Mid-Atlantic Green Highways
Partnership
Overview & Progress Update
Building Bridges through Collaborative Partnerships
How do you define a Green Highway?
Cleanse all runoff from highway without adversely
affecting adjacent areas sources of hydrology or
habitat values
Complies with all environmental laws
Net increase of chemical, biological, physical
functions and values of watershed Reducing the
disruption of basic ecological processes
Identify, avoid and protect critical resource areas
Meet green highways principles
Better than before
Collaborative
Evaluate need and benefit of regulatory flexibility
Cost Effectiveness
Minimize land clearing within right of way
Plant and seed with native vegetation
What is the Green Highways Partnership?
• Voluntary – Not Regulatory
• Collaborative
– a “network of industry, trade, & environmental
organizations, private sector (consultants &
contractors), and government (local, state, &
federal).
• Public – Private Partnership
• Goal is to promote innovation, stewardship,
streamlining, and regulatory consistency &
flexibility.
• To provide greater incentives for streamlining &
environmental stewardship in transportation.
Why are we doing this?
 Demand & Expectations from the Public for both
agencies
 Complexity of transportation & environmental
problems
– environmental & transportation problems not
as simple as they used to be.
 Economic cost of delay – for both building grey
infrastructure & solving environmental problems
 Shrinking Resources …
WE need Innovation, Smart Thinking & Good
Government to address our common future!
Pillars of GHP
• Partnerships
• Rewards & Recognition
• Recognize programs, projects, and activities for
excellence in achieving of “better than before”
defined for each focus area.
• Economic efficiencies and regulatory flexibility
• Opportunities
– Pilots
– Training
– Green Highways Partnership Network
• Information HUB for all activities related to Green
Highways
Green Highways Roadmap
Major Mile Markers
• Establishment of Pilot or Demonstration Projects
– to inform & inspire the implementation of
practices/actions that are:
• Innovative (policy & practice)
• Efficient & cost effective ($$$ and time)
• Environmentally sound & protective
• Establishment of the Green Highways Partnership
Network
– to promote information exchange & partnership in the
Mid-Atlantic
• Website & Virtual Private Network
• State specific workshops to discuss opportunities & present
innovative practices
• Build a Business Plan
– to develop a self-sustaining Public-Private Partnership
What’s happened so far?
• Stakeholder meetings - 2004 -2005 (ongoing)
• Mid-Atlantic Green Highways Initiative Planning
Charrette – June 2005
• Green Highways Ad-Hoc Committee Formed
– Definition, Mission Statement, & Objectives created.
• Green Highways Forum – November 2005
– Executive Session – Agency and Industry leaders
discussed the goals and objectives of GHI and
provided input into the future direction of the effort.
• Green Highways Partnership Retreat – March
2006 - Development of the Roadmap &
formation of Theme Teams
• Regulatory Roundtable – October 2006
Theme Teams
• Innovative Watershed-Driven Stormwater
Management
– Promote the integration of public and private stakeholder
interest toward the mutual goal of supporting sustainable
use of natural resources.
• Recycling and Reuse
– To promote the environmentally sound and technically
acceptable use of industrial materials in the transportation
infrastructure
• Conservation and Ecosystem Protection
– A regional ecosystem framework scaleable to support
decision-making, implementation & monitoring that
incorporates a set of tailored core data sets/maps & a
tailored decision-making process depending on the
audience engaged from planning to O&M
Green Highways Roadmap
Recycle/Reuse Theme Team Plan
• Identify state DOT projects to optimize the
beneficial use of industrial by-products.
– Target 3 states: PA,MD,VA
– Work with DOTs & DNR’s/DEQs jointly
• Identify Existing Regulations & Specifications
– Target states for follow up after information is gathered
– Provide technical information to help them overcome
hurdles
– Exchange best practices
• Collection & Dissemination of Information
– Develop a toolkit for implementers
– House the information/toolkit on GHP website
• Contacts & Sources of material
Success!
• GHP fosters collaboration and leveraging of
funding among public and private entities…
– GHP leverages several MILLION Dollars for Anacostia
River Urban Watershed Partnership –
• Focuses on innovative partnerships between
transportation organizations & watershed groups to
address stormwater & nutrients in the Anacostia
Watershed
• Funded by $700K EPA Targeted Watershed funding &
$300K Department of Transportation – FHWA funds
• Matching funds from proposals well over 1 million
dollars
– American Concrete Pavement Association
focusing it’s current research agenda on green
practices
• pervious concrete & technologies to reduce heat island
effects
Success!
• GHP working with Villanova University and Prince Georges
County
– to investigate the effectiveness of pervious concrete and porous
asphalt
– the potential applications of these techniques in roadway
construction.
• GHP partnering with Maryland State Highway Administration
– to develop successful watershed approaches to stormwater
management
– the application of a Green Infrastructure approach in the project
development of Maryland Route 301.
– Maryland SHA is striving to make MD 301 a "green highway"
through the application of innovative "green" techniques and
processes.
• GHP influenced Transportation Research Board’s to focus it’s
May 2006 Peer Exchange on the Mid-Atlantic Region
– Environmental Geospatial Information for Transportation Peer
Exchange
Contact Information
Denise Rigney
US EPA Region III
215-814-2726
rigney.denise@epa.gov
Dominique Lueckenhoff
lueckenhoff.dominique@epa.gov