The Corps Water Infrastructure Financing Program (CWIFP) enables local investment in infrastructure projects that enhance community resilience to flooding, promote economic prosperity, and improve environmental quality. Through CWIFP, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) will accelerate non-federal investments in water resources infrastructure by providing long-term, low-cost loans to creditworthy borrowers.
CWIFP is authorized by the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) which was signed into law on June 10, 2014 as part of the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014. The Act established Federal credit programs to be administered USACE and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for eligible water and wastewater infrastructure projects. Additional information about EPA’s WIFIA program can be found here.
Key Features of CWIFP:
- Long-term, low-cost credit assistance for water resource infrastructure projects (currently limited to dam safety projects that are non-federally owned, operated, and maintained)
- Funding of up to 49% of project costs, or up to 80% of project costs for projects that serve economically disadvantaged communities
- Augments other public or private funding and financing sources
- Requires a dedicated source of repayment (i.e. state or local taxes, user fees, etc.)
- Available to projects or group of projects with eligible costs in excess of $20 million
CWIFP is now accepting loan applications as the program’s Notice of Funding Availability has been published in the Federal Register. Using the appropriations it has received, USACE is working diligently to begin issuing loans to qualified non-federal borrowers. The final program rule for CWIFP was published in the Federal Register on May 22nd, 2023. USACE has been working closely with the EPA to coordinate resources to implement this critical program.
CWIFP is part of the Revolutionize USACE Civil Works initiative to expedite delivery of our nation's infrastructure by improving partnerships, synchronizing actions, developing new tools, and streamlining activities.