H.R. 6229 reauthorizes and expands the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act, a federal loan program that helps communities finance water infrastructure projects. The bill makes it easier for small communities (those with populations of 25,000 or fewer) and rural water projects to access financing by lowering the minimum project cost threshold from $5 million to $1 million and providing free technical assistance to help small communities develop proposals. The legislation also broadens which types of water projects qualify for funding, including state-led water storage projects and congressionally authorized projects run by non-federal entities, and allows greater use of streamlined project delivery methods like design-build contracts. The bill authorizes $68 million annually for the Environmental Protection Agency and $15 million annually for the Army Corps of Engineers through fiscal year 2029 to administer the program, and requires federal agencies to submit reports to Congress within one year on how the program is being implemented.
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