Draft Letter of Interest

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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

WIFIA Credit Program

Introduction: Interested parties seeking Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) credit 

assistance must complete and submit a letter of interest to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). EPA

evaluates letters of interest against selection criteria and for creditworthiness. Selected interested parties are 

invited to submit applications.

Purpose: Interested parties complete the letter of interest materials to provide EPA with the necessary 

information to validate the eligibility (as defined in the WIFIA Program Guide), assess the initial creditworthiness, 

and rank each proposed project. Based on the information provided in submitted letters of interest, EPA will 

select projects eligible for credit assistance.

Format: To be considered for WIFIA credit assistance, interested parties must follow the instructions provided to 

submit a letter of interest that: 1) describes the interested party and the construction and operational plans for 

the proposed project(s), 2) outlines the proposed financial plan, 3) provides a status of the reports and studies 

required for the project(s), and 4) describes how the project meets the selection criteria of the WIFIA credit 

program. 

Please reference the latest Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) posted in Federal Register for additional 

instructions. Interested parties should refer to the WIFIA website often to ensure that they are aware of the 

latest policies and regulations for the program, as described in the program guide. The total narrative for this 

letter of interest should not exceed 25 pages, excluding any attachments.

Selection: EPA may request additional information to supplement the letter of interest and complete its eligibility 

determination, selection criteria analysis, and/or creditworthiness analysis. This information may include more 

detailed descriptions of the proposed project(s), the interested party and its organizational structure, the project’s 

readiness to proceed, the project’s financial plan (including a financial model), revenue feasibility studies, and 

financial commitments to the project from sources other than WIFIA). EPA will notify the interested party if it 

determines that the proposed project is not eligible for WIFIA assistance, fails to meet the minimum selection 

criteria, or needs to address specific eligibility requirements, selection criteria, or financial elements in order to be 

evaluated by EPA. Interested parties invited to submit applications will be asked to submit additional 

documentation and be required to pay an application fee.

Submission: Please complete this form and attach a document with the requested narrative information, 

maintaining the order and numbering of the section. Submit these documents as attachments via email to [email]. If you have questions on completing this letter of interest, please contact the WIFIA program office at (XXX) 

XXX-XXXX.

Information Requests: If an applicant desires that any information submitted in its application or any supplement 

thereto not be released by EPA upon request from a member of the public or otherwise made publicly available, 

the applicant must identify the confidential business information and provide reasons why such information is 

confidential business information and should not be released, including particulars as to any competitive harm 

which would potentially result from the release of such information. EPA will keep such information confidential to 

the extent permitted by law.

Warning: Falsification or misrepresentation of information or failure to file or report information required to be 

reported may be the basis for denial of financial assistance by EPA. Knowing and willful falsification of information 

required to be submitted and false statements to a Federal Agency may also subject you to criminal prosecution. 

See, for example, 18 U.S.C. §1001.
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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

WIFIA Credit Program

Key Definitions

(a) Administrator means the Administrator of EPA.

(b) Eligible project costs mean amounts, substantially all of which are paid by, or for the account of, an 

obligor in connection with a project, including the cost of:

(1) Development-phase activities, including planning, feasibility analysis (including any related 

analysis necessary to carry out an eligible project), revenue forecasting, environmental 

review, permitting, preliminary engineering and design work, and other preconstruction 

activities;

(2) Construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, and replacement activities;

(3) The acquisition of real property or an interest in real property (including water rights, land 

relating to the project, and improvements to land), environmental mitigation (including 

acquisitions pursuant to section 5026(7)), construction contingencies, and acquisition of 

equipment; and

(4) Capitalized interest necessary to meet market requirements, reasonably required reserve 

funds, capital issuance expenses, and other carrying costs during construction.

(c) Federal credit instrument means a secured loan or loan guarantee authorized to be made available 

under this subchapter with respect to a project.

(d) Interested party, for the purposes of this part, means an entity wishing to apply for WIFIA credit 

assistance.

(e) Investment-grade rating means a rating category of BBB minus, Baa3, or higher assigned by a rating 

agency to project obligations offered into the capital markets.

(f) Obligor means an eligible entity that is primarily liable for payment of the principal of, or interest on, 

a Federal credit instrument.

(g) Project means:

(1) 1 or more activities that are eligible for assistance under section 603(c) of the Federal Water 

Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1383(c)), notwithstanding the public ownership requirement 

under paragraph (1) of that subsection.

(2) 1 or more activities described in section 1452(a)(2) of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 

300j–12(a)(2)).

