Photo by Will Parson/Chesapeake Bay Program
In October 2011, the EFC was awarded a grant by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to implement a stormwater financing technical assistance project in three urban communities located in the Chesapeake Basin: Baltimore, MD, Anne Arundel County, MD, and Lynchburg, VA. While the overarching goal of this effort was to expand the ability of local governments to achieve water quality restoration goals through more efficient stormwater financing, the project focused on three primary objectives:
- To create a better understanding of the costs and economic impacts associated with effective stormwater management in urban communities, specifically as they relate to pollution reductions associated with the Phase 2 Chesapeake Bay Watershed Implementation Plans;
- To demonstrate how water quality restoration activities can benefit and add value to other community priorities, thereby improving fiscal efficiencies; and,
- To demonstrate how effectively engaging the private sector in stormwater management programs can incentivize innovation, create efficiencies, and accelerate restoration activity across the community.
This two-year project—completed in the fall of 2013—was implemented in three phases:
Phase 1: Assessing the economic and fiscal impacts associated with implementing stormwater management programs;
Phase 2: Assessing the community capacity necessary to achieve aggressive urban water quality goals and requirements; and
Phase 3: Developing recommendations for improving the effectiveness, efficiency, and expediency of the jurisdiction’s stormwater financing system.
Final project reports were delivered to each of the communities in December 2013. These reports provided an assessment of the financing challenges within each community, the financing opportunities available for meeting those challenges, and the potential impact that investments in stormwater management will have on local job development.
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