The National Council for Public-Private Partnerships has signed an agreement with the Chesapeake Bay Trust and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to provide community support on the emerging subject of community-based public-private partnerships (CBP3s). NCPPP will provide outreach to support alternative financing for green infrastructure-driven stormwater management. This collaboration supports implementation of President Obama’s 2009 Chesapeake Bay Protection and Restoration Executive Order that made restoration of the bay a federal priority.
The highlight of the year-long project will be a CBP3 Stormwater Summit in Philadelphia this spring for communities and potential private sector partners interested in or unfamiliar with the CBP3 model.
According to EPA, this model develops a strong, long-term partnership between a municipality and a private equity group, sharing the risk and creating greater accountability by reinvesting cost savings and revenues to create a pool of funds for reinvestment in future projects. The model was developed by the EPA Region 3 office in Philadelphia and is being employed on a major green stormwater system retrofit project in Prince George’s County, Maryland.
“NCPPP is excited to provide its one-of-a-kind educational resources in support of the valuable restoration work that EPA and the Chesapeake Bay Trust are undertaking,” NCPPP Executive Director Todd Herberghs said. “Working together, we will be able to foster an understanding of the CBP3 model that can be used to meet some of our nation’s growing infrastructure financing needs.”
NCPPP also will work with its project partners to develop a model for a one-day charrette to be conducted in the Mid-Atlantic. During the hands-on planning exercise, public and private sector leaders would learn how CBP3 innovations can benefit their particular projects and, specifically, how a value-for-money analysis can be conducted to demonstrate the financial value of the CBP3 model.
These events will help inform a third element of the project — a strategic plan for education, outreach and awareness of the issue. With recommendations from NCPPP, EPA will create a series of educational materials that will further the dialogue about the CBP3 model.
By Editor February 19, 2015