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Post-Construction
Stormwater Management in North Carolina Today (pdf)
by Glenn Barnes
April 2008
This paper focuses on the key interactions between local governments
and the parties that construct, own, and maintain stormwater facilities.
The results provide insight into the different strategies local governments
are using to manage stormwater facilities. |
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Stormwater
Survey Results and Report (pdf)
by Sarah Bruce and Glenn Barnes
September 2008
Results from a survey of 164 jurisdictions across North Carolina that
regulate stormwater using best management practices. |
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Southeast
Stormwater Utility Survey
Southeast
Stormwater Association, 2007
Results from a survey of stormwater utilities in the southeastern
United States conducted by the Southeast Stormwater Association and
funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4. This
report provides useful information to managers and policy-makers in
state and local governments in the southeast. |
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Hydropower Relicensing: Opportunities for and Obstacles to Environmental Quality Improvements and Recreational Enhancements on Southeastern Rivers (pdf)
by Jeremy M. Firestone
October 2001
This report provides southeastern states and local units of government with a window to and an overview of the regulatory process governing the relicensing of hydropower dams by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). |
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Wetlands
in North Carolina (pdf)
by Richard B. Whisnant
December 1999
Published in Environmental and Conservation Law |
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Model
stormwater ordinance for North Carolina governments (pdf)
by Richard Whisnant and Betsy Kane
Developed in response to federal Phase II rules.
More information on the model stormwater ordinance
More information on stormwater finance
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Model
universal stormwater ordinance for North Carolina (pdf)
by Richard Whisnant
Developed in response to federal Phase II rules.
More information on the model stormwater ordinance
More information
on stormwater finance |
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Thinking about water and sewer impact fees and affordable housing
by Jeff Hughes
January 26, 2010
Jeff Hughes blogged about the the balance a utility must consider between full-cost pricing and community affordability. |
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Surviving or Thriving in Economic Recession: Strategies of Water Utility Leaders
by Jeff Hughes and Mary Tiger of the EFC, Susan Turnquist of Water Research Foundation, and Scott Haskins of CH2M Hill
Fall 2009
The recession that began in 2008 took a toll across all sectors of the global economy, and water utilities have not been spared. The Water Research Foundation convened a CEO forum where utility leaders discussed the recession's impacts and shared with peers their experiences and successful strategies for coping with the current economy and its unprecedented impacts. The report shares the strategies and discussion highlights.
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Dialogue on Sustainable Water Infrastructure in the United States
Summer 2009
Jeff Hughes participated in the Aspen Dialague that that gave rise to ten policy recommendations, reached by consensus, on the future of America's water and wastewater infrastructure. The Aspen Institute wrote the text of the report, pulling from discussions held by some of the leading thinkers in this field. |
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Retention: Recognize, Reward and Retain Operators (pdf)
by Stacey Isaac-Berahzer
August 2009, Published in AWWA's Op-Flow Magazine
Much has been written about high turnover among water operators. The EFC decided to go directly to the source, asking more than 300 water operators at small systems in North Carolina about what would make them more satisfied with their current jobs. This article reviews the findings and discusses how the cycle of high turnover can be broken. |
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Utility Rate Setting for Cost Recovery and Conservation in NC
by Shadi Eskaf, Mary Tiger and Jeff Hughes
June 2009
The NC State Water Infrastructure Commission (SWIC) engaged the Environmental Finance Center to study the relationship between water rates and water use in NC, as well as to provide recommendations on how state funders can evaluate utilities' water rates and pricing in light of the legislation. |
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Designing Rate Structures that Support Your Objectives: Guidelines to NC Water Systems (pdf)
by Shadi Eskaf and Jeff Hughes
June 2009
These guidelines cover new state legislative requirements on water rate structures,
provide important lessons about the links between rates
and consumption, and demonstrate a step-by-step guide into assessing each component of a
rate structure design to allow utility managers to optimize their rate structures in a
way to support their policy goals. |
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Guide to Billing and Collecting Public Enterprise Utility Fees for Water, Wastewater, and Solid Waste Services
by Kara Millonzi, UNC School of Government
2008
Using a question-and-answer format, this publication offers legal guidance to local governments addressing issues such as proper billing for utility services provided; liability for water, wastewater, and solid waste utility fees; and what happens when a customer does not pay. |
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Utility Financing Confusion (pdf)
by Mary Tiger
Summer 2009
in
NC Currents magazine
This short article explores customer mis-understanding of utility financing and the problems that can cause for utility managers.
