March 26, 2007
Mr. Benjamin Grumbles, Assistant Administrator
Office of Water
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Dear Mr. Grumbles:
I have read with interest your memo dated 5 March 2007 called Using Green Infrastructure to Protect Water Quality in Stormwater, CSO, Nonpoint Source and other Water Programs. Here in Portland, Oregon we have been putting these actions into practice for many years and heartedly congratulate your endorsement and support for this approach.
Back in 2000, the City met with Region 10 [1] to propose our Clean River Plan [2] that was comprised of many green infrastructure elements. This Plan was to be a major component of our CSO [3] abatement effort, which had been underway since 1991. Ironically, EPA [4] rejected our initiative. Instead, the Region referred Portland to the Justice Department for possible enforcement action.
On April 16th you are scheduled to attend a meeting hosted by EPA, NACWA [5] and the NRDC [6]where our green infrastructure activities will be highlighted and discussed. Dean Marriott, our Director of Environmental Services [7] will be a presenter at that meeting. I hope you will have a chance to attend and learn more about how this green infrastructure works to meet regulatory requirements in a way that is superior for the environment.
I would also like to invite you to visit Portland to see firsthand our green infrastructure and meet with the public and private sector planners, designers, engineers and builders that are leading the way in this arena. I would be pleased to host a tour and event that would expose even more people to how we are approaching this innovative effort here in Portland. Feel free to have someone call my office if you would like us to arrange such an opportunity.
Sincerely,
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| Green Infrastructure Memo from B Grumbles001.pdf [8] | 118.59 KB |