Financing Green Stormwater and Natural Infrastructure with Clean Water State Revolving Funds
In this report, we examine Clean Water State Revolving Fund-financed investments in green stormwater infrastructure and natural infrastructure, which mimic or utilize natural processes to solve water quality and stormwater challenges. Communities around the country face environmental and health consequences due to failing water infrastructure. The Clean Water State Revolving Fund helps address these challenges by financing projects to improve water quality and public health. Most states and territories primarily invest in traditional gray infrastructure. In comparison to gray infrastructure, green stormwater infrastructure and natural infrastructure are often more cost-effective, climate resilient, and provide a plethora of economic and social benefits. We specifically evaluate investments in green stormwater infrastructure and natural infrastructure between 2016 and 2020 and give recommendations to state agencies and the EPA.
We find that:
States allocated three percent of Clean Water State Revolving Fund commitments to green stormwater infrastructure and natural infrastructure.
The amount of investment increased over this time period.
Investment in green stormwater infrastructure and natural infrastructure projects varies considerably from state to state.
Our recommendations to states are to:
› Dedicate more funds for green stormwater infrastructure and natural infrastructure: State agencies should dedicate at least 20 percent of their awards to green stormwater infrastructure and natural infrastructure.
› Hire more staff to expand programs: State agencies should hire more staff to develop, finance, and manage projects with borrowers.
› Provide more technical assistance: Borrowers need more technical assistance to design projects, submit applications, and develop repayment streams.
› Encourage private organizations to build project pipelines: More private entities could utilize the program to finance natural infrastructure projects. › Leverage to finance more projects: States could spread their resources further by leveraging program funds.
› Establish specific sub-revolving loan funds for natural infrastructure: State agencies should establish specific sub-revolving funds to solicit, prioritize, and finance natural infrastructure projects.
Our recommendations to EPA are to:
› Refine definitions and reporting categories: Stronger definitions and reporting categories for green stormwater infrastructure and natural infrastructure will facilitate more consistent conversations and better tracking.
› Dedicate a percentage of Green Project Reserve funds to green stormwater infrastructure and natural infrastructure: A minimum requirement will increase investment in nature-mimicking projects
› Strengthen the Green Project Reserve requirement: States should provide technical assistance and more additional subsidies to incentivize investment.
› Support sponsorship projects: The EPA should report on the number and type of sponsorship projects for green infrastructure and develop materials that support their broader use.