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How many utilities in NC are raising residential rates, & by how much? (pdf)
by Shadi Eskaf
Summer 2009
in NC Currents magazine
Using 2009 rate survey data, Mr. Eskaf explores and explains utility rate increases in North Carolina in this short article. |
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Communicating on drought surcharges (pdf)
by Mary Tiger
Spring 2009
This research used focus groups and interviews to gauge common themes of customer and City Council member perspectives on a proposed drought surcharge in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. Insight from this research can help utilities in their consideration, development and communication about drought surcharges in their own communities. |
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Beyond the Operating Ratio (pdf)
by Sean Hughes
Spring 2009
Current practice among investors, policy makers, and industry groups for identifying the condition of physical capital in water and wastewater utilities includes the use of several key financial ratios, such as Operating Ratio, Age of Plant, Fixed Asset Turnover and Infrastructure Condition. However, these ratios are frequently misinterpreted by users of the data who are unaware of the impact of inflation upon the ratios. This report explores distortions in key financial indicators. |
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The
State of Full Cost Pricing: Full cost pricing among public water and
sewer utilities in the southeast (pdf)
by Andrew Westbrook
October 2008
This paper examines full cost pricing practices among utilities in the southeastern
United States. |
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Cost Plus:
Estimating Real Determinants of Water and Sewer Bills
by Rich Thorsten, Shadi Eskaf and Jeff Hughes
January 2009
in Public Works Management & Policy
This article tests the importance of cost, demand, institutional,
and geographic factors on the bills that consumers pay for water and
sewer service in North Carolina and the pricing signals that utilities
send to customers. |
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How Much Does
Clean Water Cost? 2006: The Story Behind the Revenue (book)
North Carolina League of Municipalities, UNC Environmental Finance
Center
This book is a comprehensive report identifying some of the most important
factors influencing water and sewer rate-setting practices.
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Residential
Customer Water & Wastewater Sales Analyses and Profiles (pdf)
by Jeff Hughes, Shadi Eskaf and Christine Boyle
September 2008
This paper investigates use of customer sales information to support
water services management decisions. The paper examines trends and
relationships related to usage patterns and fluctuations, irrigation
and capacity use, timeliness of payment and cutoff patterns, and geographic
variation within communities. |
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One-time
Fees for Residential Water and Sewer Connections in North Carolina
(pdf)
by Andrew Westbrook
March 2006
This document reports results from an EFC survey of initial, one-time
fees for new residential water and sewer customers in North Carolina.
The survey focused on tap and impact fee amounts for 2005.
