Frequently asked questions about CWIFP.

A:  CWIFP stands for the Corps Water Infrastructure Financing Program.

A:  They are the same. The Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of 2014 (WIFIA) granted the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) authority for a Federal loan program.  The Corps decided to call its program the Corps Water Infrastructure Financing Program (CWIFP) to avoid confusion with the established EPA WIFIA program.  CWIFP enables local investment in projects that enhance community resilience to flooding, promote economic prosperity, and improve environmental quality.

A:  The credit ratio is calculated on a project-by-project basis at the time of loan obligation. Project A with a higher credit quality would consume less of the credit subsidy than Project B with a lower credit quality, even if the projects are otherwise identical.

A:  CWIFP is being managed by USACE Headquarters staff. All questions should be directed to USACE Headquarters at cw.infrastructure.team@usace.army.mil, and all application materials will be submitted to USACE Headquarters. Projects within a District’s area of responsibility will be communicated with that District for technical/engineering coordination as necessary.

A:  Yes.

A:  The WIFIA statute authorizes USACE to use up to 25% of its budget authority to provide credit assistance to one or more projects of up to no more than 80% (statutory cap on Federal participation) of the total costs of any given project. USACE will generally use its authority to provide credit assistance for greater than 49% of eligible project costs to projects serving economically disadvantaged communities that would otherwise not be able to obtain CWIFP credit assistance. Additionally, the CWIFP will prioritize the reduction of fees associated with the program as much as possible for economically disadvantaged communities. The application fee of $25,000 will be waived for small and/or disadvantaged communities. If administrative funds are available, the transaction processing fee may be refunded to borrower(s), with those fees first being reduced by an equal amount per loan for those projects serving economically disadvantaged communities with public applicants.

A:  USACE is preliminarily defining economically disadvantaged communities as communities where the median household income is less than 80% of the State median household income that experience low-income, persistent poverty, or high unemployment.

• Low-income community means a community in a geographic area that meets any of the following criteria:
  • Individuals whose household income is at or below 200% of the poverty line, as defined by the Bureau of the Census, constitute more than 50 percent of the population;
  • The percentage of individuals whose household income is at or below 200 percent of the poverty line, as defined by the Bureau of the Census, in the community is twice that as the county or state as a whole; or
  • The community or territory has a per capita income of 80% or less of the national average.
  • Note: For U.S. territories for which Bureau of the Census American Community Survey data is not available, low-income community means a community in a geographic area that is located within a territory that has a poverty rate greater than 20%.
• Persistent poverty means that 20% or more of the population has been living in poverty over the prior two decennial censuses for which data is available and the most recent Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates.
• High unemployment means the unemployment rate in a community is, for the most recent 24-month period for which data is available, at least 1% greater than the national average unemployment rate.

A:  USACE will post regular updates on the CWIFP website at https://www.usace.army.mil/Missions/Civil-Works/Infrastructure/revolutionize/CWIFP/.

Frequently asked questions about CWIFP Eligibility.

A:  To be eligible for CWIFP credit assistance, a prospective borrower must be at least one of the following:

• A corporation
• A partnership
• A joint venture
• A trust
• A State or local governmental entity, agency, or instrumentality
• A tribal government or consortium of tribal governments
• A State infrastructure financing authority

A:  Project eligibility is further described on the Program Eligibility  page.

A:  Yes.  For purposes of CWIFP, any territory of the United States, and the District of Columbia, are considered states.  Therefore, any eligible entity listed in 33 U.S.C. 3904 located in a territory or the District of Columbia may receive CWIFP assistance, including the governments of those territories.

A:  Yes. Non-profit entities are typically organized as corporations or partnerships, both of which are defined as eligible entities in 33 U.S.C. 3904.

A:  Yes. Multiple entities can come together under one application with a common security pledge.

A:  To be eligible under this program, a borrower must be one of the following: A corporation; a partnership; a joint venture; a trust; a State, or local governmental entity, agency, or instrumentality; a tribal government or consortium of tribal governments; or a State infrastructure financing authority.

A:  To be considered economically disadvantaged, a community only needs to meet one of the following criteria:

• Low income - The area has a per capita income of 80 percent or less of the national average;
• Unemployment rate above national average - The area has an unemployment rate that is, for the most recent 24-month period for which data are available, at least 1 percent greater than the national average unemployment rate;
• Indian country as defined in 18 U.S.C. 1151 or in the proximity of an Alaska Native Village;
• U.S. Territories; or
• Communities identified as disadvantaged by the Council on Environmental Quality’s Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool (https://screeningtool.geoplatform.gov).

Frequently asked questions about CWIFP Projects.

A:  Project eligibility is further described on the Program Eligibility  page.

A:  There is no specific maximum project length. Generally, USACE expects projects to be completed less than 10 years after closing. Disbursement schedules will be negotiated prior to closing of a loan.

