EPA Fee Rule Backs Utilities' Bid For Flexibility On WIFIA Application Cost

EPA's interim rule for application fees to support the nascent Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) program backs water utilities' requests for an explicit mechanism to “roll over” the fees into the applicants' share of a project's overall processing costs, which could assuage fears that the fees would make WIFIA inaccessible to some. The agency posted two WIFIA rules on its website for public comment Dec. 6: a proposed rule on fees, and an interim final rule outlining application...