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Financial
Analysis of Residential Water and Sewer Rates and Rate Setting Practices
(pdf)
by Jeff Hughes, Shadi Eskaf, and Rich Thorsten
This report presents an analysis of how different components of rate
structures vary across North Carolina and how rates compare to operating
revenues and operating expenses, median household income, and reductions
in consumption levels. |
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Multi-Level
Financial Analysis of Residential Water and Wastewater Rates and Rate-Setting
Practices
by Jeff Hughes, Shadi Eskaf, and Rich Thorsten
in Water Utility Management International, 1.4 (2006)
A five-page paper published after the International Water Association's
2006 World Water Congress, describing the methods used and some results
from our analyses. |
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Water
Pricing Signals in Georgia (pdf)
UNC Environmental Finance Center, 2007
A short memorandum analyzing water price signals, specifically price
signals for water conservation, among utilities across Georgia using
data from the 2006-07 Georgia Water and Sewer Rates Survey. |
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Residential
Water and Sewer Rates in Georgia (pdf)
by Andrew Westbrook, Jeffrey Hughes, Mark Horowitz, and Stacey Isaac
Berahzer
in Proceedings of the 2007 Georgia Water Resources Conference
March 27-29, 2007, University of Georgia
This paper contains a discussion of the residential water rates and
customer's bills based on data from the 2006-07 rates survey. It also
contains a brief discussion on the pricing and revenue stability implications
of various rate structures in Georgia. |
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Water
and Wastewater Rates and Rate Structures in Georgia (pdf)
Poster, 2007 Paying for Water Conference, U.S. EPA, Atlanta, GA
Graphs and figures depict rates and rate setting trends across the
Georgia in 2006-07.
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Lawful
Discrimination in Utility Ratemaking, Part 1 (pdf)
by Kara A. Millonzi
in Local Finance Bulletin, Number 33, Oct. 2006
This bulletin is the first of a two-part series examining constraints
on the power of local government-owned utilities to classify their
customers for the purposes of charging different rents, rates, fees,
charges, and penalties for utility services. Part 1 explores the ability
to discriminate among various types of customers whose properties
lie within the local government’s territorial boundaries.
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Lawful
Discrimination in Utility Ratemaking, Part 2 (pdf)
by Kara A. Millonzi
in Local Finance Bulletin, Number 34, Oct. 2006
This bulletin is the second of a two-part series examining constraints
on the power of local government–owned utilities to classify
their customers for the purposes of charging different rents, rates,
fees, charges, and penalties for utility services. Part 2 focuses
on the classification of utility customers whose properties lie outside
those territorial boundaries. |
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The
Painful Art of Setting Water and Sewer Rates (pdf)
by Jeff Hughes
in Popular Government, Spring/Summer 2005 |
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Public
Water Reclamation Systems in North Carolina (pdf)
by Monica Croskey, Spring 2007
This paper examines the reasons North Carolina public utilities produce
reclaimed water, the methods they use to attract reclaimed water customers,
and the effectiveness of those efforts. Based on the survey results,
recommendations are offered to help public utilities increase their
effectiveness at attracting reclaimed water customers. |
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Comparison
of Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) Programs and other
Federal Assistance to Disadvantaged Communities in EPA Region 4
(pdf)
by Chris Heaney
This paper collects and analyzes information on state revolving fund
programs with a special focus on how states in EPA Region 4 have chosen
to implement disadvantaged community programs. |
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Defining
Affordability: Targeting federal funds to improve water quality to
disadvantaged communities in North Carolina
by
Stacey Isaac, March 23, 2005
This research explores how North Carolina should define a “disadvantaged
community” as it relates to the Drinking Water State Revolving
Fund Program, exploring criteria used by the thirty other states
to suggest specific affordability criteria that North Carolina could
employ to determine which populations are eligible to receive this
type of financial assistance. |
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Water and
Sewer Needs and Capital Finance Strategies in Appalachia
UNC Environmental Finance
Center
July 2005
A report to the Appalachian Regional Commission analyzing the water and sewer infrastructure needs in the 410-county
Appalachian region, the existing federal and state funding sources for capital projects, and the financial gap
between the needs and existing funding sources. The report summarizes alternative investment requirements and
financial strategies to meet those needs given the fiscal capacity of individual communities. |
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Results
of the Appalachian Region Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure
Funding Survey
UNC Environmental Finance
Center
This survey was authorized by the Appalachian Regional Commission
to identify needs, practices, and strategies related to financing
water and sewer infrastructure projects in the Appalachian region.
