NEMWI and Great Lakes Commission to Hold Briefing on Great Lakes Regional Green Infrastructure

Please join the Great Lakes Commission and Northeast-Midwest Institute for a briefing and report launch for:

Great Lakes Regional Green Infrastructure Policy Analysis:
Addressing Barriers to Implementation

Wednesday, September 5, 2018 
2:30 p.m. – 4 p.m. EDT

Cannon House Office Building
Room 122
27 Independence Avenue Southeast
Washington, D.C. 20003

Please RSVP by August 31.

Throughout the Great Lakes basin, communities are faced with growing stormwater management challenges.  Green infrastructure (GI) can serve as a key aspect of local stormwater solutions by decreasing the volume of water running into sewers and streams and improving water quality by trapping sediment and nutrients. GI includes a broad variety of stormwater management tactics like natural features and rain gardens, green roofs, and porous pavement, that mimic nature and increase infiltration of stormwater.

Local communities are generally at the forefront of stormwater management, challenges, and innovation, but municipalities’ capacity to develop GI is heavily influenced by federal, state, and provincial policy. Many policies and funding programs can foster GI implementation, while others either do little to incentivize GI or amplify unnecessary barriers. This report is targeted to federal, state, and provincial policymakers that can help create enabling conditions for local GI progress. The key policy recommendations identified are designed to reduce barriers and provide a stronger foundation for communities to advance GI.