Welcome to the O|Zone Water & Waste Authority
O|Zone Water & Waste Authority exists to ensure that every O|Zone site and pad in the county—no matter how rural, advanced, or specialized—has access to clean water and modern waste infrastructure.
Through a flexible framework that blends public authority governance with private sector execution, the Authority supports site-level water wells, septic systems, and sewer connections, while also coordinating with regional water, sewer and solid waste programs.
It is designed not only to serve today’s needs, but to forward-map future infrastructure across the county—aligning private investment with public benefit and enabling sustainable expansion across Opportunity Zones.
Authority Purpose & Scope
O|Zone Water & Waste Authority is a county-established governmental infrastructure authority designed to facilitate water sourcing, treatment, and distribution as well as various forms of waste management and treatment in partnership with local, regional, national and international infrastructure providers.
Its core mission is to ensure that each O|Zone site and pad has access to applicable water and waste resources. In some instances this objective involves installation and funding of treatment plants, drilling and operation of water wells, and contracting of these resources across O|Zone non-contiguous pads and sites throughout the county. These locations are not merely users of water and waste facilities—they may be positioned to become self-sustaining nodes in a next-generation distributed grid, enabled by private sector innovation, AI coordination, and modular water and waste capture technologies.
The Authority does not install or operate water and waste infrastructure directly. Instead, it utilizes a Master Concessionaire–Sub-Concessionaire model:
A Master Concessionaire administers the overall infrastructure program, including coordinating implementation standards and oversight frameworks.
Sub-Concessionaires, including recognized private-sector infrastructure partners, are contracted to design, build, install, and maintain water and waste systems in accordance with county mandates.
Crucially, the Authority fosters micro-water and micro-waste Opportunity Sites throughout the county. These are privately developed systems operating under the Opportunity Five Roles framework (Land, Facility, Equipment, Inventory, and Operator).
These water and waste infrastructure assets may be privately owned and operated, often funded through Opportunity structures, yet digitally integrated into the county’s AI-governed water and waste mesh. As such, each Pod, site, or Opportunity Zone becomes a node in a broader countywide water and waste grid, capable of:
Generating treated water,
Interoperating with public infrastructure via secure easements and approved interconnects
Enhancing EMP resilience, and cyber and pollutant risk mitigation.
This integrated system of distributed generation, modular design, and AI synchronization transforms each O|Zone™ Opportunity Site into a contributor to countywide grid resilience—while unlocking new financing and operational models for public and private participants alike.
Each O|Zone™ Opportunity is intentionally designed to operate beyond the core needs of the applicable site | pad, but to provide additional capacity within the county as well.
Distributed Port Model for Water & Waste Infrastructure
O|Zone Water & Waste Authority is architected as a Distributed Port Model, in which water generation, water storage, distribution, and sanitation as well as waste management and infrastructure occur not at a single hub, but at a federated constellation of Sites and Pads distributed throughout the county. This reflects the reality of O|Zone’s land use structure: non-contiguous sites, often activated one at a time, each with unique needs, partners, and innovation opportunities.
Each of these nodes may contain infrastructure directly funded or governed by the Authority, or privately developed through Sub-Concessionaires.
The Authority maintains oversight and orchestration, using a Master Concessionaire governance framework, but does not rely on a single utility-scale deployment. Instead, it enables modular water & waste port activation in multiple geographies simultaneously.
A key element of this distributed system is the integration with the O|Zone Government Authority’s Digital Land Library, which maps all parcels, pads, and sites in the county.
To support this model, the O|Zone Water & Waste Authority oversees development of a Countywide Water & Waste Infrastructure subsection of the Digital Land Library. This AI-enabled, continually updated system:
Maps every water & waste infrastructure in the county,
Assesses age, vulnerabilities, capacity, redundancy, and interdependencies,
Identifies potential environmental hazards,
Detects and visualizes potential EMP and cyberattack risks, and
Offers interconnection planning between O|Zone sites and non-O|Zone infrastructure.
This system is not limited to new developments. It is purpose-built to bring legacy infrastructure into the planning view, enabling the Authority and its partners to mitigate risks and proactively respond to emergencies.