(3) A project for enhanced energy efficiency in the operation of a public water system or a 

publicly owned treatment works.

(4) A project for repair, rehabilitation, or replacement of a treatment works, community water 

system, or aging water distribution or waste collection facility (including a facility that serves 

a population or community of an Indian reservation).

(5) A brackish or sea water desalination project, a managed aquifer recharge project, or a water 

recycling project.

(6) Acquisition of real property or an interest in real property—

(A) If the acquisition is integral to a project described in paragraphs (1) through (5); or
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WIFIA Credit Program

(B) Pursuant to an existing plan that, in the judgment of the Administrator or the 

Secretary, as applicable, would mitigate the environmental impacts of water 

resources infrastructure projects otherwise eligible for assistance under this section.

(7) A combination of projects, each of which is eligible under paragraph (1) or (2), for which a 

State infrastructure financing authority submits to the Administrator a single application.

(8) A combination of projects secured by a common security pledge, each of which is eligible 

under paragraph (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), or (6), for which an eligible entity, or a combination of 

eligible entities, submits a single application.

(h) Public entity means:

(1) a Federal, State, or local Governmental entity, agency, or instrumentality; or

(2) a Tribal Government or consortium of Tribal Governments.

(i) Publicly sponsored means the obligor can demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the Administrator that 

the interested party has consulted with the affected State, local or Tribal Government in which the 

project is located, or is otherwise affected by the project, and that such government supports the 

proposed project.

(j) Rating agency means a bond rating agency identified by the Securities and Exchange Commission as 

a Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organization.

(k) Small Community means a community of no more than 25,000 individuals.

(l) State means any one of the fifty states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, or any other territory 

or possession of the United States.

(m) State infrastructure financing authority means the State entity established or designated by the 

Governor of a State to receive a capitalization grant provided by, or otherwise carry out the 

requirements of, title VI of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1381 et. seq.) or 

section 1452 of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300j–12).

(n) WIFIA means the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of 2014, Pub. L. 113-121, 33 

U.S.C. 3901-3914.
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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

WIFIA Credit Program

Letter of Interest

Provide the following information in this form or as narrative answers. Narrative answers can reference 

source documents (include the name of the document and relevant pages or sections). Provide any 

referenced documents as attachments.

Section A: Interested Party Information

1. Legal name:

2. Other names under which the interested party does business: 

3. Employer/taxpayer identification number (EIN/TIN):

4. DUNS number:

5. Department and division name:

6. Business street address, city, state, zip:

7. Mailing street address (if different from above): 

8. Congressional district: 

9. Website:

10. Type of entity (check all that apply):

 Corporation

 Partnership

 Joint Venture

 Trust

 Federal, State, or Local Governmental Entity, Agency, or Instrumentality

 Tribal Government or Consortium of Tribal Governments

 State Infrastructure Finance Authority

 Combination of the Above Entities 

11. Describe the overall organizational structure for the project(s), including the individual members 

of the project team(s).

12. If the interested party is not a public entity or in the case of the interested party being a state 

infrastructure finance authority, the sub-recipient(s) is not a public entity, is the project(s) 

publicly sponsored? Please explain.

13. Describe the interested party’s financial condition and experience in undertaking the capital 

projects of a similar scope and size.

14. Describe the interested party’s preparedness to submit an application within 365 days after 

receiving an invitation to advance.

Section B: Project Plan

1. Project name(s) (for purposes of identification assign a short name to the project(s)): 

2. Project website(s): 
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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

WIFIA Credit Program

3. Brief description of the project:

4. Describe the location of the project(s), including major intersecting highway and rail routes.

5. County(s) project(s) will serve:

6. Population served by the project:

7. Total population served by system:

8. Describe the purpose (including quantitative or qualitative details on public benefits the 

project(s) will achieve) and design features of the project(s).

9. Describe the project development schedule(s), including the proposed project start and end 

dates.

10. Provide any analysis (i.e. preliminary engineering reports, feasibility studies, preliminary designs, 

siting studies, etc.) completed in support of the project(s). Provide any referenced documents as 

attachments.

11. Present the findings of any alternatives analysis or business cases conducted. Describe the 

project alternatives considered and the rationale (i.e., lowest capital cost, greater ease of 

operation, most reliable, fewest environmental impacts, etc.) for the selected alternative; this 

description should include the technical, managerial, financial, environmental, operational and 

local decision making rationale for the selected approach. Provide any referenced documents as 

attachments.

12. Briefly discuss any other issues that may affect the development and financing of the project(s), 

such as community support, pending legislation, permitting, or litigation.

