1. Mid-Atlantic Green Highways Partnership
Overview & Progress Update
Building Bridges through Collaborative Partnerships

3. 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

4. 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.

5. 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!

6. Pillars of GHP Partnerships Rewards & Recognition Opportunities Pilots
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
Partnerships - 3 major theme areas
Innovative Watershed-Driven Stormwater Management
Planning, Design, Products and Practices
Recycling and Reuse - Industrial By-Products and Recycled Material Uses/Implementation
Conservation and Ecosystem Management - Principles and Practices
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
Collaborative Action Network
information “nerve center” for all activities related to Green Highways
tool will provide a bridge to environmental entities in federal, state and local government, academia, other NGOs, and trade/industry groups

7. 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

8. What’s happened so far?
Stakeholder meetings (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 Development of the Roadmap & formation of Theme Teams
Regulatory Roundtable – October 2006
Integrated framework of information sharing and communication;
Build on current successful efforts .. CSS
A rewards/recognition program to provide incentives and showcase successes to inspire replication across the country.
Turn the good ideas into practical realities by integrating & leveraging GHI stakeholders energies, interests & resources equitably.
Silo-smashing effort that develops a framework for action which allows for market based solutions.
Joint funding & integrated goals
Joint research and technology transfer

9. 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
Partnerships - 3 major theme areas
Innovative Watershed-Driven Stormwater Management
Planning, Design, Products and Practices
Recycling and Reuse - Industrial By-Products and Recycled Material Uses/Implementation
Conservation and Ecosystem Management - Principles and Practices
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
Collaborative Action Network
information “nerve center” for all activities related to Green Highways
tool will provide a bridge to environmental entities in federal, state and local government, academia, other NGOs, and trade/industry groups

10. 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
Pilots – 10 stormwater pilots in MD, DC and PA – A few in the CB
Research Topics
Demostrate WQ benefits watershed and project scales
Develop metrics and measurement tools to show/measure progress and results
Test out Lifecycle performance of bmps and other techniques and approaches
Id highway models, gaps
Demo institutional economic benefits
More practices and techniques specifically designed for transportation projects (i.e., soil amendments for toxics, swale BMPs)
gh design manual (hard to do)
interim guidelines for trading (multiple benefit) and mitigation recognized by regulators

11. 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

12. 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

13. Dominique Lueckenhoff
Contact Information
Denise Rigney
US EPA Region III
Dominique Lueckenhoff