Innovation Zones and the O|Zone Innovation Hub Program
Within this distributed network, certain areas may be designated as Innovation Zones. These are strategic locations with enhanced water and waste needs. Innovation Zones are often linked to Pods focused on high-compute AI, cold storage, medical scanning, research facilities, processing or smart manufacturing.
To support these high-value nodes, the O|Zone Innovation Hub Program is activated. This program:
Welcomes regional, national, and international institutional investors, along with high-net-worth participants, to co-invest in Innovation Zones,
Utilizes international funding instruments and digital assets as part of the investment stack,
Offers a platform for research, development, and pilot deployment of advanced water and waste technologies,
Anchors cross-border innovation corridors using the Digital Medallion ecosystem and international Opportunity alignment.
Each Innovation Zone may feature one or more Innovation Hubs focused on water and waste.
Innovation Hubs can interoperate with the Distributed Port Model—serving as both intensive nodes and testbeds—and link back to the broader water and waste library for real-time visibility and adaptive load management.
Digital Tariffs, Public Revenues, and Strategic Capitalization
O|Zone Water & Waste Authority operates within a dual-funding framework that integrates digital tariff instruments and capital funding strategies to ensure long-term fiscal sustainability and infrastructure development across the county. At its core, this structure combines ongoing public-private revenue participation with tax-exempt financing tools calibrated for local community banks and aligned with evolving federal banking policy.
Digital Tariff Architecture (Medallion-Based System)
Tariff structures in the O|Zone framework are implemented through Digital Medallions—programmable digital instruments that authorize specific services, uses, or revenue activities within geographically defined zones. These medallions carry attributes such as:
Functional Rights: Medallions authorize the use of water & waste infrastructure or service platforms,
Location Binding: Each medallion is tied to a specific site, pad, pod, innovation zone, or other defined opportunity footprint.
Capital Recovery Protocols: The medallion carries with it tariff rights which help recoup capital investment by private parties—facilitating amortization over time.
Public Sector Revenue Participation: A portion of revenue generated under each Digital Medallion accrues to the issuing Government Authority, creating a built-in public funding mechanism without taxation.
Integration with Opportunity-Based Infrastructure: The medallions are anchored in the Opportunity Framework’s Five Role structure, capturing revenue from land, infrastructure, equipment, inventory, and operator-based activities.
This model is inspired by the historic taxi medallion structure, where a right to operate is both revenue-generating and tradable. In the O|Zone context, the medallion’s programmability ensures compliance, tariff enforcement, and traceability through Calypso Decisioning machine learning technologies | digital intelligence and CER-based (Controllable Electronic Record) systems.
Integration with the Digital Tariff Authority
All medallion-based tariff rights are integrated through the county-level O|Zone Digital Tariff Authority, which governs issuance, compliance, revocation, and pricing standards. This ensures uniform governance and dispute resolution across multiple pods and operators, while allowing flexibility in zone-specific innovation clusters.
The Digital Tariff Authority operates as a distinct Government Authority within the O|Zone™ Initiative’s multi-authority framework and is authorized to cooperate across counties via Intergovernmental Cooperation Agreements, helping harmonize tariff logic across PAOZs (Port Authority Opportunity Zones).
Strategic Capitalization: Bank-Qualified Bonds and NodeBridge Instruments
Capital formation for the Water & Waste Authority occurs through both traditional municipal finance and next-generation asset-linked programs.
Bank-Qualified Municipal Bonds
The Authority is empowered to issue up to $10 million per year in bank-qualified tax-exempt bonds, a critical threshold under U.S. tax law. These bonds offer:
80% Federal Tax Exclusion for S-Corp Banks: Community banks structured as S-corporations may exclude 80% of the bond’s interest income from taxable income—an incentive which enhances demand for these securities and ties infrastructure financing to local capital.
Access to Tax-Exempt Capital: Counties can deploy these funds toward infrastructure such as water & waste infrastructure, EMP protection upgrades, and renewable integration without relying on general tax revenue.
Targeted Impact: Bank-qualified bonds are particularly suitable for “pad-level” investments and distributed grid support systems that reinforce self-sufficient nodes and innovation sites.
