fund assistance, municipal bonds, and federal and state grants to help communities deliver more critical water infrastructure projects for a lower cost with less impact on rate payers.
Like a bank, the WIFIA program has funding available on an ongoing basis. This allows prospective borrowers to request financing on their schedule. Prospective borrowers can apply for and receive WIFIA loans at nearly any stage of project completion and can even receive financing for planning and design-only loans.
As of January 2025, WIFIA had closed a total of 140 loans for projects in 48 states and territories, $22 billion to help finance $48 billion in water infrastructure projects, including more than $1 billion in projects addressing lead in drinking water. In July, EPA announced the WIFIA program had surpassed $10 billion in disbursements to borrowers for water infrastructure projects.
Prior to her position heading up WIFIA at EPA, Jernberg previously served as the head of risk management and financial operations at the Department of Transportation’s Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) program, on which WIFIA was modeled.
WFM will have further coverage of the apparent slowdown of WIFIA loans in the coming weeks.
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