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INSIGHTi
Corps Water Infrastructure Financing
Program (CWIFP)
Updated June 13, 2023
In the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of 2014 (WIFIA 2014, Title V, Subtitle C, of P.L.
113-121; 33 U.S.C. §§3901-3914, as amended), Congress authorized the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
(USACE) to provide credit assistance, in the form of direct loans or loan guarantees, to specified eligible
entities for water resource projects. USACE’s program is called the Corps Water Infrastructure Financing
Program (CWIFP). WIFIA 2014 also authorized an analogous program for the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) for water projects outside of USACE mission areas.
CWIFP Program Authority, Implementation, and Funding
WIFIA 2014 authorized USACE to provide credit assistance to projects with the following purposes:
• reduction of riverine or coastal storm flood damage;
• restoration of aquatic ecosystems;
• improvement of the inland and intracoastal waterways navigation system;
• improvement of navigation at a U.S. harbor; or
• a combination of purposes supported by USACE and EPA WIFIA authorities (e.g.,
drinking water, wastewater, and/or stormwater system improvements).
USACE describes some benefits for CWIFP borrowers as interest rates near U.S. Treasury rates, possible
matching of repayment schedules with anticipated cash flows, and repayment periods up to 35 years after
construction completion. In FY2021, Congress created a USACE Water Infrastructure Finance and
Innovation Program (WIFIP) account and first funded the CWIFP to provide credit assistance. Of the
$96.4 million in enacted funding for the WIFIP account to date, Congress has indicated that $81.0 million
is specifically to support dam safety projects for nonfederally owned dams (based on ownership
information in the National Inventory of Dams [NID]), as shown in Table 1. For FY2023, Congress
enacted $7.2 million for program administration.
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Table 1. Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Program (WIFIP) Account
(dollars in millions, nominal)
Public Law Funding
Support for
Program
Selected Statutory Limitations for
WIFIP Account
Credit Assistance Administration Credit Assistance
P.L. 116-260
$12.0
$2.2
Nonfederal dam safety projects; credit in
accordance with 85 Federal Register 39189
P.L. 117-58
$64.0
$11.0
Nonfederal dam safety projects
P.L. 117-103
$5.0
$2.2
Nonfederal dam safety projects; credit in
accordance with 85 Federal Register 39189
P.L. 117-328
$0
$7.2
—
Source: CRS, using enacted bil s.
On May 22, 2023, USACE published a final rule for CWIFP implementation that reflected the enacted
appropriations’ limitation of lending to only nonfederal dam safety projects (88 Federal Register 32661).
USACE anticipates publishing a notice of funding availability soon after the rule is effective on June 21,
2023. The first loans are expected to close roughly two years later. According to the rule, CWIFP-eligible
entities include various state, local, and tribal government entities and various private entities (e.g.,
corporations, partnerships, and trusts) that are publicly sponsored (33 U.S.C. §3907(a)(4)); federal entities
are not eligible. Each project receiving CWIFP assistance would need to cost more than $20 million and
be creditworthy, technically sound, economically justified, and environmentally acceptable. USACE’s
rule identifies dam removal as an eligible project. The final rule also adds selection criteria to the
statutory criteria. For example, it proposes as a selection criterion the extent that a project serves, and
spurs economic opportunity for, economically disadvantaged communities and their populations.
Loan Volume
The volume of loans and loan guarantees that CWIFP can provide is determined primarily by the
appropriations amount and subsidy rate for each loan. Under the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990 (P.L.
101-508), appropriations for federal credit programs, such as CWIFP, primarily cover long-term credit
subsidy costs (2 U.S.C. §661a). The subsidy costs of such programs reflect potential losses to the
government due to loan defaults. A project with lower credit risk would consume less of the credit
subsidy than a higher credit risk project. The subsidy cost typically is presented as a percentage (i.e., a
subsidy rate) and largely determines the amount of loans that can be made available given appropriated
funds. USACE indicates it will calculate subsidy costs on a project-by-project basis at the time of loan
obligation. USACE may be able to make up to $7.5 billion in loans with the appropriations available
through FY2023. The actual total CWIFP loan amount may differ, given each project’s subsidy rate and
other factors affecting loan amounts.
Eligibility of Congressionally Authorized Projects
To date, enacted appropriations limit USACE credit assistance to nonfederal dam safety projects. The
scope of eligible project purposes authorized in WIFIA 2014 is broader. A policy question for broader
WIFIA 2014 implementation has been whether nonfederal costs of authorized USACE construction
projects would be eligible for CWIFP. Many congressionally authorized USACE projects have purposes
that are CWIFP eligible pursuant to WIFIA 2014. Congress has required that nonfederal sponsors share in
the cost of many USACE projects and assume responsibility for the projects and their costs after
construction.
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A June 30, 2020, EPA, Office of Management and Budget, and Department of the Treasury Federal
Register notice―“Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act Program (WIFIA) Criteria Pursuant to
the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020” (85 Federal Register 39189)―identified
congressionally authorized USACE (and Bureau of Reclamation) projects as federal assets and as
ineligible for WIFIA assistance. A few months later, in P.L. 116-260, Congress directed USACE to use the
criteria in the 2020 Federal Register notice for USACE credit assistance supported by the WIFIP account
funds. In addition, the House Appropriations Committee, in explanatory text accompanying P.L. 116-260,
encouraged the Secretary of the Army to issue “guidance to clarify, as Congress intended … that the
financial assistance program authorized in WIFIA applies to all non-Federal projects and any authorized
project that is non-federally owned, operated and maintained.” As shown in Table 1, Congress has
referenced the 2020 Federal Register notice for using funds provided to USACE’s WIFIP account.
The borrower eligibility discussion in USACE’s 2023 final rule references the applicability of the 2020
Federal Register notice to the CWIFP account funds provided by Congress, thereby maintaining that
congressionally authorized USACE projects are federal assets. Thus, the 2023 final rule indicates that
nonfederal costs associated with congressionally authorized USACE projects are ineligible for this credit
assistance. An issue for Congress is whether to expand CWIFP eligibility to congressionally authorized
USACE projects.
Author Information
Nicole T. Carter
Specialist in Natural Resources Policy
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