NodeBridge Long-Term Instruments
Where deeper capital is required, the NodeBridge™ Ecosystem provides a strategic alternative. Key components include:
Directed Portfolio Facilities (DPFs): Purpose-built structures that allow institutional investors and foreign capital to enter long-term, infrastructure-tied portfolios through updated Volcker Rule exemptions.
FlexGIA™ and ParPlus Instruments: Designed to support off–balance sheet capitalization of infrastructure, reducing cost of capital and enhancing yield profile for banks, while also enabling private investors to participate in county-linked infrastructure development.
Custodial Structures and Sub-Accounts: These accounts may be established at local Community Banks and held through the Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) system, enabling the banks to serve as bond indenture custodians, depository institutions, fiscal agents, and bond registrars for Water & Waste Authority financings. This structure re-establishes the historical role of community banks as long-term service providers to local government entities. In doing so, it generates recurring service revenue streams and contributes to Tier 1 capital accumulation, reinforcing the financial strength and civic alignment of these institutions.
Holistic System Integration
Together, Digital Medallions and Strategic Capitalization create a non-tax-based revenue flywheel that benefits counties, private operators, and community banks:
County receives tariff-based revenues from each Digital Medallion.
Operators recover capital via amortized, tariff-structured income.
Banks benefit from tax-advantaged holdings and service fee income on structured accounts.
Infrastructure is deployed and modernized without depleting county general revenue funds.
This architecture is intentionally designed to de-risk infrastructure development, democratize access to clean water and advanced waste innovations, and generate persistent local economic returns.
Protecting Our Resources, Sustaining Our Communities
How the O|Zone Water & Waste Authority Brings Smart Water and Waste Infrastructure to Every Pad, Site, and Region
Clean water and responsible waste management aren’t just public health essentials—they’re the foundation for sustainable growth, innovation, and local prosperity. That’s the purpose of the O|Zone Water & Waste Authority: to deliver modular, scalable, and forward-thinking infrastructure that adapts to the needs of each O|Zone™ site—while strengthening the entire county.
Like all O|Zone™ Infrastructure Authorities, this entity operates on a distributed pad | site model, meaning water and waste systems are designed to fit the unique operational and geographic profile of each Opportunity Site. But the Authority also works at a county scale, helping communities grow smarter and cleaner by linking localized utility design with long-range regional planning.
Here’s how the O|Zone Water & Waste Authority functions across different use cases:
Water: Site-Specific Access, Countywide Reliability
In many cases, private-sector operators—as part of the Opportunity Five Roles—take the lead on delivering water infrastructure directly to the pad. This may involve:
Drilling private wells, often integrated with geothermal loops to support both water access and sustainable temperature regulation;
On-site purification and filtration systems to meet quality and volume requirements for medical, agricultural, or food-related pods;
Full pad-level independence where municipal water isn’t feasible, with monitoring tied into the Digital Land Library for compliance and transparency.
Where appropriate, municipal interconnection may occur, but the Authority’s design prioritizes resilience, redundancy, and autonomy for each O|Zone™ site.
Liquid Waste: Scalable Solutions for Every Use Case
Liquid waste systems are tailored by location, facility type, and local context.
The Authority supports:
Advanced septic and biodigester systems for rural or decentralized locations,
Tie-ins to existing municipal sewer systems, coordinated through intergovernmental agreements,
And in the case of Innovation Hubs or industrial Opportunity Sites:
Construction of on-site wastewater treatment plants,
Or specialized industrial pre-treatment facilities with excess capacity.
These higher-capacity systems are intentionally designed to serve not only the O|Zone™ site but also nearby non-O|Zone™ properties, enabling strategic expansion of commercial and residential development beyond the project boundary.
Such shared-capacity infrastructure creates room for regional growth, encourages private development, and aligns county goals with project-level investments.
Solid Waste: Site-Level Control with Regional Coordination
Solid waste—whether household trash, enterprise packaging, medical materials, or agricultural byproducts—is a critical component of any pad or site operation. Within the O|Zone™ model, solid waste is managed through a combination of local service contracts and regional coordination frameworks.
Here’s how the O|Zone Water & Waste Authority addresses this:
Each Opportunity Site engages one or more local waste haulers, with services paid through tenant fees, business operator agreements, or pad-level tariffs.
