As the federal government considered introducing a new program, the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Authority (WIFIA), for funding water infrastructure projects, some opponents saw the new program as unnecessary. The protest was not centered on a lack of … Read more

Green Infrastructure (GI), a common term to refer to a range of different types of small and mid-scale installations that support water management and other environmental goals, has become a growing component of many local government’s environmental stewardship strategies. Rain gardens, restored urban water-ways, increased tree plantings, permeable pavement and other distributed “nature mimicking” infrastructure installations are making their way into Green Infrastructure plans across the country. Whether local governments used debt financing or pay as you go financing, they will need to find a reliable source of revenue to pay for these installations. Water and wastewater utilities have water fees. Landfill managers have tipping fees. Road managers tend to rely on a mix of local, state and federal taxes augmented with toll roads. What will be the dominant bottom up revenue for Green Infrastructure? Will we see Green Infrastructure utilities? Green Infrastructure taxes? The answer, as is the case with most local environmental finance questions, will be “it likely will depend” on the region and financial culture of the local government.

By David Tucker and Lexi Kay In June 2014, the U.S. EPA proposed the Clean Power Plan rule for the regulation of existing electric power plants under Section 111(d) of the federal Clean Air Act. A comment period for this proposed rule will … Read more

by Jacob Mouw This post was revised on September 25, 2014 to address nuances of water pricing and differences in conservation rates. Drinking water, despite being a necessity, is relatively cheap in regards to its importance. At around $0.005 per gallon … Read more

Guest post by David Brown What’s the right mix of petroleum, natural gas, coal, and other fuels to use for electrical generation today? What are our options for meeting the energy demands of tomorrow? And is it possible to consume … Read more

In case you haven’t heard, Property Assessed Clean Energy programs have picked up the …. well, they’ve picked up the PACE. And just in the nick of time, as many federally-funded clean energy programs are running out of steam. Thirty states, … Read more

When the five small water systems in Hampton County, South Carolina decided to band together to create the Lowcountry Regional Water System (LRWS), they, like many other small water systems across the country, faced a number of managerial and financial … Read more

Successful and long-lasting businesses are all about capturing and creating value. Value creation or value added can broadly be defined as taking an action where the benefits of the action exceed the costs of the action. For example, value creation … Read more

It can be hard being a water utility when nobody needs you. Or worse yet, when you have to push people away. But the news seems rife with such stories of unrequited demand for service from water utilities that invested … Read more

It’s college football season again, and thoughts among many in the South, and elsewhere, turn to tailgating and touchdowns, hot dogs and sodas, field goals and fun. (Here in Chapel Hill, we like to remember alumnus Andy Griffith’s famous 1953 … Read more