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Organizations Unite to Request EPA Plan For Green Infrastructure to Reduce Pollution
More than two dozen organizations representing wastewater utilities, environmental groups, states, public works utilities, and architects called on the Environmental Protection Agency March 20 to establish a plan to promote the use of "green infrastructure" to reduce water pollution.
Green infrastructure is both an economical and efficient way to reduce the effects of combined and sanitary sewer overflows and to control stormwater runoff, the National Association of Clean Water Agencies and Natural Resources Defense Council said in a statement on behalf of all the groups.
NACWA, NRDC, and 24 other organizations signed the Green Infrastructure Statement of Support, which urges EPA to establish a plan of action to better focus resources on promoting green infrastructure as a way of improving water quality.
"There are communities across the country that are now looking
for efficient and effective ways to reduce stormwater pollution, minimize
combined sewer overflows, and ensure that there will be safe and clean water
resources for the future that are [now] stymied due to lack of data, lack of
modeling tools, lack of familiarity with these approaches by regulators and the
public, and other roadblocks," the statement from NACWA and NRDC said.
Commitment of Staff, Funding
"We urge you to act now to remove those roadblocks and to commit both staff and financial resources to developing a program that would assist communities in analyzing and employing these approaches," according to the organizations.
Green infrastructure refers to the use of land and soil in a community's wastewater and stormwater infrastructure to reduce the amount of water that enters the sewer and stormwater system, the organizations said.
The infrastructure can include green roofs, trees and box gardens, rain gardens, planters, and vegetation to absorb rainwater and prevent excess runoff, the groups said. It can be used in lieu of, or in conjunction with, traditional "hard infrastructure," such as pipes, pumps, and storage tunnels, they said.
Overflows from sewer systems and stormwater discharges occur when combined sewage and stormwater pipes overflow due to rainfall or other wet weather events. Traditionally, most cities attempted to reduce sewer overflows by separating combined sewers, expanding treatment capacity or storage within the sewer system, or by replacing broken or decaying pipes, the organizations said.
Recently, some cities have found that sewer overflows can also be reduced effectively by diverting stormwater from the sewer system and directing it to areas where it can be filtered, evaporated, or reused, they said. This approach is called green infrastructure because soil and vegetation are used instead of, or in addition to, hard infrastructure such as pipes and storage tunnels, according to the statement.
Green infrastructure can be economical because reducing the overall amount of stormwater entering sewers reduces the need for "hard" infrastructure projects, the organizations said.
In addition to providing cleaner and less expensive water, green infrastructure can improve air quality by filtering many airborne pollutants, and increase energy efficiency by lowering ambient air temperatures and providing shade around buildings, the organizations said.
On March 9, the House passed legislation (H.R. 720) that would in part encourage communities to consider using green infrastructure to collect stormwater runoff (47 DEN A-13, 3/12/07 ).
Priority for EPA
EPA did not immediately respond for comments on the March 20 request for an action plan. Earlier in March, however, Benjamin Grumbles, assistant EPA administrator for water, told BNA the promotion of green infrastructure is one of his priorities.
In a March 5 memorandum to EPA regional offices, Grumbles urged them to use their positions of leadership to promote green infrastructure approaches in implementing the water program.
Grumbles expressed strong support for green infrastructure approaches described in a June 2006, NRDC report, Rooftops to Rivers: Green strategies for controlling stormwater and combined sewer overflows.
NACWA and NRDC thanked Grumbles for his support in a March 16 letter and asked him to work with interested parties to develop a plan and implementation strategy.
The plan should include development of guidance, templates, technical assistance, research, and education and outreach efforts to be undertaken by EPA in partnership with states, utilities, and nonprofit organizations, the letter said.
The NRDC report, Rooftops to Rivers: Green strategies for controlling stormwater and combined sewer overflows, is available at http://www.nrdc.org/water/pollution/rooftops/contents.asp.
By Patricia Ware