EPA announces $110M loan to enhance drinking water reliability in drought-prone region of Utah
WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin announced a $110 million Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) loan to Weber Basin Water Conservancy District in northern Utah.
The announcement follows EPA’s “Powering the Great American Comeback” initiative that affirms the agency’s commitment to protecting human health and the environment while remaining good stewards of tax dollars and advancing policies to energize the economy. This loan will help the district provide reliable drinking water to five counties, supporting over 20% of Utah’s population while creating local jobs to support the projects.
“Providing clean water to all Americans is part of EPA’s core mission and this WIFIA loan will help us achieve this goal not only for Utah residents today, but also for future generations. In addition to providing safe, clean drinking water, it will also spur the economy and create jobs. I am excited we can provide this loan and help make this drought-prone region flow with water,” said Administrator Zeldin.
This WIFIA loan will allow the district to make numerous expansions and upgrades that will ultimately increase water supply for consumers while advancing water reuse. Specifically, this project will include expanding two drinking water treatment plants; replacing water storage tanks; and constructing transmission lines, an aquifer storage recovery well and water reuse facilities.
“This loan enables Weber Basin Water Conservancy District to uphold our commitment to providing safe, reliable water to a growing population. Our partnership with the EPA provides the financial flexibility to construct these critical infrastructure projects, ensuring we meet the needs of our communities today and safeguard resources for future generations,” said Scott Paxman, General Manager and CEO of Weber Basin Water Conservancy District.
This project will help provide reliable drinking water supply to approximately 700,000 residents. This is the first WIFIA loan in a master agreement that will commit $285 million in WIFIA financing for water infrastructure projects. The WIFIA program’s repayment flexibility allows for acceleration of critical water infrastructure projects, while minimizing costs for customers. The Weber Basin Water Conservancy District is expected to save approximately $19 million over the life of the loan.
Since issuing its first loan in 2018, EPA’s WIFIA program has announced over $21 billion in financing to support $47 billion in water infrastructure projects that are strengthening drinking water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure while creating over 150,000 jobs. Through its flexible financing features and competitive interest rates, the WIFIA program helps communities save money. By partnering the WIFIA program’s federal funding with state, local and private investment, EPA accelerates water infrastructure investment worth billions of dollars.
Background
Established by the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of 2014, the WIFIA program is a federal loan program administered by EPA. The WIFIA program aims to accelerate investment in the nation’s water infrastructure by providing long-term, low-cost supplemental credit assistance for regionally and nationally significant projects. The WIFIA program has an active pipeline of pending applications for projects that will result in billions of dollars in water infrastructure investment and thousands of jobs.
EPA is currently in its 8th selection round for WIFIA financing. In this round, EPA is offering $6.5 billion through WIFIA and $1 billion through SWIFIA, which is a loan program exclusively for state infrastructure financing authority borrowers. EPA is currently accepting letters of interest for WIFIA and SWIFIA loans. Learn more about submitting a letter of interest for a WIFIA loan.