Federal Water Infrastructure Roundtable Formed to Accelerate SRF and WIFIA Capital Deployment

The EPA convened state regulators, municipal utility heads, and sector organizations on July 9, 2026, to address widespread administrative timelines that leave federal water and wastewater infrastructure funding uncommitted. Assistant Administrator for Water Jess Kramer led discussions focused on streamlining applications across the Clean Water SRF, the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) loan program, and small community grants. While the SRF network has historically delivered more than $265 billion across approximately 76,000 national infrastructure projects, agency reviews noted that certain states face procedural roadblocks that slow local plant modernizations and sewer system rehabilitations. Small and rural facilities, in particular, often lack the engineering overhead required to navigate federal application guidelines. As a result of the roundtable, the agency committed to establishing an online assistance toolbox for recipients and creating joint task forces with the Environmental Council of the States (ECOS) and clean water organizations to accelerate disbursements from planning to active construction.