13. If available, provide a copy of the system master plan or like document.

14. Present the environmental review process and status of such for the project(s).

15. Describe the status of any additional permits and approvals that the project(s) may require.

16. If applicable, detail how the project(s) serves a small community (a community of no more than 

25,000 individuals).

17. If applicable, describe community outreach efforts conducted to date and planned for the 

project(s).

Section C: Project Operations and Maintenance Plan

1. Provide the estimated useful life of the project(s).

2. Describe the project(s)’s operation, maintenance, and repair plan, including sources of revenue 

to finance those activities.
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WIFIA Credit Program

3. Describe any contractual arrangements that may impact the operation of the project(s).

Section D: Financing Plan

1. Provide a narrative, addressing the financial structure of the project(s), a projection of debt 

service coverage ratios, and how the project(s)’s senior debt obligations will garner an 

investment-grade rating(s).

2. List the estimated total capital costs of the project(s), broken down by activity type and 

differentiating between eligible project costs and ineligible project costs. 

3. List the amount of the WIFIA assistance requested for the project(s). WIFIA assistance is 

generally limited to 49 percent of eligible project costs.

4. List the proposed sources of funding and credit enhancements for the project(s) by source, 

listing the aggregate amount and type, including a schedule showing the expected amount and 

timing of disbursements.

5. Identify the terms of the interested party’s debt and equity financing sources, as applicable.

6. Identify the terms expected for each source of financing for the project(s), including the WIFIA 

assistance.

7. Provide a sources and uses of funds exhibit for the construction period(s) showing the timing 

and amount of expected equity and debt funding by source.

8. Attach a summary financial pro forma which presents key assumptions and annual project cash 

flows through the final maturity of the proposed WIFIA debt.

9. Describe the revenue source(s) pledged to repayment, and describe preliminary revenue 

projections.

10. Describe the results and status of revenue feasibility studies.

11. Has the interested party consulted with the applicable State Revolving Fund (SRF) Authority to 

procure SRF funding? If so, explain.

Section E: Selection Criteria

If the selection criteria is not relevant to the project(s), respond “not applicable.”

1. National or regional significance: Describe the extent to which the project(s) is nationally or 

regionally significant, with respect to the generation of economic and public health benefits, 

such as the reduction of flood risk, the improvement of water quality and quantity including 

aquifer recharge, and the protection of drinking water including source water protection.

2. Enables project to proceed earlier: Describe the likelihood that assistance under this subtitle 

would enable the project(s) to proceed at an earlier date than the project would otherwise be 

able to proceed.

3. New or innovative approaches: Describe the extent to which the project(s) uses new or 

innovative approaches.

4. Protection against extreme weather events: Describe the extent to which the project(s) 

protects against extreme weather events, such as floods or hurricanes.

5. Maintain or protect the environment: Describe the extent to which the project(s) helps 

maintain or protect the environment or public health.

6. Serves energy exploration or production areas: Describe the extent to which the project(s) 

serves regions with significant energy exploration, development, or production areas.

7. Serves regions with water resource challenges: Describe the extent to which the project(s) 

serves regions with significant water resource challenges, including the need to address water 
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WIFIA Credit Program

quality concerns in areas of regional, national, or international significance; water quantity 

concerns related to groundwater, surface water, or other resources; significant flood risk; water 

resource challenges identified in existing regional, state, or multistate agreements; and water 

resources with exceptional recreational value or ecological importance.

8. Addresses identified priorities: Describe the extent to which the project(s) addresses identified 

municipal, state, or regional priorities.

9. Readiness to proceed: Describe the readiness of the project(s) to proceed toward development, 

including a demonstration by the interested party that there is a reasonable expectation that 

the contracting process for construction of the project can commence by not later than 90 days 

after the date on which a Federal credit instrument is obligated for the project under this 

subtitle.

10. Repair, rehabilitation, or replacement: Describe the extent to which the project addresses 

needs for repair, rehabilitation, or replacement of a treatment works, community water system, 

or aging water distribution or wastewater conveyance system.

Section F: Contact Information 

1. Primary point of contact 

2. Secondary point of contact

Section H: Certifications 

1. National Environmental Policy Act: The interested party acknowledges that any project 

receiving credit assistance under this program must comply with all provisions of the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.)

2. American Iron and Steel: The interested party acknowledges that any project receiving credit 

assistance under this program for the construction, alteration, maintenance, or repair of a 

project may only use iron and steel products produced in the United States and must comply 

with all applicable guidance.