A:  The amount of CWIFP credit assistance may not exceed 49% of the reasonably anticipated project costs.

A:  Costs such as project design, feasibility studies and consulting fees will be eligible project costs.

A:  No, CWIFP will consider and encourages alternative delivery mechanisms including Design-Build and public-private partnerships (P3).

A: Yes, projects will have to comply with all applicable federal laws and regulations as described in the CWIFP Program Rule.

A:  Yes, that would be possible as long as the projects all meet the eligibility requirements and are completed within 5-7 years of one another.

A:  No. The typical “Corps Process” is not required for a CWIFP loan.

Frequently asked questions about CWIFP Interest Rate and Loan Repayment.

A:  The interest rate will be equal to or greater than the yield on U.S. Treasury securities of comparable maturity on the date of execution of the credit agreement. The base interest rate can be identified through use of the daily rate tables published by the Bureau of the Fiscal Service for the State and Local Government Series (SLGS) investments, which can be found at Treasury Direct SLGS Daily Rate Table (https://www.treasurydirect.gov/GA-SL/SLGS/selectSLGSDate.htm). The CWIFP program will estimate the yield on comparable Treasury securities by adding one basis point to the SLGS daily rate with a maturity that is closest to the weighted average loan life of the CWIFP credit assistance, measured from first disbursement.

A:  The interest rate is locked at loan closing and the execution of the credit agreement.

A:  Loan repayment can be deferred up to five years following substantial completion of the project. Beyond that, USACE has flexibility to structure repayment to best match the cashflow of the project in question. USACE and prospective borrowers will negotiate the repayment schedule for each project, and it will be included in the credit agreement.

A:  CWIFP interprets “dedicated revenue sources” to include such sources as taxes, rate revenue, transfers pledged from State or local governments, municipal general obligation pledges, general recourse corporate financing, project revenues, or other revenues that are pledged for the purpose of paying debt service on the CWIFP credit instrument. Federal funds are not considered a dedicated source of repayment.

Frequently asked questions about the CWIFP Application.

A:  Prospective borrowers should complete applications electronically via the online application portal located at https://CWIFPapp.usace.army.mil. PDF versions of the preliminary and full application forms (OMB Control Number 0710-0026) are provided below to inform prospective borrowers of the information that will be requested in the online portal.

• ENG FORM 6176
• ENG FORM 6177

A:  Repayments must commence no later than five years following substantial completion of the project. Repayment of all principal and interest must be completed by 35 years after the date of substantial completion of the project or the project’s useful life, whichever comes earlier. The debt service repayment schedule may be sculpted to accommodate the projected cash flow from project revenues and other sources.

CWIFP defines substantial completion as the stage in the progress of the project when the project or designated portion thereof is sufficiently complete in accordance with the contract documents for each individual agreement, so that the project or a portion thereof can be used for its intended purpose.

A:  Once a Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) is posted notifying the public that new funding is available, USACE will be ready to accept preliminary applications from prospective borrowers.  Borrowers will first need to submit a preliminary application.  USACE will select projects from the preliminary application submissions that are only reasonably anticipated to meet the eligibility requirements and for which CWIFP has sufficient budget authority.

A:  The preliminary application will be posted on the CWIFP website along with the CWIFP Program Guide which will identify the components of the preliminary application and full application.

A:  The preliminary application due date will be set in the NOFA.  Once an applicant receives an invitation to submit an application, they will have 60 days to accept the invitation and pay the non-refundable application fee deposit.  The applicant has 365 days from the date they accept the CWIFP invitation to apply to submit a completed CWIFP application.

A:  Once a completed application is received, USACE will work with the applicant to expeditiously as possible move towards issuance of a loan.

A:  The applicant will receive funding after closing of the loan consistent with the terms of the loan agreement and disbursement schedule.

Frequently Asked Questions about Dam Safety Projects

A:  No, dam projects of any condition can apply for a loan (i.e. they do not have to be classified as “high hazard potential”), however, they must be non-Federally owned.

A:  Yes, CWIFP can be used with other Federal loan and grant programs as long as the total Federal participation (loan proceeds plus the grant or other Federal funds) do not exceed 80% of the total project costs and the requirements of each of the individual programs is met.

A:  Yes, as long as the dam is owned and operated by a non-federal entity. If you have a project like this, contact the CWIFP office early to discuss the details.

A:  So long as the project is a non-federal dam safety project to either maintain, upgrade, repair or remove a dam identified in the National Inventory of Dams then the project is eligible.

A:  Yes, so long as the project is owned and operated by a non-federal entity.

A:  Most likely, to be eligible for a CWIFP loan the infrastructure in question must be currently owned and operated by a non-federal entity. If you have a project like this, contact the CWIFP office early to discuss the details.