Managing Wet Weather with

Green Infrastructure
a periodic update on activities
Volume 2009, Issue 5 October 2009

Green reuse of vacant parcels is an emerging approach cities are consid-

Contacts
ering for addressing their environmental and economic revitalization
goals. In the report Re-imagining a More Sustainable Cleveland, the City EPA Headquarters
of Cleveland and partner organizations identified opportunities to bene- Jenny Molloy, OW/OWM
fit the city community by improving the green space network and natu- molloy.jennifer@epa.gov
ral systems on the abundant vacant city parcels. Robert Goo, OW/OWOW
goo.robert@epa.gov
The economic benefits of implementing green retrofits on vacant par- Brian Joffe, OECA
cels have been quantified in joffe.brian@epa.gov
some instances and were
found to be substantial. For EPA Regions
example, the New Kensington Katie Connors, R1
Community Development Cor- connors.katie@epa.gov
poration and the Pennsylvania Stephen Venezia, R2
Horticultural Society in Phila- venezia.stephen@epa.gov
delphia implemented green Dominique Lueckenhoff, R3
retrofits and new tree plant- lueckenhoff.dominique@epa.gov
ings on abandoned lots. Sub- Maryann Gerber, R4
sequent study of the gerber.maryann@epa.gov
neighborhood found the Photo: Saylor Grove wetland, Philadelphia, PA Bob Newport, R5
"clean and green" retrofits newport.bob@epa.gov
increased surrounding housing values by as much as 30 percent. Suzanna Perea, R6
perea.suzanna@epa.gov
Several communities in the U.S. are examining the idea of implementing Mandy Whitsitt, R7
not just open space but green infrastructure on vacant parcels. The use whitsitt.mandy@epa.gov
of green infrastructure on vacant parcels can yield a multitude of bene- Greg Davis, R8
fits. Incorporation of green infrastructure in community open space davis.gregory@epa.gov
plans at both the site-scale and neighborhood-scale can provide storm- John Tinger, R9
water/CSO management opportunities as well as community enhance- tinger.john@epa.gov
ments. Krista Mendelman, R10
mendelman.krista@epa.gov
The U.S. Forest Service recently announced a Request for Proposals for
the National Urban and Community Forest Service Challenge Cost-Share Steering Committee Partners
Grant Program. Approximately $900,000 is available for projects relating Nancy Stoner, NRDC
to: (1) Energy Conservation and Urban Forests; (2) Climate Change and Nathan Gardner-Andrews &
Urban Forests; (3) Public Health and Urban Forests; and (4) Green Infra- Keith Jones, NACWA
structure Assessments. Application information is available on Chris Kloss & Neil Weinstein,
www.grants.gov (Search: Opportunity: USDA-FS-UCF-01-2010, or CFDA, LID Center
10.675, Agency Forest Service), and a copy of the grant package is the Katherine Baer, American Rivers
Forest Service Urban and Community Forestry website. Pre-proposals Linda Eichmiller, ASIWPCA
are due December 15, 2009.

