News from the
Center for Environmental Finance
Advancing sustainable finance and technology solutions
vxEPA
Office of the Chief
Financial Officer
July 2011
Volume 2, Issue 2
The Environmental Financial Advisory Board Meets in
Alexandria, VA for Bi-Annual Meeting
The members of the Environmental Financial Advisory
Board (EFAB), an independent and federally chartered ad-
visory committee, gathered in Alexandria, VA March 8-9,
2011 for their much-anticipated bi-annual meeting. The
purpose of the meeting was to discuss progress on work
projects under EFAB's current Strategic Action Agenda
and to hear from informed speakers on environmental
finance issues, proposed legislation, and EPA priorities.
EFAB provides the Agency with advice on topics ranging
from financing environmental technologies to leveraging
funds for public environmental programs and services.
The meeting began with a discussion led by an Environ-
mental Finance Center Network (EFCN) panel on effective
public-private partnerships for financing environmental
protection. The EFCN is a network often university-based
organizations providing communities across the nation
with innovative technical assistance in the area of envi-
ronmental finance. This discussion included updates from
the EFCN about the network's environmental protection
and community outreach work, including projects directly
supporting EPA's priorities of improving air quality, pro-
tecting America's waters, and cleaning up communities.
EPA's Chief Financial Officer, Barbara Bennett, presented
EPA's FY 2011-2012 budget priorities. She articulated the
Administrator's goal to further her environmental priori-
ties while the Agency participates in the budget negotia-
tions and planning necessary to implement those priorities
with less funding. After fielding questions, Bennett hon-
ored departing members of the Board.
Various workgroup chairpersons reported on their recent
activities around topics of implementation of the Voluntary
Environmental Improvement Bond and Property Assessed
Clean Energy programs, financing clean air technology,
tribal financing, and sustainable communities. Represen-
tatives from EPA's Office of Policy made a presentation to
the Board requesting assistance on financing sustainable
communities, and representatives from the Office of Inter-
national and Tribal Affairs made a presentation on financ-
ing tribal environmental programs.
pcoming Events
August 23: Webinar: Local Government's Role in
the Product Stewardship Movement
http://efc.syracusecoe.org/efc/events.html?skuvar=29
September 7-8: GSA Federal Advisory Committee
Act Conference, DC Convention Center, Washington,
DC
www.facatrainingconference.com
October: Webinar: Environmental Financial Advi-
sory Board Meeting
www.epa.gov/efinpage
A complete summary of the meeting can be read at www.epa.gov/efinpage. The next EFAB Meeting is scheduled for mid-October
2011.
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State Revolving Fund Investment Option can be Used to
Leverage Funds
In support of EPA's priority to protect
America's waters, the Environmental
Financial Advisory Board (EFAB) was
pleased to submit for Agency consider-
ation its report "SRF Investment Func-
tion: Current Status and Prospects for
Enhancing Sustainability." This is the
latest of 23 reports the Board has sub-
mitted to EPA in the area of clean water
financing in the past decade. In this SRF
report, EFAB acknowledged that the
State Revolving Funds (SRFs) for clean
water and drinking water are structured
to allow states substantial flexibility in
the design of individual state programs
and highlighted ways that states could
take advantage of opportunities made
possible by that flexibility. The Board
found that states vary widely in their
use of investments to support the
SRF mission.
The Board emphasized that EPA
could add value to the SRFs by pro-
moting leveraging models among
EPA regions and state administrators
and looking at the asset side of the
SRF balance sheet. EFAB recom-
mended that EPA undertake a review
of the SRF investment authority and
support the broadest governing pa-
rameters consistent with federal law
to encourage and expand the use of
investment strategies by state admin-
istrators and EPA regional offices to
maximize both current and future
SRF funding capacity. Enhanced
SRF funding capacity would allow
states and EPA regional offices to
more effectively protect America's
waters.
To read the full report, please visit http://www.epa.gov/efmpage/efabpub.htm.
Finance Tool Spotlight: Solar Home Electric Systems Financed
Through Microcredit
Grameen Shakti, one of the largest and
fastest growing rural based renewable
energy companies in the world, has a
Solar Home Systems (SHSs) financ-
ing program that awards microloans.
Through the SHSs program, Grameen
Shakti works to connect renewable en-
ergy technology and microcredit for
individuals and communities in rural
Bangladesh. Specifically, microcredit is
a financing tool that can be used to
help make income generating proj-
ects possible in developing coun-
tries, including environmentally sus-
tainable ones. Through microcredit,
small loans called microloans are
extended to cash poor entrepreneurs,
who lack verifiable credit history.
This opens up new opportunities for
them to make home improvements
and start businesses.
Grameen Shakti's SHSs program
provides families and individuals
with the opportunity to improve their
quality of life through participat-
ing in income generating activities
and taking advantage of economies
of scale. Through the micro-utility
model, one entrepreneur installs the
system, financed by a microloan
from Grameen Shakti, and shares
the load with neighbors. The owner
of the system collects rents from the
users of the system. More than 1,000
micro-utility systems are operating in
rural Bangladesh, providing electric-
ity for homes, schools, and business-
es and helping people earn income in
an environmentally sustainable way.
For more information on financing tools, please access our publications, Guidebook
on Financial Tools or International Environmental Finance Tools, available at
http://www. epa.gov/efinpage/guidebook. htm.
Center for Environmental Finance Newsletter • July 2011 • EPA-190-N-11-002
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