Last week, Representative John Garamendi (D-Walnut Grove) introduced the WIFIA Improvement Act (H.R.8217) along with Representatives TJ Cox (D-Hanford), Jim Costa (D-Fresno), Doug LaMalfa (R-Butte), and Josh Harder (D-Modesto). This bill would amend the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) of 2014 to make public water projects like the off-stream Sites Reservoir Project in Colusa and Glenn Counties eligible for low-interest, longer-term federal loans from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Specifically, the bill would allow water projects with longer useful lifecycles like Sites Reservoir to receive federal WIFIA financing for 55-year loan terms instead of the current 35-year loan terms, thereby lowering the capital costs for such projects.
