- Mission [1]
- The Board develops a Strategic Action Agenda organizing its work in support of the five major goals in EPA's Strategic Plan.
FY 2011: The EFAB (Board) initiates and develops its work products in two ways. It may either receive charges from EPA on
specific environmental financing issues or the Board members may independently identify and decide upon important environmental
financing challenges that they believe the Agency needs to consider. Following the identification of work projects, EFAB may
hold public meetings, information gathering workshops, and working group sessions in order to develop advisories, reports
or letters to the Agency. Areas covered by the Board have ranged from its long-time interest in public and private drinking
water and wastewater financing mechanisms to solid waste financial assurance tools to air pollution reduction financing innovations.
This year, the Board issued two reports and two letters to the Agency: 1). "Improving Cost- Estimation as a Financial Assurance
Tool". This report examines existing cost-estimation practices for RCRA closure, post closure, and corrective action. 2).
"SRF Investment Function: Current Status and Prospects for Enhancing SRF Sustainability". This report examines in some detail
whether there are modifications to the current approaches used to invest SRF equity that might better meet the objectives
of the Clean Water and Drinking Water SRF Programs, including making them more sustainable. 3). "The Use of Independent Credit
Ratings in meeting Financial Assurance Requirements". This EFAB letter discusses past findings and recommendations that the
Board has made regarding the use of independent credit ratings in EPA's evaluation of financial assurance instruments (including
the financial test/corporate guaranty, captive insurance and commercial insurance) under the Resource Conservation and Recovery
Act (RCRA). 4). "Voluntary Environmental Improvement Bonds (VEIB) Program". In this letter EFAB examined subsequent negative
developments that have impacted the implementation of VEIB programs as well as related Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE)
Programs. The EFAB provides advice and recommendations to EPA on finance issues and opportunities affecting the capacity of
the regulated communities to comply with environmental standards. In this role, the Board addresses the critical "how to pay"
issues of environmental mandates. EFAB identifies, develops, and evaluates financing options that lower the costs of environmental
protection, increase public and private investment in environmental facilities and services, and builds the state and local
financial capacity need to carry out environmental programs.
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