3. Prevailing Wages: The interested party acknowledges that all laborers and mechanics employed 

by contractors or subcontractors on projects receiving credit assistance under this program shall 

be paid wages at rates not less than those prevailing for the same type of work on similar 

Name:

Title: 

Street Address: 

City/State/Zip: 

Phone: 

E-mail: 

Name:

Title: 

Street Address: 

City/State/Zip: 

Phone: 

E-mail: 
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WIFIA Credit Program

construction in the immediate locality, as determined by the Secretary of Labor, in accordance 

with sections 3141-3144, 3146, and 3147 of Title 40 (Davis-Bacon wage rules).

4. Lobbying: Section 1352 of Title 31, United States Code provides that none of the funds 

appropriated by any Act of Congress may be expended by a recipient of a contract, grant, loan, 

or cooperative agreement to pay any person for influencing or attempting to influence an officer 

or employee of any Federal agency, a Member of Congress, or an employee of a Member of 

Congress in connection with the award or making of a Federal contract, grant, loan, or 

cooperative agreement or the modification thereof. The EPA interprets this provision to include 

the use of appropriated funds to influence or attempt to influence the selection for assistance 

under the WIFIA program.

WIFIA interested parties must file a declaration: (a) with the submission of an application for 

WIFIA credit assistance; (b) upon receipt of WIFIA credit assistance (unless the information 

contained in the declaration accompanying the WIFIA application has not materially changed); 

and (c) at the end of each calendar quarter in which there occurs any event that materially 

affects the accuracy of the information contained in any declaration previously filed in 

connection with the WIFIA credit assistance.

The undersigned certifies, to the best of his or her knowledge and belief, that:

1. No Federal appropriated funds have been paid or will be paid, by or on behalf of the 

undersigned, to any person for influencing or attempting to influence an officer or employee 

of an agency, a Member of Congress, an officer or employee of Congress, or an employee of 

a Member of Congress in connection with the awarding of any Federal contract, the making 

of any Federal grant, the making of any Federal loan, the entering into of any cooperative 

agreement, and the extension, continuation, renewal, amendment, or modification of any 

Federal contract, grant, loan, or cooperative agreement.

2. If any funds other than Federal appropriated funds have been paid or will be paid to any 

person for influencing or attempting to influence an officer or employee of any agency, a 

Member of Congress, an officer or employee of Congress, or an employee of a Member of 

Congress in connection with this Federal contract, grant, loan, or cooperative agreement, 

the undersigned shall complete and submit Standard Form-LLL, “Disclosure Form to Report 

Lobbying,” in accordance with its instructions.

3. The undersigned shall require that the language of this certification be included in the 

award documents for all subawards at all tiers (including subcontracts, subgrants, and 

contracts under grants, loans, and cooperative agreements) and that all subrecipients shall 

certify and disclose accordingly.

This certification is a material representation of fact upon which reliance was placed when 

this transaction was made or entered into. Submission of this certification is a prerequisite 

for making or entering into this transaction imposed by section 1352, title 31, U.S. Code. Any 

person who fails to file the required certification shall be subject to a civil penalty of not less 

than $10,000 and not more than $100,000 for each such failure.

5. Debarment: The undersigned further certifies that it is not currently, nor has it been in the 

preceding three years: 1) debarred, suspended, or declared ineligible from participating in any 

Federal program; 2) formally proposed for debarment, with a final determination still pending; 

3) voluntarily excluded from participation in a Federal transaction; or 4) indicted, convicted, or 

had a civil judgment rendered against it for any of the offenses listed in the Regulations 

Governing Debarment and Suspension (Governmentwide Nonprocurement Debarment and 

Suspension Regulations: 2 C.F.R. Part 180 and Part 1532.
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6. Default/Delinquency: The undersigned further certifies that neither it nor any of its subsidiaries 

or affiliates are currently in default or delinquent on any debt or loans provided or guaranteed 

by the Federal Government.

7. Other Federal Requirements: The interested party acknowledges that it must comply with all 

other federal statutes and regulations, as applicable. A non-exhaustive list of federal crosscutting statutes and regulations can be found at: www.epa.gov/wifia. 

8. Signature: By submitting this letter of interest, the undersigned certifies that the facts stated 

and the certifications and representations made in this letter of interest are true, to the best of 

the interested party’s knowledge and belief after due inquiry, and that the interested party has 

not omitted any material facts. The undersigned is an authorized representative of the 

interested party.

Signature: 

Date Signed:

Name:

Title: 

Street Address: 

City/State/Zip: 

Phone: 

E-mail: