U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Civil Works Infrastructure Financing Program (CWIFP): Status and Issues

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Civil Works Infrastructure Financing Program (CWIFP): Status and Issues

INSIGHTi

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Civil Works
Infrastructure Financing Program (CWIFP):
Status and Issues
Updated May 3, 2022
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 to specified eligible entities, in the form of secured or direct loans,
for water resource projects. WIFIA 2014 authorized an analogous program for the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) for water projects outside of USACE mission areas (see CRS In Focus IF11193,
WIFIA Program: Background and Recent Developments). This Insight focuses on the USACE program,
which USACE refers to as the Civil Works Infrastructure Financing Program (CWIFP).
Congress first funded USACE’s program in FY2021 through Division D of the Consolidated
Appropriations Act, 2021 (P.L. 116-260). In that act, Congress created a WIFIA account for USACE’s
CWIFP and provided $14.2 million―$2.2 million for program administration and $12.0 million to
support credit assistance for nonfederal dam safety projects. Congress provided an additional $75.0
million to CWIFP―$11.0 million for program administration and $64.0 million to support credit
assistance for nonfederal dam safety projects―in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA; P.L.
117-58) enacted in November 2021. In Division D of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022 (P.L.
117-103), Congress provided $7.2 million for FY2022―$2.2 million for program administration and $5.0
million to support credit assistance for nonfederal dam safety projects.
The FY2023 President’s budget requests $10 million for administrative purposes to implement the
USACE WIFIA appropriations provided in FY2021 and IIJA. According to a January 2021 USACE
CWIFP fact sheet, “a notice of funding availability and call for preliminary applications will follow
publication of the program rule.” As of April 2022, USACE had not published the rules for the program.
CWIFP Project Types, Eligible Entities, and Credit Subsidy
WIFIA 2014 authorizes USACE to provide credit assistance to water resource projects with the following
project purposes:
 reduction of riverine or coastal storm flood damage;
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 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 that are supported by the USACE and the EPA WIFIA
authorities (e.g., drinking water, wastewater, and/or stormwater system improvements).
USACE describes some of the benefits for borrowers as: 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. Entities eligible for CWIFP assistance include (1) a corporation; (2) a
partnership; (3) a joint venture; (4) a trust; or (5) a federal, state, local, or tribal government or
instrumentality. To receive credit assistance, projects carried out by private entities must be publicly
sponsored (33 U.S.C. §3907(a)(4)).
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 as a result of loan defaults. A project with lower
credit risk would consume less of the credit subsidy than a higher credit risk project. The subsidy cost is
typically presented as a percentage (i.e., a subsidy rate) and largely determines the amount of loans that
can be made available given appropriated funds. According to USACE’s Frequently Asked Questions on
CWIFP, USACE will calculate the subsidy costs on a project-by-project basis at the time of loan
obligation.
FY2021, IIJA, and FY2022 CWIFP Funding, Criteria, and Limitations
The volume of direct or secured loans that CWIFP can provide is determined primarily by the
appropriations amount and subsidy rate for each loan, as well as any credit assistance cap established by
Congress. In P.L. 116-260 and P.L. 117-103, Congress capped the total amount of loans supported by the
USACE WIFIA account appropriations at $950.0 million and at $500.0 million, respectively. The actual
amounts of these CWIFP loans may be lower than the caps, as the amounts would be determined by
various factors, including the subsidy rate for each project receiving assistance. IIJA did not include a cap
on the amount of loans supported.
Of the $96.4 million in funding provided 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), with the remaining $15.4 million for USACE administrative expenses to
carry out the program. In providing FY2021 appropriations for CWIFP, Congress directed USACE to
assess project eligibility using criteria in a June 30, 2020, Federal Register notice by EPA, Office of
Management and Budget (OMB), and U.S. Department of Treasury―“Water Infrastructure Finance and
Innovation Act Program (WIFIA) Criteria Pursuant to the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act,
2020” (85 Federal Register 39189-39191). This notice set out a “Federal Asset Screening Criteria and
Process”; it stated that projects authorized for construction by USACE as of June 30, 2020, are not
considered WIFIA-eligible. IIJA did not reference the aforementioned Federal Register notice.
CWIFP Eligibility of Congressionally Authorized Projects
There have been some questions about the eligibility of federally authorized water resource projects for
USACE CWIFP assistance. Many congressionally authorized federal water resource projects have
purposes that are eligible under WIFIA 2014. These federally authorized water resource projects often
require nonfederal sharing in construction costs, and many projects are required to be operated and
maintained by nonfederal entities after construction. Congress directed, in explanatory text accompanying
P.L. 116-260, that the Secretary of the Army use part of the CWIFP FY2021 appropriation to issue

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“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.” USACE’s CWIFP website indicates that “Projects must be non-Federally owned, operated,
and maintained…. Current criteria issued by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regarding
projects authorized by Congress to be constructed by the Army Corps of Engineers or the Bureau of
Reclamation prevents these projects from being eligible for WIFIA funding.”

Author Information

Nicole T. Carter
Elena H. Humphreys
Specialist in Natural Resources Policy
Analyst in Environmental Policy

Anna E. Normand

Analyst in Natural Resources Policy

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