“2020 Green Infrastructure Plan”

“2020 Green Infrastructure Plan”
Office of Sustainable Ecosystems & Communities, OPPE April 16, 1998

I. Summary: Lead a nationwide community-based effort to cerate and implement a “2020 Green Infrastructure Plan” through the necessary applied research, information collection and dissemination, legal and compensation framework and resources to put green, environmental infrastructure protection/ restoration on the same level as development and public health infrastructure.

II. Background:
The US has long recognized that certain social needs, primarily related to development and health, requires a national system of planning, acquisition and construction. These include the National Transportation System, the various energy utility grids, wastewater and drinking water systems. Most of these infrastructure systems have both long term planning components and significant public resources associated with their development. For example, every state has a plan now for highway construction at least through 2020 that provides predictability and public acceptance for development and other social demands. These systems have been the foundation for growth and development and are hugely successful.

There is no similar plan for green infrastructure (i.e. the natural/ environmental values and functions which are the essential elements of our rural, suburban and urban ecosystems) that supports environmental, social and economic goals. In spite of all of the environmental work of the last quarter century, we continue to see piece-meal degradation of natural systems and fragmented conservation and protection efforts. At the same time, environmental concerns often are a stumbling block and source of inefficiency for growth and development.

The long-standing conflict over a large housing development at Chapman’s Landing on the edge of the Southern Maryland shore of the Potomac River is a perfect case. The conflict between Southern Maryland economic development plans and Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay living resource protection has been time consuming, expensive, unproductive and pitted development interests against environmental organizations in a win-lose situation. Such fragmented development and environmental protection efforts reflect the “tyranny of small decisions and small solutions”.

Through the “2020 Green Infrastructure Plan” initiative, EPA will lead a nationwide community-based effort to prepare, and begin to implement, a long term, green infrastructure plan. This plan, which will be prepared through federal, state, local and private initiative on a voluntary basis, will identify those natural resource systems (i.e. farms, forests, natural areas, habitat, living resources, etc.) which are essential to future community sustainability and ecosystem health. The initiative will pilot strategies for implementation at a variety of scales (i.e. Metropolitan Regions, States, localities, privately owned properties, etc.) and explore alternatives for integrating this information with other growth and development infrastructure plans.


III. Components:

Applied Research:
nIdentification of recognized plans and procedures for identifying, establishing and implementing a green infrastructure plan.
nAssessment and targeting of the essential natural resource values and functions to be included in the green infrastructure plan.
nEvaluation of the social and economic relationships and needs related to the green infrastructure plan.
nEvaluation of the environmental, social and economic rights related to green infrastructure plans.

Information:
nIdentification, collection and dissemination of existing green infrastructure Geographic Information System data to local/state decision makers.
nIdentification of geographically-based sources of green infrastructure information.
nEvaluation of future Geographic Information System data for green infrastructure plans.
nIdentification of the existing EPA and other federal agency programs and activities which can be used to help plan and implement green infrastructure plans.
nIdentification and assessment of existing State, local and private sector green infrastructure efforts.

Capacity Building:
nIdentification of the available tools, techniques and training currently available to communities to help them develop and implement green infrastructure plans.
nIdentification of available sources of public and private funding which could be used by States, local governments and the private sector to develop and implement green infrastructure plans.

Pilot Projects:
nImplementation of green infrastructure plans and strategies at a variety of scales including, but not limited to within a: State; Metropolitan Area; fast growing rural (i.e. Micropolitan) area; federal land holding; Tribal land; local government area; private development; and corporate and other types of private property.
nIdentification of alternatives for the coordination and program integration among various federal government and non-government organization natural resource programs.

Monitoring :
nDevelopment of green infrastructure indicators.
nEvaluation of the environmental, social and economic results of existing green infrastructure plans and anticipated efforts.

IV. For more information: Contact John Wilson (260-7878) or Glenn Eugster (260-2772).