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Collaboration and Partnerships

Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.


Mid Atlantic Green Highways Partnership
EPA Region 3 - Philadelphia - Water Protection Division, Office of State & Watershed Partnerships

Geographic location or area of activity: Mid Atlantic Region/EPA Region 3

Description of activity:   The Mid-Atlantic Green Highways Partnership (GHP) has been actively pursuing Cooperative Conservation by integrating the concepts of Green Infrastructure into the three theme teams; watershed driven stormwater management (SW), beneficial reuse & recycling of industrial byproducts (RR), and conservation and ecosystem protection (CEP).   Successes include the GHP Planning, Designing & Constructing a Green Highway Workshop – US 301 Waldorf Area Transportation Improvements Case Study.  Representatives from federal, state, and local transportation and environmental agencies, industry & trade and non-profit organizations attended this workshop to brainstorm activities, actions, mitigation, and considerations, etc, that would help to make the proposed case study project a Green Highway.  The brainstormed ideas included utilizing a Green Infrastructure Assessment and Plan in the identification and selection of transportation alternatives and potential mitigation and stewardship packages.   Another key result is that participating counties, Prince Georges and Charles, agreed to utilize a watershed approach to stormwater management.  

The GHP CEP team is currently scoping a pilot project with the Northern Tier Regional Planning Organization in Pennsylvania to develop a Strategic Conservation Assessment for Transportation (SCAT).   The SCAT will be developed using a green infrastructure approach to the identification and assessment of sensitive environmental resources which will then be used during the development of the Northern Tier regional transportation plan. The team is currently at the stage of developing a work plan.

The GHP RR team held its first Workshop entitled “Conserving Resources & Building Infrastructure with Recycled Materials.  This contributes to Cooperative Conservation through the reduction in the use of virgin materials as aggregates for transportation construction materials.  The workshop included representatives from federal and state transportation and environmental agencies, academia, industry and trade organizations. The outcomes of the workshop include a plan to work with the states to develop standard and specifications that are consistent among the states involved.  

Finally, the GHP SW team has created a prototype GH Watershed Predictive Stormwater Management and Environmental Management System Tool which will be tested and finalized through application on the US 301 Waldorf Area Transportation Improvements Project led by Maryland State Highway Administration.  This tool incorporates green infrastructure assessment, watershed and stormwater management planning and consideration of use of recycled materials in the regional development of transportation infrastructure.

Interagency partners:   Federal Highway Administration, US Fish and Wildlife Service,
Maryland State Highway Administration, District of Columbia Department of Transportation

Local partners:  Prince Georges County – Maryland, National Ready Mix Concrete Association, American Concrete Pavement Association, American Coal Ash Association
Low Impact Development Center, National Asphalt Pavement Association, University of New Hampshire, University of Wisconsin

Activity URL: http://www.greenhighways.org

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