N e w s l e t t e r
March/April 2018
EFC WELCOMES NEW STAFF MEMBERS

The Environmental Finance Center (EFC) at the University of Maryland (UMD) is pleased to announce exciting new staff changes. Jennifer Cotting has recently assumed the role of Interim Director. Jen has a 14 year history at EFC, serving most recently as Associate Director. Former director Dan Nees has been named Senior Research Associate in a new joint appointment between UMD's School of Architecture and School of Public Policy. An announcement about the transition can be found here. 
 
This month, the EFC is delighted to welcome three new staff members. Ellen Kohler, who has a background in natural resources law, is a Program Manager whose work will focus on water quality. Natalia Sanchez, who was once a graduate student intern at the EFC, returns to take on the role of Program Coordinator, focusing on stormwater issues for the MOST Center. Prince Hunter is our new Research Coordinator, joining us from across campus where he previously worked at UMD's School of Public Health.
 
In addition to welcoming new staff, the EFC has also established a new research and technical assistance partnership with Marccus Hendrickson, Assistant Professor of Urban Studies and Planning at UMD's School of Architecture, Preservation and Planning, which will focus on community access to the benefits of investments in climate, sustainability and resilience investments.

Our current cadre of Project Assistants includes Marcus Glomset from the Chesapeake Conservation Corps and UMD students Jessica Frech, Ajinkya Gutti,  Daniela Kaegi, Noah Maghsadi, Raye Weigel, and AnnaLinden Weller.
 
Please visit the EFC Staff page on our website for contact information and bios for each of our staff members.


NEW MOST CENTER VIDEO SERIES HIGHLIGHTS DC'S STORMWATER RETENTION CREDIT TRADING PROGRAM

The MOST Center launched its third video series  "Watershed Moments: Stories of Achievement and Inspiration in the Chesapeake Bay." This new feature-length series highlights cities and towns in the Chesapeake Bay region that are advancing innovative and effective approaches to environmental challenges. Each story will share how an inspired idea and a willingness to transcend traditional approaches yielded positive results for both water quality and community health.
 
The series' first video,  "Retrofitting our Nation's Capital for Healthy Streams and Rivers," explores Washington, DC's success  in improving water quality and reconnecting communities to nature through its stream restoration efforts. It also highlights how the heavily developed city tackled the challenge of stormwater retrofitting through its Stormwater Retention Credit Trading and Price Lock Programs. These innovative programs create financial incentives to accelerate the pace of green infrastructure retrofits in areas where they are needed most - the outer two-thirds (MS4 portion) of the city where toxic stormwater runoff drains to water bodies with little to no treatment.
 

SUSTAINABLE MARYLAND RELEASES ANNUAL REPORT FOR 2017

Check out the  Sustainable Maryland 2017 Annual Report, a wrap-up of EFC's flagship program, including annual certifications, events, trainings and more. 

2017 by the numbers: 
  • 69 SM-registered municipalities (44% of Maryland's towns and cities) 
  • 39 SM-certified municipalities (including 4 new communities)
  • 10 SM Green Team trainings
  • 5 Wednesday Webinars
  • 3 full-day leadership training workshops (topic: Resilient Communities)
  • 2 county-wide Green Team Summits (Frederick & Prince George's Counties)

2nd PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY PET WASTE SUMMIT 
On March 29, the 2nd Prince George's County Pet Waste Management Summit attracted attendees from a municipalities and homeowners and citizens associations from across the county. EFC staff reported on the first year of our work with Bladensburg, Brentwood, Cottage City, Edmonston, District Heights, and Landover Hills, where 60 pet waste stations were provided at no cost to the municipalities, and customized outreach materials were distributed to residents via each municipality's communications channels. 

EFC staff look forward to working on the second year of this initiative, funded by the Prince George's County Department of the Environment via a Chesapeake Bay Trust grant, and working with the following municipalities in 2018: Berwyn Heights, Capitol Heights, Colmar Manor, Forest Heights, Hyattsville, and Seat Pleasant. 


EFC REPORT PART OF MARYLAND'S FIRST STATE OF THE COAST CONFERENCE 

Naomi Young, former EFC Senior Research Economist and now Executive Director of the Center for Regional Analysis, will participate in Maryland's first ever State of the Coast conference next month, organized by the Department of Natural Resources. She will participate on a panel discussing the economic benefits of green infrastructure to local governments stemming from her recent EFC publication
Holistically Analyzing the Benefits of Green Infrastructure, a guidance document developed with the support of the Chesapeake Bay Program.


EFC RELEASES REPORT ON ANIMAL WASTE 

Farmers throughout Maryland are experimenting with nontraditional methods for managing animal manure, including composting and manure-to-energy systems. These technologies not only benefit water quality by reducing the amount of manure that must be land-applied; they also produce valuable byproducts such as energy and fertilizer, which can be used on farm and/or used to generate new revenue streams for the farmer. Several advanced manure management demonstration projects have received support from the  Maryland Department of Agriculture's Animal Waste Technology Fund (AWTF), which incentivizes the application of such technologies on Maryland farms.  MDA asked the Environmental Finance Center to conduct financial feasibility assessments for four AWTF-funded projects, in order to understand the potential profitability of these technologies as well as their transferability to other farms in the state.  These farm-scale assessments are available here: Biomass Heating Solutions (poultry litter combustion), Green Mountain Technologies - Days End Farm (horse manure composting), Green Mountain Technologies - Glamour View Farm (dairy manure composting), and Planet Found Energy Development (poultry litter anaerobic digestion and nutrient capture). The EFC's final summary report is available here.

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

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

Consider.

"You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make."

- Jane Goodall

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