The Economic Perspective 1/9/2026

The Latest Trending Economic, Environmental and Infrastructure News Curated for You by The Balmoral Group

The Balmoral Group provides practical, professional and precise Economics, Data Analytics, and Engineering Consulting services and is part of a globally integrated team.

Happy Friday! 

Welcome back, readers, to this week's Economic Perspective! Major changes are potentially afoot in highway construction costs with asphalt binder hitting 5-year lows, falling $100/ton in just a month, and the Venezuela event expected to add additional downward pressure to binder prices on the Gulf Coast. Unlike the last few, this could be a favorable year for southern construction agencies to plan asphalt-heavy work. Stay tuned for articles covering these developments in our next edition!

This week's articles revolve around updates in water technology, resources, and resilience efforts across the country, from oyster reefs reaping the rewards of restoration efforts to drones tracking oil spills undetectable to the human eye!

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Drones to Revolutionize Oil Spill Response Efforts

In partnership with the U.S. Coast Guard, the National Ocean Service’s Office of Response and Restoration has undertaken a new initiative that puts drones at the forefront of oil spill response. Using the drone’s ability to aerially capture both image and video data, they almost instantly communicate the information they collect while at sea, eliminating potential delays from having to transport it. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s mapping tool, ERMA, can even use this to identify oil spills that the human eye is unable to detect by performing direct data comparison. Training programs are now in development to further improve incident response effectiveness and equip teams to be able to better utilize the new tool. Read more here. (Image source: NOAA, photo by U.S. Coast Guard).

Infrastructure Implications of Historic West Coast Flooding

Atmospheric rivers that crashed across the west coast over the past couple of weeks brought with them flooding, levee failures, and critical infrastructure concerns. The levee network in the United States consists of 24,000 miles, protects over $2 trillion in property values, and is an average of 61 years old. Inconsistent monitoring of the levees and lack of funding to maintain them has even amounted to the system receiving a D grade on the American Society of Civil Engineers’ 2025 Report Card for American Infrastructure, reflected in the recent devastation. As communities recover, the state of flooding and resiliency structure is under close watch while policy makers assess where and how to allocate future development resources. Read more here.

Strengthening of FL's Rural Areas Through Strategic Water Projects

Following recent water and infrastructure funding announcements made last month, this week, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced an additional $167.5 million in funding to help improve infrastructure in 34 rural communities across Florida. The awards will come from the Community Redevelopment Block Grant-Disaster Recovery Infrastructure Repair Program. Projects include restoring stormwater systems and wastewater treatment facilities, expanding water storage, and installing emergency systems to help support the longevity of rural communities after rough storm seasons in 2023 and 2024. Read more here. (Image source: St. Johns River Water Management District).

Apalachicola Bay Opens for Oyster Harvesting Once Again

Apalachicola Bay reopened for oyster harvest in specific restored reefs from January 1 through February 28, 2026. The Bay had been closed to harvest since 2020 due to the ongoing low abundance and high harvest pressure for oysters since the fishery collapse that occurred in 2013. Since the Bay’s closure, federal, state, local, and private entities have been conducting intensive monitoring, restoration, and research efforts in the Bay. Ongoing monitoring will be critical to determine future harvest levels depending on oyster abundance, with the next season scheduled to begin on October 1, 2026. Read more here.

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Data Visualization of the Week

Public Perceptions of Nature-Based Flood Risk Solutions

This week’s data visualization highlights a study of public perceptions of nature-based solutions (NbS) for flood mitigation, such as riparian buffers, wetland restoration, and floodplain reconnection, as compared to the traditional, human-engineered approach of utilizing grey infrastructure. The large map shows respondent locations across the U.S., while the smaller map shows an example of surrounding land cover used as a key survey parameter. Results indicate that participants that were living in a FEMA-designated flood zone or that had greater knowledge of flood-related terms were more likely to identify NbS as an effective method. The study suggests that an increased public understanding of NbS can lead to encouraging greater investments in them. View the study here. (Image source: Balerna, et al.)