Hampton closes on Virginia’s first environmental impact bond

HAMPTON, Va. — Hampton, Va., is using an innovative form of financing to fund three major projects aimed at reducing flooding and pollution. The city recently closed on Virginia’s first — and the nation's third — Environmental Impact Bond (EIB) to finance $12 million in nature-based solutions to localized flooding as part of its Resilient Hampton initiative.

The projects are expected to add more than 8.6 million gallons of storage capacity for stormwater that would otherwise contribute to flooding and polluted runoff in the Newmarket Creek watershed, a key environmental, economic, and transportation corridor.

In terms of financing, EIBs allow investors to support innovative projects with measurable and reportable benefits for communities and the environment and ensure the outcomes of the projects are reported back to the investors. The Chesapeake Bay Foundation and Quantified Ventures, an outcomes-based capital firm based in Washington, D.C., provided technical services with respect to developing the three projects, designing the outcome metric, impact measurement, and disclosure aspects of the EIB.

Washington, D.C., and Atlanta, Georgia, have also used EIBs to benefit their communities.