U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Arizona, is part of a bipartisan bill to unlock federal funding for water infrastructure in the West. Working alongside U.S. Sen. John Curtis, R-Utah, Kelly has introduced the Restoring WIFIA Eligibility Act. It’s part of efforts by their states, Washington state and California to get federal dollars. Established in 2014, the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) created a program to provide credit assistance to wastewater, drinking water, and stormwater projects, both public and private. With terms that included low, fixed-interest rates and repayment schedules, WIFIA loans allowed applicants to draw funds when needed. Still, Kelly’s office said “certain interpretations of the program” created hurdles for any projects with federal involvement. That, said the senator, made them ineligible for WIFIA loans because of language that made them available only to non-federal borrowers.

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• Gila Herald (Stafford, Ariz.): Kelly, Curtis introduce bipartisan bill to unlock federal funding for Western water infrastructure