EPA to Have Environmental Finance Center in Kansas City, Kan.

EPA Region 7 has partnered with the Boise State University Environmental Finance Center to establish a satellite center in Kansas City, Kan.

Region 7 Administrator John B. Askew said, “The mission of the satellite center in Region 7 will be to help small communities, tribes, businesses, and organizations facing the ’how to pay’ challenges of environmental protection and regulatory compliance. The center will facilitate workshops and meetings, develop partnerships, and provide training to help meet the financial requirements of environmental protection.”

The center will initially focus on the Boise State University areas of expertise: the Clean Water Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act. The university’s Environmental Finance Center has helped Region 7 implement state drinking water strategies and watershed project improvements for more than nine years. The university-based centers develop financing options for a variety of environmental concerns. They include: source water protection, drinking water, and wastewater treatment, brownfields redevelopment, green buildings, small businesses, and sustainability.

The environmental finance centers are nonprofit, university-based programs that develop and provide financial training, education and services to local governments and small businesses. Their central goal is to help create sustainable environmental systems that can comply with environmental and public health protection requirements.