In particular the survey was interested in what is likely to happen
in the ARC region in the next 20 years and how that compares to national
level studies on infrastructure funding gaps. |
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Examination
of the Relationships between Public Funding for Water and Sewer Infrastructure
and Indicators of Need in the Appalachian Region from 2000 through
2003 (pdf)
by Matthew T. Richardson (master's thesis)
This paper examines the relationship between public funding distributions
and eight indicators of need in Appalachia for water and sewer infrastructure.
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Government
Financing for On-Site Wastewater Treatment Facilities in North Carolina
(pdf)
by Jeff Hughes and Adrienne Simonson
in Popular Government, Fall 2005 |
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Camden
County Green Industrial Park Feasibility Study (pdf)
by the UNC Environmental Finance Center, School of Government, Institute for the Environment and Center for Competitive Economies
The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 2008
Green industrial parks have the potential to provide jobs and tax benefits for local
governments all while protecting the local environment. However, GIPs require much more
planning and often more financial support to get off the ground than conventional industrial
parks - both challenges that can be onerous for small local governments to manage. This
report was coauthored by the EFC investigating the feasibility of creating an eco-industrial
park in Camden County, NC. |
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North
Carolina State Agency Conservation Funding Needs Assessment (pdf)
by Ron Sutherland and Richard Whisnant
UNC Environmental Finance Center, April 16, 2003
This report provides some background details about how to pay for
a major conservation initiative. Click here for a presentation (pdf). |
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Costs
and Financing Options for the NC Million Acre Initiative (pdf)
by Richard Whisnant, Richard Norton and Jeremy Firestone
UNC Environmental Finance Center, Jan. 24, 2001
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Charlotte
Charrette on Sustainable Urban Environments: Implementing a Brownfields
Revolving Loan Fund (pdf)
by Richard Whisnant
UNC Environmental Finance Center, Sept. 1, 1999 |
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Authorized Local Government Financing Programs for Energy Efficiency Improvements and Distributed Generation Renewable Energy Sources on Private Property
by Kara Millonzi, on the NC Local Government Law Blog
November 2009 |
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From Commitment to Action: Success Stories from Local Government Sustainability Initiatives
Jackie Ashley, UNC MPA Capstone Presentation
May 2008
Jackie presented her research on NC local government's sustainability efforts. She identified common barriers to implementation and incentives and strategies for action. Based on their commonalities, Jackie makes recommendations to local governments facing a sustainability directive. |
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Support for Local Government Sustainability Programs
May 2006
This research project aims to provide existing knowledge and resources to North Carolina local government leaders in the area of sustainable programs and practices. The following information is a culmination of research utilizing national, state, and local government best practices to develop information specific to North Carolina municipalities. When available, local examples are provided to illustrate successful implementation of practices already occurring around the state. |
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Paying
for Capital Investment with Resulting Savings: Evaluating Guaranteed
Energy Savings Contracts in North Carolina (pdf)
by Leslie S. Stewart, March 29, 2004
Guaranteed Energy Savings Contracts offer public entities an innovative
option for financing capital improvements that will return energy
savings. Managing these contracts, however, can be a challenging
administrative endeavor. This paper highlights successful management
practices as well as shortcomings in management and contract design
to provide insight for future GESC design and management in North
Carolina. |
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Paying
Up Front for Disposal of Special Wastes (pdf)
by Jeff Hughes
in Popular Government, Winter 2003
This article reports on North Carolina's bans and fees on special
wastes. |
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Wake
County School Recycling Program Case Study (pdf)
An outline of the the Wake County school recycling program case study.
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North Carolina
General Assembly Will Consider Fate of Cleanup Trust Funds
by Jeri Gray, Water Resources Research Institute
in WRRI News, Number 348, July/August 2004
Article discusses the fate of leaking underground storage tanks in
North Carolina.
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Utility Rate Discounts - Can a local government cut its utility customers a break
by Kara Millonzi, on NC Local Government Law Blog
August 2009 |
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Unrecorded Utility Lines – A Second Look (pdf)
by David M. Lawrence
in Local Government Law Bulletin, No. 115, Oct. 2007 |
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