White House Proposal Would “Level the Playing Field” for Private Infrastructure Investment

(From NCPP The White House on Friday stressed the critical importance of the administration’s Build America initiative at an event at the Anacostia River Tunnel project site in Washington, D.C.

At the event, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) launched the Water Infrastructure and Resiliency Finance Center to help communities across the country improve their wastewater, drinking water and stormwater infrastructure, particularly through innovative financing.

“By modernizing the nation’s infrastructure we can protect our drinking water sources and enhance resilience to the impacts of climate change by avoiding financial and water supply losses from leaking pipes and reducing pollution from sewer overflows and wastewater discharges,” EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy said in a release.

The center will work closely with municipal and state governments, utilities and private sector partners to use federal grants to attract more private capital into projects. In addition, it will promote models of public-private collaboration that can address the real needs of cities and towns to improve water infrastructure.

At the event, the administration also announced the Rural Opportunity Investment Initiative, which will allow the U.S. Department of Agriculture to identify opportunities for investment in rural infrastructure and connect projects with investors.

The USDA will also look to leverage private sector financing against $30 billion in existing programs to provide funding for rural infrastructure projects.

The initiative also touted advances in private financing of infrastructure, at the Department of Transportation, as announced in July. It includes guides for federal funding for P3s, improvements to project financing and delivery, and breaking ground on billions of dollars in transportation infrastructure.