Government Agencies Make Commitments in Support
In July 2014, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), along with six other government agencies, committed to support specific green infrastructure* initiatives through an inter-agency collaborative led by EPA.听 Participating agencies include the U.S. Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Interior, U.S. Department of Defense, and U.S. Department of Energy.
The agencies committed their support in a four page document that outlined each agency鈥檚 specific commitments/initiatives.听 For example, the DOT will include stormwater and resilience considerations in their Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery or TIGER grant program.听 DOD will update the Unified Facilities Criteria on Landscape Architecture, to clarify guidance on green infrastructure.听 The Federal Agency Support for the Green Infrastructure Collaborative document is available here .听
In general, agencies鈥 commitments include:
- Technical assistance to provide on-the-ground support aimed at creating integrated green stormwater management and hazard mitigation plans.
- Recognizing innovative green infrastructure projects.
- Working with States to integrate ecosystems and transportation planning.
- Incorporating green infrastructure practices into agency facilities or lands.
- Emphasizing connections to green infrastructure in existing grant programs.
- Distilling and broadly disseminating the best ideas and lessons learned from existing grant programs.