DALLAS — Lawmakers have reconciled differences in House and Senate versions of a water infrastructure bill that would authorize $8 billion of federal funding for sea ports, inland waterways, and water supply projects.
The compromise agreement was announced late Thursday by House and Senate conferees working on the bill, including Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, Rep. Bill Shuster, R-Pa., chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the ranking minority members of those committees, Sen. David Vitter, R-La., and Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., respectively.
"We are proud to deliver what the American public wants and needs," the four lawmakers said in a joint release. "This conference report maintains ports and navigation routes for commerce and the movement of goods, provides flood control that protects lives and property, and restores vital ecosystems to preserve our natural heritage."
The legislation will be known as the Water Resources Reform and Development Act, which was the House title. The Senate bill's title did not include "Reform."
Details of the bipartisan, bicameral compromise legislation will be released when the compromise report is filed. Both chambers are expected to vote on it the week of May 12.
One water association lobbyist close to the conferee negotiations said the final version includes the Senate's provision establishing a $500 million Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act credit assistance program. The framework of WIFIA is modeled on the popular Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act program for highway and transit projects.
The low-interest WIFIA loans can be used to fund up to 49% of large water projects costing at least $20 million and smaller projects of up to $5 million on systems serving 25,000 or fewer customers.
The remaining 51% of project financing cannot come from tax-exempt municipal or private-activity bonds.
"That prohibition on tax-exempt bonds would make WIFIA pretty unattractive to our municipal members," the lobbyist said. "It is going to be difficult to make it work and in the real world it makes no sense."
Greg Kail of the American Water Works Association said the group hopes the Senate's WIFIA provision is included in the final version. The original House bill did not include WIFIA.
"We've seen the reports of the compromise on the water resources bill, but we haven't yet seen the bill," Kail said. "We are hopeful that WIFIA is included, and if it is, it will be a significant step forward in addressing the water infrastructure challenge."
The Senate water bill would create two pilot WIFIA programs, both funded at $50 million a year for five years. An analysis of the bill said the $100 million each year could be used to leverage up to $1 billion of loans. Neither could be used in conjunction with tax-exempt bonds.
WIFIA loans under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers would fund levees, dams, reservoirs, and related infrastructure. A separate WIFIA program operated by the Environmental Protection Agency would be earmarked for drinking and clean water projects, water system maintenance and upgrades, and desalinization plants.
WIFIA loans could be secured by public-private partnerships, local and state governments, tribal agencies, and state financing authorities.
The Senate passed its water infrastructure bill, S. 601, in May 2013 on an 83-14 vote. The House version, HR 3080, passed in October by the lopsided margin of 417-3.
An analysis of the two water bills by the Congressional Budget Office said infrastructure projects and programs in the House version would cost $3.5 billion through fiscal 2018 and $4.7 billion from 2019 through 2023. Implementing the Senate version, which includes four fewer projects than stipulated in the House bill, would cost $5.7 billion through 2018, CBO said.
Jim Walker, director of navigation policy and legislation at the American Association of Port Authorities, said the group is "very pleased" that the conference committee had come to an agreement.
"We are enthusiastically looking forward to how the bill addresses increased use of the harbor maintenance tax and equity to donor ports as well as expediting navigation channel improvement study completions," Walker said.
