Underground Construction - May 2019 - 6

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EPA Announces New
WIFIA Funding for Water
Infrastructure Projects
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) is making funding available to provide
an estimated $6 billion in Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA)
loans in 2019.
"Through WIFIA, we are addressing
several of President Trump's top priorities,
simultaneously: modernizing our nation's
aging infrastructure, improving public health
protections and creating jobs," said Andrew
Wheeler, EPA Administrator.
WIFIA loans are available to public and
private borrowers for a wide range of drinking
water, wastewater, drought mitigation, and
alternative water supply projects. This year's
Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) highlights the agency's priority to finance projects
that are ready for construction in three key
areas: reducing exposure to lead and addressing emerging contaminants in drinking water
systems; updating aging infrastructure; and
implementing water reuse and recycling.
The WIFIA program received $68 million
in funding in the Consolidated Appropriations
Act of 2019, which was signed into law by
President Trump on February 15, 2019. This is
a $5 million increase in the program's funding
from 2018. Leveraging private capital and
other funding sources, these projects could
support $12 billion in water infrastructure investment and create more than 180,000 jobs.
To date, EPA has issued eight loans totaling
more than $2 billion in WIFIA credit assistance
to help finance over $4 billion for water
infrastructure projects and create over 6,000
jobs. EPA has invited an additional 42 projects
in 17 states and D.C. to apply for a WIFIA loan.
These 38 borrowers will receive WIFIA loans
totaling approximately $5.5 billion to help finance nearly $11 billion in water infrastructure
investments and create 172,000 jobs.
EPA will evaluate proposed projects described in the LOIs using WIFIA's statutory and
regulatory criteria as described in the NOFA.
Through this competitive process, EPA will select projects that it intends to fund and invite
them to continue the application process.
For more information, visit: https://www.
epa.gov/wifia .

FOSA Urges 'Smart
Infrastructure' Technology
The Fiber Optic Sensing Association (FOSA)
has urged House and Senate Committees to
incorporate advanced technologies that will
help make the nation's infrastructure safer,
more resilient and longer lasting.
In letters to the leadership of the Senate
Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation and the House Committee
on Transportation & Infrastructure, FOSA
said that a critical "smart infrastructure"
technology is fiber optic sensing, used
around the world to monitor the condition
and integrity of many critical infrastructure
assets. The fiber optic cable buried next to
or attached to the infrastructure acts as a
sensor that provides earlier warning of potential issues or monitors the activity along
the asset, helping with safety and efficiency.
According to FOSA Director Mark
Uncapher, "Incorporating a fiber optic cable
and sensing into the nation's infrastructure
will enhance safety, improve physical
integrity, lower maintenance costs and
increase resilience. The same fiber optic
cable can also provide high bandwidth
data backbones, meaning the United States
can leverage infrastructure investments
for better national connectivity."
FOSA is a non-profit organization created
in Washington, DC in 2017 with the mission
of educating industry, government and the
public on the benefits of fiber optic sensing.
Through webinars, videos, white papers,
public presentations and public policy advocacy, the organization provides information
on the use of fiber optic sensing to secure
critical facilities, enhance public safety and
protect the environment.
fiberopticsensing.com

WSSC Accepting
Applications for
Commissioners' Engineering
Scholarship Program
WSSC, the largest water utility in Maryland,
is accepting applications to its annual
Commissioners' Engineering Scholarship
Program until June 3.
Each year, up to two, new $1,000
scholarships may be awarded. Scholarship
http://www.UConOnline.com http://www.fiberopticsensing.com https://www.epa.gov/wifia https://www.epa.gov/wifia
Underground Construction - May 2019

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