EPA Picks Florida, Utah Water Infrastructure Projects for $257M in WIFIA Loans

The U.S. Environmental Safety Company introduced on Feb. 18 that it’s offering greater than $250 million in low-cost loans to assist water infrastructure tasks in Florida and Utah. The loans are the primary EPA has introduced beneath the present Trump administration, although each closed Jan. 16, information present.

A $147-million Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) mortgage is about for the Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority to assist fund 9 tasks in Miami-Dade and Monroe counties estimated to collectively price $300 million. The tasks cowl upgrades to a water remedy facility together with new infrastructure to handle PFAS in ingesting water, in addition to transmission mains and storage tank upgrades. The work will assist enhance system reliability and shield infrastructure in opposition to injury brought on by saltwater intrusion, in accordance with EPA.

“This collaboration allows the Authority to take care of the supply of secure, dependable, potable water whereas successfully mitigating the danger of widespread disruptions throughout emergencies and disaster-related occasions,” stated Greg Veliz, government director of the Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority, in a press release. 

That is EPA’s second WIFIA mortgage to the Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority. Officers beforehand introduced a $49-million mortgage to the company in 2018 to assist it substitute a reverse osmosis facility, a pump station and about 12 miles of pipes.

WIFIA loans provide favorable phrases for company planning, designing and development of water infrastructure tasks. EPA officers say the Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority will save about $29.5 million over the lifetime of the mortgage beneath WIFIA, in comparison with conventional financing choices. 

“I’ll at all times work with native, private and non-private companions to assist EPA obtain its objective of finishing up our core mission of bringing clear air, land and water to all People,” EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin stated in a press release. 

The second newly introduced, $110-million WIFIA mortgage will go to northern Utah’s Weber Basin Water Conservancy District. The cash will assist the district’s $224-million District 4 and 5 Water Blocks challenge. The scope of labor consists of enlargement of two water remedy vegetation, alternative of water storage tanks and development of recent infrastructure. 

EPA estimates the conservancy district will save about $19 million by benefiting from the WIFIA mortgage.

The WIFIA program is at present in its eighth round, totaling $7.5 billion. This system has introduced greater than $21 billion in financing since 2018, in accordance with EPA.