Stormwater Credits Provide Incentives for Green Infrastructure

Shanyn Viars provides an explainer post on the challenges and benefits of stormwater infrastructure, before detailing an incentive program for private property owners to invest in green stormwater infrastructure to reduce infrastructure and risk management costs for municipalities.

Viars examines a case study from the Great Lakes region as a "how-to guide" for stormwater credits program:

With the support of the Great Lakes Protection Fund, Stormwater Currency and the City of Grand Rapids explored a market-based approach that creates incentivizes for private property owners to choose green infrastructure approaches for managing their stormwater. We sought solutions that harness the economic advantages of a market to fund green infrastructure on private property, reducing costs to the developers and the City’s. Our solution, Stormwater Credit Trading, allows private property owners who need to comply with stormwater regulations to “purchase” volume “credits” from other property owners that are not subjected to or have exceeded their requirements.

For more information, American Rivers and those collaborators completed a guide to stormwater credits, aptly titled "Establishing a Stormwater Volume Credit Trading Program."