At the Environmental Finance Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, we strive to provide top-notch assistance to communities through training and applied research. But this training would not continue to be possible without educated and experienced … Read more

Guest post by David Salvesen and Christian Kamrath Hurricane Matthew, which struck North Carolina in October 2016, reminded us of just how vulnerable North Carolina is to flooding.  Torrential rains caused severe flooding that breached levees, closed major roads and … Read more

Guest  post by Brian Dabson   The scale and complexity of the issues surrounding North Carolina’s manufactured homes stock was the subject of a previous blog post, Hidden in Plain Sight.  Over 1.3 million people in the state live in … Read more

Today marks the end of the sixth annual National Infrastructure Week—a week of events, media coverage, and issue advocacy across the country to elevate infrastructure as a critical issue impacting America’s future. In the world of environmental finance, however, every … Read more

The UNC Environmental Finance Center (EFC) typically focuses on the role of local governments in directly providing and funding basic community environmental services such as water, wastewater, stormwater, and solid waste management. For example, the EFC recently released a set … Read more

Water systems across the country have approached drinking water affordability using different metrics and innovative solutions. While other parts of the country take on affordability at a local level, California is tackling this issue at the statewide level. In 2012, … Read more

What types of environmental policies are protecting your local waterways? When the US Environmental Protection Agency was first created, most regulations followed a command-and-control model in which polluters must meet requirements individually. Today, market-based environmental policies are increasingly popular. Todd … Read more

How Carrboro’s creation of a Stormwater Management Utility exemplifies the increasing need for stormwater finance options. Effective July 1, 2017, the Town of Carrboro followed in the footsteps of local governments across North Carolina, such as the City of Hendersonville, … Read more

Co-author Neil Sullivan is a Rates Specialist at the Environmental Finance Center. Since 2007, the Environmental Finance Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has been conducting water and wastewater rate surveys in Georgia. With support from the … Read more

On Friday, March 23, President Trump signed a $1.3 trillion FY 2018 spending bill that will fund the federal government through September 30.   This budget funds several environmental infrastructure programs that help communities pay for crucial services such as water and wastewater.  … Read more