EPA to Provide UNC EFC $500K to Help 10 Communities with Water Infrastructure Development

About

As the largest
university-based local
government training,
advisory, and research
organization in the United
States, the School of
Government serves more
than 12,000 public officials
each year.

Browse by Role

The School provides
content and resources for a
wide array of local
government and judicial
officials in North Carolina.

Select your role to explore
all related content.

Browse by Topic

The School provides content
and resources on a wide array
of topics in local government
and judicial administration in
North Carolina.

Select a topic to explore all
related content.

Courses

The School of Government
offers up to 200 courses,
workshops, webinars, and
professional conferences
each year.

Publications

The School of Government
publishes essential books,
manuals, reports, articles,
bulletins, and other print and
online content related to state
and local government.

Blogs

Faculty write for a number
of School of Government
blogs providing timely
updates on emerging issues.

Resources

The School of Government
offers information and
services related to a wide
range of topics relevant to
government and judicial
officials—in-person and on a
variety of platforms.

Blog Posts

Timely updates on emerging issues

Centers and Services

Specialized training/research hubs and consulting services

Frequently Asked Questions

Aggregated answers to common questions on a variety of topics

Knapp Library

Print and online materials and research expertise

Legal Summaries

Brief descriptions of legal cases, bills, or legislative activity

Listservs

Information exchanges for peers and faculty experts

Microsites

In-depth or aggregated content for local government and judicial officials

Tools and Apps

Online and mobile tools for employees on-the-go

Master of Public
Administration Program

The UNC MPA program prepares public service leaders. The program is offered in two formats: on-campus and online.

For more information, visit mpa.unc.edu

Giving

The School of Government depends on private and public support for fulfilling its mission. Your gift will make a lasting impact on the quality of government and civic participation in North Carolina.

Knapp Library

The Joseph Palmer Knapp Library houses a large collection of material on state and local government, public administration, and management to support the School's instructional and research programs and the educational mission of the Master of Public Administration program. Reference and research services are available to all residents of North Carolina, and additional assistance is available to state and local government personnel, both elected and appointed.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has provided $500,000 in funding to The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill ‘s Environmental Finance Center (EFC) to assist communities addressing water infrastructure challenges. The funding also goes to partner organization, Southwest Environmental Finance Center at the University of New Mexico.

The two organizations will use the funding to jointly manage the WaterCARE (Community Assistance for Resiliency and Excellence) project over two years. During that time they will help 10 communities across the country develop robust and resilient finance strategies for long-term water infrastructure support. This work will be carried out by members of the Environmental Finance Center Network, a team of university-based centers from across the country.

WaterCARE is an initiative of the EPA’s Water Infrastructure and Resiliency Finance Center, which acts as a resource to communities that are financing drinking water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure. The center is part of the White House Build America Investment Initiative—a government-wide effort to increase infrastructure investment and promote economic growth.

“Communities depend on adequate drinking water and wastewater services to survive and thrive, and the EPA is committed to providing financial guidance to help them invest in the necessary water infrastructure,” said EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy. “The need for resilient and sustainable infrastructure becomes more important as water resources are strained by the impacts of climate change, such as flooding, drought, storms and sea level rise.”

The EFC at UNC-Chapel Hill and its partners will meet one-on-one with each community to collaborate and develop a financial strategy that meets their local priorities. Each community is dedicated to increasing community sustainability by financing water infrastructure improvements.

Communities selected to participate in the WaterCARE program have a need to address public health challenges, affordability considerations and a readiness to proceed with an infrastructure improvement project. The ten communities selected to receive WaterCARE assistance are: Buchanan County, Virginia; the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribe, Montana; Gatesville, Texas; Haines Borough, Alaska; the Hoopa Valley Tribe, California; Johnston, Iowa; Lawrence, Massachusetts; Selma, Alabama; the Township of South Orange Village, New Jersey; and Youngstown, Ohio.

The Environmental Finance Center at UNC-Chapel Hill is dedicated to enhancing the ability of governments and other organizations to provide environmental programs in fair, effective and financially sustainable ways. The work of the EFC is focused on a variety of environmental areas, including water resources, clean energy, solid waste management and land conservation.

The Environmental Finance Center Network is a university-based organization creating innovative solutions to the difficult how-to-pay issues of environmental protection and improvement. The network of nine centers located throughout the United States works with the public and private sectors to promote sustainable environmental solutions while bolstering efforts to manage costs.

Published March 28, 2016