The White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) invited ASCE to participate and join a new working group called the Green Infrastructure Collaborative. The Collaborative is a broad network of federal agencies, NGO’s, and private sector entities focused on promoting and implementing green infrastructure across government and in the private sector. ASCE members and staff attended the first of several meetings this month at the White House to share and build knowledge around green infrastructure technologies and policy issues from the perspective of various stakeholders. In particular, ASCE has committed to conducting research and providing information on stormwater best management practices, low-impact development, and focusing attention of environmental and water resources engineers on sustainable development principles. See ASCE’s full commitment along with other participating organizations, including the federal government.
Also on this month, CEQ released a fact sheet related to building community resilience by strengthening America’s natural resources and supporting green infrastructure. The fact sheet is part of an ongoing effort to focus on resilience following a Presidential Executive Order on Climate Preparedness issued last November. A number of important announcements were revealed in the fact sheet, including the results of a new U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) screening-level vulnerability assessment tool for coastal projects, which finds that roughly one third of USACE coastal projects are vulnerable to climate change. View more of the actions announced in the fact sheet.
ASCE member, Charles Rowney (center) with Shannon Cunniff, Environmental Defense Fund (left) and Susan Gilson, National Association of Flood & Stormwater Management Agencies (right)