New Paper: Gray to Green: Jumpstarting Private Investment in Green Stormwater Infrastructure

Posted by on March 29, 2010

If the Philadelphia Water Department (PWD) proposal to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency passes, the City will begin a massive installation of green infrastructure to reduce demand on the sewer system. But that’s only half the battle: More than half of the installations PWD will need to meet its Clean Water Act goals need to occur on private properties. The fourth chapter of the Emerging Industries Project, Gray to Green: Jumpstarting Private Investment in Green Stormwater Infrastructure, addresses this challenge.

More than sixty people gathered at United Way of Southeastern PA to get a first look at this new chapter of the Emerging Industries Project. The report was written by SBN Policy Fellow Sarah E. Francis, with guidance from a working group of Green Economy Task Force Stakeholders that included: Brian Glass, PennFuture; Kenny Ashe, Progress Investment Associates; Laureen Boles, Philadelphia Water Department; Joanne Dahme, Philadelphia Water Department; Wes Horner, Brandywine Conservancy; Melissa Muroff, Roofscapes, Inc.; and Corey Suter, BioNeighbors Sustainable Homes. It has garnered some high praise from Howard Neukrug, director of the Philadelphia Water Department’s Office of Watersheds, and a nationally known stormwater management specialist.  In a PlanPhilly article by Tom Walsh, Neukrug referred to the report as “groundbreaking,” and said that he: “was just thrilled when [he] read it, how well it does in describing the issues that are confronting us today, and beginning to look at what some of the solutions may be.”

Click here to read Gray to Green: Jumpstarting Private Investment in Green Stormwater Infrastructure.

http://greeneconomytaskforce.wordpress.com/emerging-industries-project/