Grant supports regional environmental activities

PHILADELPHIA — Aug. 25, 2015 — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will award nine winners a six-year grant to establish regional environmental finance centers, according to a press release.

The centers support communities in financing environmental activities with access to technical expertise, noted the release.

"EPA is committed to working closely with communities to meet environmental goals that benefit public health and support local economies," said EPA Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Shawn M. Garvin in the release. "The environmental finance center at the University of Maryland serves as an important regional hub to support states and tribes in finding creative solutions for financing environmental activities, such as upgrading water infrastructure, establishing public-private partnerships and increasing energy efficiency and sustainability."

Environmental finance centers work with governments, tribes, utilities and communities on several projects, including infrastructure financing plans; environmental infrastructure; public-private partnership models; and drinking water and wastewater utility water conservation, energy efficiency, management and capital planning, reported the release.

The grants will last from 2016 to 2021, stated the release. They cover 44 states and six U.S. territories. Awardees include:

• University of Southern Maine – Portland, Maine
• Syracuse University – Syracuse, N.Y.
• University of Maryland – College Park, Md.
• University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill, N.C.
• Michigan Technical University – Houghton, Mich.
• University of New Mexico – Albuquerque, N.M.
• Wichita State University – Wichita, Kan.
• Rural Community Assistance Corporation – Spokane, Wash.
• California State University, Sacramento – Sacramento, Calif.

You can find the entire release here.