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EPA provides $149K for improvements in San Juan

EPA Regional Administrator Judith Enck.

EPA Regional Administrator Judith Enck.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Tuesday a total of $149,000 in new funding for the Caño Martín Peña community in San Juan to be used for green infrastructure projects.

EPA Regional Administrator Judith Enck, along with government representatives and ENLACE Executive Director Lyvia Rodriguez said $80,000 of the funding will be used to work on green infrastructure design plans within the Caño Martín Peña community and $69,000 will be used to build a rain garden within the Caño Martín Peña community and study its effectiveness.

Both projects seek to reduce stormwater runoff and improve water quality in the San Juan Bay Estuary’s urban community.

Green infrastructure mimics natural processes to address flooding issues and to manage rainwater and use it as a resource. It replaces paved areas with permeable surfaces, allowing the rain to soak through the surface rather than running off it. Innovative green infrastructure designs benefit the environment and the community by naturally filtering water, by keeping pollutants from entering waterbodies, and by preventing wastewater systems from being overloaded.

“EPA is pleased to provide much needed funding to this community in San Juan,” said Enck.

“This vibrant, densely populated community of 35,000 residents who live along the polluted canal will be able to use these resources to improve the economic and environmental conditions of where they live,” she said.

The Smart Growth funding was awarded to the design firm Spackman Mossop Michaels to work on green infrastructure designs within the Caño Martín Peña community.

Over the next year, green infrastructure design options will be developed for five types of locations: residential water plazas; community parks or open green spaces; walking trails; a water plaza for existing vacant lands; and entryway water plazas.

The project’s final report will identify how the design options can be implemented throughout Puerto Rico, the agency confirmed

Cedarville Engineering Group, LLC will work with Marvel & Marchand Architects LLP of San Juan to design, build, and evaluate a green infrastructure project within the Caño Martín Peña community.

This project will begin construction in December 2016 at Albert Einstein High School in San Juan and run through 2017.

The study will monitor effectiveness of the green infrastructure designs, determine maintenance needs, and provide general assistance for the development and installation of green infrastructure practices for treating polluted runoff.

The EPA developed the Smart Growth Implementation Assistance Program to help communities develop green building and green infrastructure systems and to provide equitable development and housing options for residents.

The agency’s Regional Applied Research Effort Program provides research on high-priority environmental science issues, the EPA explained.

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This story was written by our staff based on a press release.
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