Green Infrastructure

Getting More Green from your Stormwater Infrastructure

This webcast will showcase different ways of communicating both cost savings and benefits related to green infrastructure. EPA staff and leading professionals from the field will discuss new research and case studies detailing successful approaches to valuing green infrastructure.

Details

Session 1 — Interpreting the Costs of Stormwater Control
Chris Kloss, National Green Infrastructure Coordinator, US EPA

This session will discuss factors that impact the costs of controlling stormwater and opportunities to use green infrastructure in ways that provide an overall best value to communities. The findings of recent analyses and case studies will highlight successful approaches.

Session 2 — Quantifying the Benefits of Green Infrastructure: Tools and Resources
Dan Christian, Senior Project Manager and Water Resource Engineer, Tetra Tech

This session will provide an overview of the triple bottom line benefits realized through the use of green infrastructure practices.  This discussion will focus on the impacts to surface water, groundwater, air quality, energy, habitat, and community development.  Information on available tools to quantify benefits as well as additional resources will be shared.

Session 3 — Case studies on cost savings from green infrastructure
Andrew Potts, Senior Watershed Services Technologist, CH2M HILL

This presentation will cover multiple case studies where integrated infrastructure is being used to reduce the cost of green infrastructure implementation and will focus on 2 programs in which a business case approach is being used to incentivize green infrastructure on public and private property.  In the City of Lancaster, PA, this approach is guiding a $7M innovative public-private partnership (P3) program for nearly 50 green infrastructure projects that is reinventing how State Revolving Funds (SRF) can be applied to green infrastructure projects while also attracting private investments in projects that control stormwater.  In Onondaga County, New York, CH2M worked with the Department of Water Environment Protection to develop a Business Case Green Infrastructure Calculator, and used it as the foundation to build one of the nation’s most broadly utilized GI grant programs, the Green Improvement Fund (GIF), which is a significant part of the County’s overall combined sewer overflow (CSO) abatement program, Save the Rain.

Speakers

Chris Kloss is the Office of Water’s Green Infrastructure Coordinator. The Green Infrastructure program supports the EPA’s regulatory and nonregulatory programs by assessing how green practices can address wet weather issues and achieve community environmental and social goals. The program also collaborates with federal, state, local and non-governmental organization partners to assess how green infrastructure can be used to create sustainable infrastructure and provides outreach and technical support. Chris has a Masters in Environmental Policy from the University of Maryland, an MS in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Virginia Tech and a BS in Biological Resources Engineering from the University of Maryland. He has been working on green infrastructure and stormwater issues for the past decade, with experience in the non-profit sector prior to joining EPA.

Dan Christian is a Senior Project Manager and Water Resource Engineer with Tetra Tech.  Dan specializes in stormwater management programs, policies and implementation with over 25 years of experience.  Dan has prepared numerous studies and designs for a wide variety of stormwater control measures such as rain gardens, bioretention, infiltration, porous pavement, water conservation, and others.  Dan’s work often involves green infrastructure in roadway corridors as well as site developments. His clients include federal, state, county and local government entities as well as non-profit organizations located throughout the U.S.  Dan attended Michigan State University and received a bachelors and masters degree in civil engineering.  Dan is married, has two teenage sons, and in his free time enjoys getting out outdoors camping, hiking, and fishing.

Andrew Potts has over 15 years of experience in stormwater management, green infrastructure, water resources, and sustainable site design applications. Andrew focuses on green infrastructure and LID system design and implementation, green streets, innovative stormwater management, LEED, hydrologic analyses/modeling, plan reviews, stormwater manuals, and watershed studies. Andrew was a technical co-author for the Michigan LID Manual, the Pennsylvania Stormwater BMP Manual, and four chapters in the 2014 WEF Green Infrastructure Implementation manual and the new ASCE book on Permeable Pavements. He has a M.S.C.E. from UVA, is a professional engineer, and is a LEED Accredited Professional in Building Design and Construction.