Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act Amendments of 2025

This bill, titled the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act Amendments of 2025, reauthorizes the WIFIA program, extending its funding through fiscal year 2029. It authorizes annual appropriations of $68 million for the Administrator (EPA) and $15 million for the Secretary (Corps of Engineers) to carry out the program. The legislation aims to enhance the WIFIA program's effectiveness and reach. A significant focus of the bill is on supporting small communities and rural water projects . It defines a "small community" as having a population of not more than 25,000 inhabitants and clarifies the definition of "rural water project" to include specific authorized projects. To facilitate access for these communities, the minimum eligible project cost is reduced from $5 million to $1 million, and the Administrator is authorized to provide technical assistance, including engineering and financial planning, to help them develop project proposals. Furthermore, the bill mandates an outreach plan to promote WIFIA financial assistance to small communities. The amendments broaden the types of projects eligible for WIFIA financing. New categories include State-led storage projects , transferred works , and congressionally authorized water resources development projects owned or operated by non-Federal entities. This expansion aims to make WIFIA funding accessible to a wider range of critical water infrastructure initiatives. The bill introduces provisions for collaborative project delivery methods , such as construction management at-risk and design-build, allowing their use for WIFIA-supported projects. It also requires a study to evaluate these methods, identify barriers, assess benefits, and pinpoint training needs. Additionally, for projects with a useful life exceeding 35 years, the maximum loan maturity date is extended to 55 years, or the project's useful life if shorter, providing more flexible repayment terms. To clarify financial accounting, the bill specifies that financial assistance provided to non-Federal entities with non-Federal repayment sources will be treated as non-Federal for budgetary purposes under the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990. Finally, it mandates several reports to Congress, including an EPA report on prior WIFIA implementation, a Corps of Engineers report on its financing program, and an updated GAO report evaluating the program's overall effectiveness and implementation.