Financing for Environmental Compliance
In the next twenty years cities, counties and tribes will need to spend billions of dollars to improve capital assets and remain in compliance with federal environmental laws. New technologies and asset management techniques may help local governments create a plan to finance major capital assets, ensure compliance with environmental statutes and regulations and minimize health and environmental risks.
Below is a step-by-step financial planning process that can help your community determine capital asset technical and financial needs and find available air, waste and water resources to meet your compliance goals.
- Step 1: Assemble a Team
- Step 2: Conduct a Needs Analysis
- Step 3: Define Project Goals
- Step 4: Devise a Technical Solution
- Step 5: Conduct a Rate Analysis
- Step 6: Complete a Community-Wide Financial Analysis
- Step 7: Select Financial Options
- Step 8: Create and Communicate the Financing Plan
Step 1: Assemble a Team
- Determine the equipment needs
- Complete a cost analysis
- Develop a financing plan
- Help the community understand how the capital asset improvements will benefit the entire community.
Contracting support may be necessary if current municipal or Tribal employees cannot fill these roles.
Your team can use the following steps to develop a financing plan and present their findings to the community and local government officials.
Successful financing of environmental capital assets requires the buy-in of the local political approving entity and community stakeholders. Briefings and public meetings during each stage will increase the likelihood of success. Reaching agreement among various groups is one of the most difficult aspects of public financing. Transparency and involvement can help a community reach agreement.
- Knowledge of the technical requirements and capabilities of the utility asset. An understanding of past problems and ability to devise the ultimate technical solution are critical to achieve success.
- The ability to locate and understand the various funding options and devise an overall financing plan. In addition, this person must be able to clearly articulate the benefits of each financing plan option to team members and municipal officials.
- The ability to gain the support of municipal officials at the beginning of the planning process. A key skill is the ability to deliver clear presentations that describe the project goals, costs, and technical and financial options and to answer general questions or concerns.*
- The ability to discuss the project vision and goals (including costs and benefits) with community members and bring community input back to the other team members. Community outreach should start as soon as the team has the support for the project from the municipal or Tribal.*
- The ability to provide external liaison activities. This person should be able to explain the project goals, costs and benefits to the general public, media, and other government entities.*
* These jobs may be completed by one person if that person has the skill set to do both tasks.
Step 2: Conduct a Needs Analysis
- How much does it cost to operate and monitor the current capital asset?
- Will the system need to be upgraded to meet future local, state and federal requirements?
- What work will need to be done?
- What technology is currently available?
- What is the estimated construction or implementation period?
- Will additional staff be necessary to operate the new/upgraded asset?
- How much will it cost to complete the project?
- What financial resources are available? Is there a funding gap?
- When will the money be needed?
- How will the work, when completed, meet regulatory requirements and maintain compliance?
Step 3: Define Project Goals
Accurately defining the project goals and objectives is critical to the success of the project. When the end result and steps needed to get to that end result are clearly articulated, it is much more likely that the project will succeed.
Write down the project goals and objectives and be specific. With clearly defined project goals, the team can better communicate their vision to municipal and Tribal officials and community stakeholders.
- Policy statement – This document sets out the specific goals and objectives for the project. This document can be used to brief municipal officials, community stakeholders and new team members.
- Financial plan including budget – Creating a financial plan and budget allows team members to track the financial progress of the project. Funding flow and rate can be monitored during the course of the project. Again, this document can be used to brief project stakeholders.
- Operations guide – This technical resource shows how the project will be implemented. It can be used to track various project stages and sub-activities.
- Public Relations/Communication guide - This guide should define who the project stakeholders are (i.e. community organizations; local organizations; businesses; political entities such as the mayor’s office, congressman’s office; media, etc.) and how information will be distributed to the various stakeholders.
The team should also monitor community events and resources. The project goals may need to be adjusted to respond to unforeseen circumstances, population changes or demographic shifts. A community feedback mechanism may provide new information to improve the project.
Step 4: Devise a Technical Solution
Defining the technical problem and devising a long-term solution can make or break an environmental capital asset project. The underlying problem must be resolved at the end of the construction project to avoid wasting valuable time and financial resources. Proper planning can help avoid cost over-runs and adequately identify and resolve any underlying problems. Cities, counties and Tribes can hire a private contractor to help define the ultimate solution.
- Draft a project solution – Discuss the underlying problem and create a draft project solution.
- Review technology options – EPA and other government agencies can provide information on technologies that have been verified and tested technology.
- Revise draft project plan as necessary - New technical or community information may require changes to the original plan. It is less costly to revise the project parameters before construction than to change them during construction.
- Assess schedules and costs - Obtain written construction phases and schedules and project costs.
- Obtain approvals - Obtain approvals during this process as necessary.
Step 5: Conduct a Rate Analysis
The cost to provide service changes over time. A rate analysis should be conducted periodically to ensure that rates cover the full cost of providing a service. The rate analysis should determine whether the current rate structure is covering current costs and whether the rate will need to be changed to meet future costs.
Some state agencies have published state-specific rate studies. Please contact your state environmental quality agency to obtain available state air, waste and water rate information.