For more information on managing wet weather with green infrastructure see the website at: www.epa.gov/
greeninfrastructure. To be added to an e-mail distribution list for future issues of this bulletin, or if you have items of
interest to be considered for inclusion in future issues, send an e-mail request to arazan.nancy@epa.gov.
Volume 2009, Issue 5
The NY Department of State, in partnership with the
Department of Environmental Conservation, recently
developed a watershed planning multimedia informa-
tional package to meet the growing demand for assis-
tance in watershed planning. “Watershed Plans: Pro-
tecting and Restoring Water Quality” uses an integrated
and comprehensive approach to help characterize wa-
tersheds, assess water quality and natural resources,
evaluate local controls and practices, develop actions
and recommendations, and create implementation
strategies. For more information contact the Depart-
ment of State website.
At its 2009 Annual Meeting and EXPO in Chicago, the
American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) un-
veiled five new online sustainability resource guides.
The guides, created for policymakers, government agen-
cies, design professionals, planners, and students, con-
tain a multitude of resources and award-winning project
examples for addressing the challenges of implementing
sustainable design practices. The five online resources
guides include: Green Infrastructure, Sustainable Trans-
portation, Sustainable Development, Livable Communi-
ties, and Combating Climate Change with Landscape
Architecture. ASLA is also looking for additional or new
resources on these topics; those interested in submitting
research, case studies or other items can contact ASLA
at info@asla.org.
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Women’s Bureau re-
cently selected Public Policy Associates Inc. based in
Lansing, Michigan and the Wider Opportunities to
Women (WOW) nonprofit organization based in Washing-
ton, D.C. to receive a $265,690 award to develop a
guide that increases women’s access to the green jobs
sector nationwide. The publication, “A Women’s Guide
to Green Jobs,” will provide information on hiring
needs, training, and entrepreneurship opportunities in
green industries and will be available both in hard copy
and online. The goal of the publication is to connect
women with best practices and support services to fa-
cilitate success in the workplace. The publication is ex-
pected to become available in the spring of 2010.
Partner Features
American Rivers’ Natural Security Report: How Sustain-
able Water Strategies Are Preparing Communities for a
Changing Climate focuses on the use of green infrastruc-
ture by eight communities as an approach to adapt to
the anticipated impacts from climate change. The com-
munities focused their green infrastructure efforts in
four areas: (1) Improving Public Health; (2) Reducing
Flood Damage; (3) Securing Clean Water Supply; and (4)
Enhancing Livability. The report discusses how green
infrastructure strategies can improve resiliency to cli-
mate change threats, including flooding, sewage pollu-
tion, and limited water supplies.
October 2009
Upcoming Forums & Events
Managing Wet Weather with Green Infrastructure, pre-
conference workshop for Water and Land Use in the Pa-
cific Northwest. November 4, 2009. Stevenson, WA. Link
Managing Wet Weather with Green Infrastructure. No-
vember 4, 2009. Richfield, OH. Link
Managing Wet Weather with Green Infrastructure. No-
vember 5-6, 2009. Toledo, OH. Link
Greenbuild International Conference and Expo. Novem-
ber 11-13, 2009. Phoenix, AZ. Link
Brownfields 2009 Conference. November 16-18, 2009.
New Orleans, LA. Link
Turning a New Leaf Conference. Presented by the
Chesapeake Conservation Landscaping Council & George
Washington University’s Landscape Design Program. De-
cember 4, 2009. Washington, D.C. Link
NC State University Bioretention Workshops. November
17-18, 2009 Raleigh, NC & December 15-16, 2009
Winston-Salem, NC. Link
Stormwater BMPs and Green Infrastructure. February 18,
2010. Woodridge, IL.
Strategic Conservation Planning Using the Green Infra-
structure Approach. March 8-12, 2010. Shepherdstown,
WV. Link
Green Infrastructure Workshops
These half day seminars provide a review of various
vegetative technologies in urban areas, present the lat-
est research on their many performance benefits, and
showcase a variety of leading edge policy and program
developments that support the greening of our cities.
Developed by the Green Infrastructure Foundation with
support from the Home Depot Foundation.
• November 4, 2009. Vancouver, CA. Link
• November 18, 2009. San Francisco, CA. Link
•
•
November 19, 2009. New York, NY. Link
November 26, 2009. Philadelphia, PA. (Date sub-
ject to change). Link
New Publications
Emergency Services and Storm Water Management. By T.
Lawrence, PhD. & M. Myers, D Env. October 2009.
Sustainable Water Systems: Step One—Redefining the Na-
tion’s Infrastructure Challenge. By R. Bolger, D. Monsma,
& R. Nelson. A Report of the Aspen Institute’s Dialogue
on Sustainable Water Infrastructure in the U.S. May 2009.