Environmental Engineering Companies
This week’s edition of Blue Gold lands us right in my backyard: The Chesapeake Bay.
And they can be applied nearly anywhere there’s water.
You see, the health of the Chesapeake has struggled for years. Fertilizer run-off, urban sprawl, and population growth have led to disappearing bay grasses, as well as to the demise of fish and crab populations. . . two staple industries for Maryland and Virginia.
Fixing those problems shouldn’t just interest environmentalists. Serious investors should pay attention as well.
That’s because environmental clean-up can be extremely lucrative.
Profiting on the Government’s Tab
Unlike most industries, environmental clean-up doesn’t abide by standard market principles.
In a capitalistic society, that type of business doesn’t create tangential monetary value and is often overlooked as an investment catalyst. Whether you consider yourself an environmentalist or not, you’ve surely noticed the rise in the "green" movement.
Those behind it are gaining power in Congress and its lobby. And the new President and his administration are on board.
Treehugging or not, billions of Federal dollars are going to environmental clean up, and balance sheets don’t care why the money’s being spent.
If you remember, the recently signed American Economic Recovery Act allocated $12 billion for water projects:
$2 billion for drinking water
$4 billion for wastewater utilities
$1.4 billion for rural water projects
$4.6 billion for the Army Corp of Engineers
And each of those sectors can provide windfall profits.
But Uncle Sam didn’t stop there. Recently released budget documents show a $3.9 billion allocation for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund and the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund.
And according to Reuters, "For every federal dollar put into these funds, at least $2 in financing is provided to municipalities."
Make that another $7.8 billion.
Folks, this is taxpayer money about to be doled out. And most of it will go to publicly traded water companies.
All you need to do is find out where it’s going and place your bet. That’s what I’m here for.
The Bay’s Only the Beginning
Earlier this week, Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley took a boat tour of the Chesapeake in anticipation of a regional meeting on the Bay’s health.
Mirroring the Federal sentiment, O’Malley vowed "to more than double the pace of cleanup of Maryland’s rivers feeding into the troubled estuary." The only caveat, he’ll need "the help of boost in Federal funds."
The same funds that will drive profits for you. . .
The governor said he was "buoyed" by early signs of recovery in parts of the bay, mainly due to a "$40 million upgrade in the Sod Run sewage treatment plant."
I’d be willing to bet you could’ve invested in the company making those upgrades. . . and getting a $40 million balance sheet boost.
But the bay is only the beginning. Water clean-up efforts will accelerate across the country like they are here in Maryland.
And the time is now if you want to leverage these government programs for personal profit.
Here’s what I mean. . .
Already Paying Off
A few months ago I attended a cleantech finance forum and a session hosted by little-known environmental engineering firm Tetra Tech (NASDAQ: TTEK). I could hardly believe what they were saying.
They were just as excited about Federal funding as I am.
Of the $12 billion allocated to water in the stimulus, TTEK representatives were confident they could secure 25 contracts worth $3 billion.
Of the $8 billion slated for Environmental Protection Agency projects, they expected 10 contracts worth $1 billion.
I did some fact checking and immediately put out a buy recommendation to readers of Alternative Energy Speculator.
Look what the stock has done since stimulus rumors hit The Street late last year:
Readers of The Speculator are sitting on a fat double-digit gain with more to come. . . and hardly a penny of those billions has even been spent yet.
There will be plenty more opportunities like this as the money starts flowing. But you have to know where it’s going in order to profit.
At Alternative Energy Speculator, an entire section of our portfolio is dedicated to nothing but water and green infrastructure stocks. We’ll be picking them off one by one just like we did with Tetra Tech.
Click here to start taking advantage of the Federal projects your tax dollars are paying for.
Call it like you see it,
Nick