Water
| Population Served | Average Consumption (gallons) | Average Bill |
|---|---|---|
| All | 7,359 | $33.76 |
| < 10,000 | 6,222 | $49.96 |
| 10,001 to 90,000 | 7,784 | $36.86 |
| 90,001 to 425,000 | 7,060 | $30.31 |
| > 425,000 | 7,572 | $30.60 |
| Population Served | Average Consumption (gallons) | Average Bill |
|---|---|---|
| All | 6,357 | $35.77 |
| < 10,000 | 5,768 | $42.15 |
| 10,001 to 90,000 | 5,525 | $37.27 |
| 90,001 to 425,000 | 7,060 | $35.10 |
| > 425,000 | 5,865 | $33.42 |
1273 water utilities and 184 wastewater utilities responded to the data request
Setting Small Drinking Water System Rates for a Sustainable Future
EPA created this rate setting guide to help small drinking water systems bring in enough money to cover the full costs of doing business now and in the future. This guide is designed to help owners, operators, and managers of community water systems (CWSs) serving 3,300 or fewer persons understand the full costs of providing a safe and adequate supply of drinking water to their customers and how to set water rates that reflect those costs.
Waste
EPA provides a broader discussion of full-cost accounting in a municipal solid waste.
Step 6: Complete a Community-Wide Financial Analysis
- What are the community's revenue sources?
- What is the community's debt capacity?
- What other projects does the community need to fund in the near term?
- Are there policies that aid or impede the project?
- Can multiple projects be done at the same time to reduce the overall cost of all projects?
- Standard & Poor's
- Moody's
- Fitch
These agencies conduct a financial risk analysis by reviewing a city's financial documents. The ratings are then used by potential investors to estimate the credit worthiness of a specific city or city sector. The lower the rating the higher the cost of borrowing. The 2002 article from Standard & Poor's details this further "Top 10 Ways to Improve or Maintain a Municipal Credit Rating."
Once the team and municipal officials understand the project costs, benefits and municipal impacts, the team can review alternative finance mechanisms to fill the funding gap.
Step 7: Select Financial Options
System privatization is another option available to communities.
Municipal Revenue-Generating Authority
Communities can generate revenue through the assessment of taxes fees, special charges and fines. Information about each of these revenue-generating tools can be obtained. The municipal authority Web page explains several ways a community can raise capital.
Grants
Grants are transfers of money to a specific legal entity that does not need to be repaid. Cities can apply for grants with federal, state, corporate and non-profit organizations by submitting proposals or funding requests. EPA provides grant information to help communities fund air, waste and water environmental assets.
Loans
A loan is the temporary transfer of a specific amount of money that must be repaid in a set amount time, typically with specified interest rate. It is helpful to evaluate loan options as loan terms can vary by rate, time and reporting requirements. If the project costs will be less than $5 million dollars it is usually financial prudent to use loans rather than bonds.
There are several types of loans including:
Government – These loans have consistently lower than market interest rates but may require significant application procedures and requirements. Some examples of government environmental loan programs include the EPA Clean Water State Revolving Fund and EPA Safe Drinking Water State Revolving Funds (SRF). Communities who have entered into a binding enforcement agreement have priority for SRF funding.
EPA’s Brownfields Program provides direct funding for brownfields assessment, cleanup, revolving loans, and environmental job training.
Commercial – These loans usually have higher interest rates but may have more flexible terms.
Bonds
A bond is a written promise to repay borrowed money on a definite schedule and usually at a fixed rate of interest for the life of the bond. It is the largest source of environmental infrastructure financing. It is also the most complex and expensive way to acquire funds but money is available for immediate capital needs. Legal and administrative fees can be costly and voter approval may be required. This tool is usually more cost effective for projects costing more than $5 million because the fees are the same for large or small bond issue.
The bond market matches governments and corporations that need to borrow money with investors who have funds to lend. Bond dealers at securities firms and banks act as intermediaries, buying from issuers and selling to investors in the primary market.
The following sections provide information about the types of available bonds and the roles and responsibilities of firms usually involved in the bond transaction.
Step 8: Create and Communicate the Financing Plan
By completing the prior steps, all the information necessary to create a project financing plan has been collected. A written financing plan will help team members define the project goals, allow the various tasks to be monitored during the course of the project, and help the team members communicate the plan to and obtain buy-in from all project stakeholders.
The financing plan should be kept as simple as possible. This will reduce the opportunity for confusion and encourage stakeholder support. Federal and State government financing contacts are available to discuss and help evaluate the financing plan as necessary.
The project financing plan should include, at a minimum, the following information:
- Financial goals
- Relevant policies
- Project description
- Construction schedule
- Total cost
- Debt capacity
- Current and expected rate plans
- Other committed municipal financial resources
- External funding sources – Grants, Loans, Bonds, SEPs
- Debt repayment plan
- Construction approvals and contracts
- Funding contracts, bond approvals
- Additional legal requirements
The team should strongly consider providing periodic updates to community members during the course of the project. Town meetings can be convened to provide project updates and to ask for feedback. Project support can be increased by providing examples of specific financing challenges and the strategies designed to address those challenges.
EPA's Office of Compliance also provides direct assistance to local government officials through the LGEAN Assistance Center
EPA promotes improved environmental compliance among small communities and small local governments by allowing penalty reductions (when appropriate) for small local governments that achieve comprehensive compliance or implement an Environmental Management System (EMS).
Local governments can find further assistance through the Small Local Governments Compliance Assistance Policy which provides:
- An overview of environmental responsibilities
- Information necessary to correct violations
- A framework for correcting violations in the context of achieving and sustaining comprehensive compliance.