The Authority ensures that solid waste handling plans are standardized and compliant, especially in Innovation Hubs or sites with high-throughput materials.
Sites may pilot advanced waste programs—including composting, materials recovery, waste-to-energy systems, or medical biohazard processing—as appropriate to their pod type.
Waste service expectations and metrics are embedded within the Digital Medallion system, allowing real-time service verification, billing coordination, and performance tracking.
But this isn’t done in isolation.
The O|Zone Water & Waste Authority is also structured to coordinate with regional development organizations and waste districts, including those affiliated with the National Association of Development Organizations (NADO).
These groups manage:
Multi-county waste transfer strategies,
Regional landfill access and environmental monitoring,
And federally coordinated grant or planning initiatives tied to solid waste innovation.
By participating in these systems, the Authority can align pad-level programs with regional solid waste strategies—ensuring that local innovation doesn’t come at the expense of broader compliance or capacity.
In short, every O|Zone™ site has on-site waste solutions that plug into a bigger regional vision—with the Water & Waste Authority acting as the connective tissue between pad, county, and multi-county infrastructure networks.
Planning Through Digital Medallions
To connect all this infrastructure into a coherent county vision, the O|Zone Water & Waste Authority uses Digital Medallions—programmable governance instruments that:
Document each site’s infrastructure, service tiers, and expansion rights;
Define how private-sector systems may scale to serve the broader community;
Facilitate county-level coordination on where new capacity (e.g., sewer plants, wastewater hubs) should be sited to support future growth;
Allow tradeoffs between private development rights and county infrastructure priorities to be recorded, negotiated, and honored transparently.
This forward mapping allows water and waste infrastructure to become a planning tool, not just a reaction to demand.
Funding: Blended Capital for Lasting Systems
O|Zone Water & Waste Authority offers a flexible funding architecture:
Water infrastructure at the pad level is often privately financed by Opportunity participants, with capital returns tied to service charges, usage tariffs, or lease agreements;
Sewer infrastructure, particularly when shared across multiple users or communities, may be funded with tax-exempt municipal bonds issued by the Authority, qualifying under essential service exemptions;
Treatment plants, pipelines, and interconnection upgrades may be structured as private–public partnerships, governed under concession agreements and tariff-backed recovery models.
This blend of financing ensures local governments don’t carry the burden, while still enabling high-performance infrastructure across every Opportunity Site.
Strategic Infrastructure for Local Growth
O|Zone Water & Waste Authority doesn’t just install pipes and pumps—it lays the groundwork for a cleaner, more prosperous future.
Whether it’s:
Enabling innovation clusters to grow without water or sewer constraints,
Unlocking rural pad sites that were previously beyond infrastructure reach,
Using Digital Medallions to coordinate countywide wastewater expansion tied to private investment,
Or aligning with regional waste programs under the umbrella of NADO and other multi-county development frameworks…
…this Authority turns essential services into strategic infrastructure, bridging public needs with private momentum.
Clean water. Smarter waste systems. Regional growth. It all flows from here.
Water & Waste Authority doesn’t just manage pipes, pumps, and treatment systems—it plays a pivotal role in enabling sustainable development across every O|Zone site. Every pad and parcel requires infrastructure—clean water in, clean systems out. Through its Digital Twin, this Authority links with the O|Zone Digital Tariff Authority, ensuring infrastructure obligations are met, revenue flows are tracked, and qualified operators stay accountable. By integrating tariff-backed improvements with a stable capital base at the community level, this Authority helps transform essential services into long-term public and private value.
O|Zone Water & Waste Authority serves as the critical link between emerging O|Zone™ sites and a county’s existing water and waste infrastructure—while also expanding that infrastructure to support long-term community growth.
Whether facilitating the installation of packaged water treatment plants, coordinating with municipal sewer networks, or overseeing the development of high-capacity wastewater systems within Innovation Hubs, the Authority ensures that new investments are both locally integrated and regionally strategic.
Its mandate is to align private-sector innovation with public infrastructure goals—using Digital Medallions tariff port infrastructure and forward-mapped planning to strengthen access, increase capacity, facilitate funding and extend core services well beyond O|Zone™ sites to the broader county community.
Additional appendices and implementation guides available upon request