Green Infrastructure Approaches to Managing Wet Weather with Clean Water State Revolving Funds
This fact sheet provides local governments and stormwater utilities with information on how to use the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) to finance green infrastructure projects. After a quick primer on green infrastructure and the CWSRF, the fact sheet details why the CWSRF is an attractive financing option for green infrastructure and which green infrastructure projects are eligible for CWSRF assistance, and provides case studies of how communities have used the CWSRF to finance green infrastructure projects.
CWSRF provides loans with interest rates as low as 0%, that can cover up to 100% of a project’s cost, and are flexible enough that states can set their own repayment terms. Project eligibility differs between permitted (has a stormwater permit) and non-permitted communities (does not have a stormwater permit or is exempt from permitting). The fact sheet delineates how each can qualify for funding, as well as specific types of green infrastructure projects the CWSRF can support. CWSRF can support the capital costs of green infrastructure (but not the maintenance), the addition of green techniques when improving existing grey infrastructure, and for insurance that covers the risk of using newer green technology.
The case studies show a range of loans from the CWSRF, from $400,000 that Port Townsend, Washington used for wetland preservation to $14 million used by Rockville, Maryland for an extensive project to restore a tributary on the Potomac River. The case studies also illustrate the kinds of projects undertaken by communities, such as Seattle’s installation of green infrastructure to improve stormwater management in the Longfellow Creek Watershed or West Jefferson, Ohio’s purchase of highly erodible land and construction of an environmentally sensitive housing project.
Publication Date: July 2008
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