Environmental Policy Innovation Center

Our Water Team's Legal Fellow, Jack Travis, recently published this blog on Clean Water State Revolving Fund (#CWSRF) financing for decentralized septic projects. It explores two key questions: 1) Does federal law allow funding for decentralized septic projects? 2) If state law limits effective access to these funds, what can be done about it? Learn more here 👉 https://lnkd.in/eZFQwNr8

📣 Deadline Alert: This Friday (3/21) is the last day to submit recommendations to the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works on their broader permitting reform initiative. At the Environmental Policy Innovation Center (EPIC), our goal is to advance ecological restoration at scale by improving the permitting process through collaboration, technology, and practical solutions (learn more here: https://lnkd.in/deqx6dSh). Our recommendations focus on four key areas: 🔹 Better Governance 🔹 Smarter Regulations 🔹 More Efficient Processes 🔹 Improved Capacity and Public Engagement We firmly believe in the importance of government and environmental regulations. Our goal isn't to undermine existing protections but to reduce redundancy, increase efficiency, and improve processes that delay and/or prevent vital ecological restoration work. If you're in the restoration space, now's your chance to be heard. What bottlenecks or redundant processes have you encountered? What solutions would you propose? Submit your recommendations and/or experiences via email to permitting@epw.senate.gov #EnvironmentalPolicy #PermitReform #EcologicalRestoration #EPIC #EnvironmentalProtection #ClimateAction #SmartPermitting Phoebe Higgins Becca Madsen Jessica Mahr Sydney Anderson

🚨 New project alert! 🚨 We’re so excited to announce our plans to design and develop a National Drinking Water Explorer tool! Check out this blog from Kameron Kerger, our newest team member and Services and Systems Designer, to learn more and see how you can get involved: https://lnkd.in/eZuQqACN #DrinkingWater #WaterInfrastructure #Data

🚨🚨🚨We are keeping the Permitting Innovation Advisor position open through this week. Please apply by 3/14/2025! #permitting #jobs https://lnkd.in/gwsVaEsY This role requires a deep understanding of environmental permitting laws and processes, innovative problem-solving skills, and the ability to foster collaboration among diverse stakeholders. The ideal candidate will be passionate about improving permitting systems to deliver faster, more predictable outcomes without compromising environmental stewardship.

EPIC has released a Smart #Permitting Agenda!

🚀 Exciting update! We've revamped our website to offer practical solutions for improving the permitting process for #EcologicalRestoration and #NatureBasedSolutions. 🔹 Explore state and federal initiatives to improve the permitting process 🔹 Access an inventory of digital tools to enhance efficiency 🔹 Find resources, insights, and gold star examples to learn more about this topic Check it out and let us know what you think! https://lnkd.in/deqx6dSh #RestorationPermitting #Innovation #EnvironmentalPolicy #Restoration #Permitting #Technology #Sustainability #EcologicalRestoration Environmental Policy Innovation Center Jessica Mahr Becca Madsen Phoebe Higgins Timothy Male

🌊 Do you know someone who is making waves in water sustainability? Nominate them today! 🌊 waterloop has launched a new initiative, Hydro20, to celebrate 20 extraordinary individuals doing extraordinary work in ANY aspect of 💧 water. Check out the post below for more information, and be sure to nominate someone before 🚨 March 7! 🚨

An insightful analysis by my collaborator A. Gómez and myself: Paraguay's environmental credit market has seen a notable increase in transaction activity recently. Here we share the basic structure of the market and five key design choices that most impact  Paraguay's system: 1) Unlike most countries, Paraguay's program allows offsetting damage in one ecosystem with credits from another, creating a universal trading system across diverse habitats. 2) The program permits permanent ecological damage to be offset by only five years of conservation action, after which these credits can be resold. This structure likely results in a substantial net loss to ecosystems over time. 3) Offset requirements are determined solely by the cost of the development or infrastructure project, disregarding the actual costs or habitat management needs for providing effective offsets. 4) The program lacks incentives for ecological restoration, as credit pricing and purchase volumes are based exclusively on construction and related costs of impacts, and market supply is intact forest, rather than ecologically restored forest. This approach further diminishes the net  outcomes for ecosystems. 5) The absence of requirements to follow the mitigation hierarchy means projects are unlikely to prioritize avoiding or minimizing impacts before seeking offsets. In essence, Paraguay has implemented a net loss ecosystem market policy designed for universal trading across ecosystems (i.e. fungibility), and it is functioning as intended. However, with a few key changes, Paraguay could transform their system to achieve net benefits to nature, encourage greater avoidance of damage, and foster long-term, additional ecological improvements that match gains to nature with the losses, and within the same ecosystems where damage occurs.

EPIC is Hiring a Director of Development to grow our individual and major gift fundraising! https://lnkd.in/gwsVaEsY

Environmental agencies need to increase their technical talent hiring and open their doors to external partnership to harness the opportunities that innovative technologies and processes present. To learn more about how EPIC is measuring and benchmarking tech innovation for environmental progress at federal agencies, check out our newly released Innovation Indicators. If you have ideas, additions, or alternatives, let us know! Take a look: https://lnkd.in/dmv-3A8g #techtalent #opensource #climatetech #environmentaltech #govtech