New Interior Department Natural Resource Investment Center to Support Water and Conservation
The Department of Interior (DOI) has announced that it will establish a new Natural Resource Investment Center (NRIC) to support innovation and investments for water, species, and habitat conservation. The NRIC will focus on three objectives:
- Increase investment in water conservation and build up water supply resilience by facilitating water exchanges or transfers in the Western US;
- Increase investment in critical water infrastructure – both major rehabilitation and replacement of existing infrastructure and new infrastructure needs – by developing new financing approaches and helping to execute project ideas; and
- Foster private investment and support well-structured markets that advance efficient permitting and effective landscape-level conservation for species, habitat and other natural resources.
The Center is part of President Obama’s Build America Investment Initiative that calls on Federal agencies to find new ways to increase infrastructure investments; and Pay for Success initiative to help ensure that government services produce their intended outcomes. For reference, EPA’s Water Infrastructure Finance Center was also created in response to these initiatives. To view the announcement, visit the DOI website.
