N e w s l e t t e r
January 2018

MOST CENTER DEBUTS TWO VIDEO SERIES

Expanding our educational resource offerings, the MOST Center launched two new video series. "Public-Private Partnerships: Leveraging the Strengths of Government and the Private Sector" features local government leaders in the Chesapeake Bay watershed who engaged P3s in innovative ways to better manage stormwater and achieve shared community goals. "Local Leaders: Innovative Approaches to Solve Environmental Challenges" spotlights area experts who have defied long-held assumptions, built relationships with nontraditional partners, and pushed the envelope to achieve better results for their communities. Watch here  for these videos and more to come!


EFC RELEASES REPORT: HOLISTIC BENEFITS OF GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE

Smaller local governments, particularly those with MS4 stormwater programs, can learn how to holistically evaluate the benefits of implementing green infrastructure with this recent report by the EFC. This guidance document details how combining green and gray infrastructure systems allows local governments to lower costs, solve systemic water challenges and enhance a community's quality of life. The EFC places emphasis on first understanding the goal and scope for assessing benefits. This report was developed with support from the Chesapeake Bay Program and was recently featured in a Chesapeake Bay Program blog.


EFC RECEIVES DEPT OF ENERGY GRANT

The Environmental Finance Center received a $50,000 grant from the United States Department of Energy (DOE) to help launch a Utility Energy Registry in the state of Maryland. EFC staff will be convening stakeholders across the government, utility and non-profit sectors to determine the structure and process of setting up a comprehensive registry of utility data that will be publicly accessible and regularly updated. The goal will be an online platform that contains aggregate electricity usage data by municipality or zip code for different types of customers (residential, commercial, and industrial). Access to this information will enable communities to better understand their energy usage patterns and to develop energy and climate mitigation plans. EFC will be working in partnership with the Maryland Washington Council of Governments (MWCOG) on this initiative, tapping into that agency's longstanding relationship with the region's utility companies and government agencies. Stay tuned for more updates on our progress throughout the year. 


EFC AND WATERSHED ASSISTANCE COLLABORATIVE FEATURED IN CHESAPEAKE QUARTERLY

The Environmental Finance Center's long-standing work with the Town of Oxford, Maryland is featured in the current issue of Chesapeake Quarterly. The article highlights the Watershed Assistance Collaborative (WAC), founded ten years ago collectively by Maryland Sea Grant Extension, Maryland Department of Natural Resources, the Chesapeake Bay Trust, and the EFC. The EFC worked with Oxford to develop one of coastal Maryland's first town funds dedicated to stormwater management and successfully positioned the community to receive a grant award from DNR's Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays Trust Fund.


JOB ANNOUNCEMENTS: EFC IS HIRING!
 
Come join our team! The EFC is currently hiring for the following positions. Click each title for a job description and to apply online.


Contact.
Jennifer Cotting, Associate Director
jcotting@umd.edu

Jenny Beard, Communications Strategist
jpbeard@umd.edu
Connect.

Consider.

"Plans to protect air and water,  wilderness  and wildlife are in fact, plans to protect man." 

- Stewart Udall,  U.S. Secretary of the Interior

The Environmental Finance Center's  supporters include: