WASHINGTON, DC, February 23, 2009 (ENS) – The National Governors Association 2009 Winter Meeting wrapped up today with a session on best practices from around the world for financing infrastructure repairs and upgrades. The governors charted what they called “an action-based roadmap” for the chairman’s initiative Strengthening Our Infrastructure for a Sustainable Future.

Each year, the chair alternates between a Democrat and a Republican, and each year, the chairman chooses an initiative to focus the governors’ efforts.

This year the NGA Chair is Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, a Democrat, who is highlighting the role states can play in managing existing infrastructure and developing new infrastructure in ways that enhance economic and environmental prosperity.

Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell opens a infrastructure discussion at the National Governors Association Winter Meeting. Feburary 22, 2009 (Photo courtesy NGA)

“A growing pattern of underinvestment and uncoordinated planning has led to a range of concerns that are felt across the country, including widespread congestion, unsafe bridges, inadequate water supply and an electricity grid that is increasingly pressed beyond its ability,” said Governor Rendell today. “To ensure our nation’s ability to compete in an evolving global economy and respond to crucial energy and environmental challenges, we must not only maintain our infrastructure system but also enhance and improve it.”

In January, the American Society of Civil Engineers reported that $2.2 trillion in repairs and upgrades is needed over the next five years just to bring the nation’s infrastructure up to “adequate.” The ASCE’s 2009 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure assigned an overall grade of D to the nation as well as individual grades in 15 infrastructure categories, none higher than C+.

“From roads, rails and bridges to the electrical grid, water treatment plants, broadband networks, schools and hospitals, infrastructure makes modern life as we know it possible,” said NGA Vice Chair Vermont Governor Jim Douglas. “Governors recognize that it is critical to our economic growth, global competitiveness and quality of life that we work collectively to find ways of improving and modernizing our nation’s crumbling infrastructure.”

Governor Rendell’s focus on infrastructure took shape in January 2008 when he formed a new coalition called “Building America’s Future,” to rally support for a renewed federal commitment to funding America’s infrastructure needs with state partners.

Coalition co-founders California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg pledged to work with then presidential candidates and the platform committees of the national political parties “to ensure that the next president understands the enormity of the infrastructure crisis and is committed to increasing federal funding.”

They were successful in that President Barack Obama has made infrastructure funding a pillar of his newly enacted stimulus package, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Less than a week after it became law, the package is already generating infrastructure jobs.

New York Governor David Paterson today announced the first transportation projects eligible for federal funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will be put to bid as early as March 5, creating thousands of jobs in Upstate New York, an area where unemployment is a constant problem.

These projects include the replacement and repair of bridges in Steuben, Onondaga, Oneida and Herkimer counties, and will be fully funded through the federal legislation.

“Clearly, there is a serious need in New York for federal infrastructure funding, and the projects announced today represent just a small number of the opportunities that will be funded with economic recovery dollars,” said Governor Paterson. “This will be an open process with significant local input, and will create jobs across the state at a time when New York is facing widespread unemployment.”

During their closing session today, the assembled governors heard Denmark’s Minister for Climate and Energy Connie Hedegaard’s insights into the Danish experience with integrating rail into its transportation system.

She provided advice on balancing urban and rural concerns, ways to utilize new pricing and financing mechanisms and strategies to integrate new technologies such as plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger at the NGA meeting (Photo courtesy NGA)

On Saturday, Governor Schwarzenegger and Governor Paterson co-chaired a bi-partisan meeting with 10 other governors and President Barack Obama’s top energy and environment cabinet officials to discuss a state-federal partnership on clean energy and climate change issues.

“States have been leading the way on clean energy and climate change, and we are thrilled to now have a willing partner in the White House to promote these policies on a national stage,” Governor Schwarzenegger said after the meeting, which was held in response to a January 29 letter of request from the governors for a meeting with the Obama team.

“California has been focusing on green jobs, alternative fuels, renewable energy, and reducing the urgent threat of global warming while at the same time benefiting our economy, and we hope that our efforts will now act as a model for change at the federal level,” he said.

During the meeting, governors discussed a variety of initiatives their states are undertaking to accelerate renewable energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. They stressed the importance of coordinating their actions with the Obama administration to leverage each others’ efforts.

Several governors noted the unique complexity of clean energy and climate challenge issues will require action at the local, state and federal level.

Governor Jim Douglas, vice chair of the NGA (Photo courtesy NGA)

Governors Charlie Crist of Florida, Jon Corzine of New Jersey, Jim Douglas of Vermont, Jennifer Granholm of Michigan, Chris Gregoire of Washington, Ted Kulongoski of Oregon, Martin O’Malley of Maryland, Deval Patrick of Massachusetts, Bill Ritter of Colorado, and Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas attended the meeting.

They conferred with Carol Browner, assistant to the President for energy and climate change; Ken Salazar, secretary of the interior; Dr. Steven Chu, secretary of energy; and Lisa Jackson, administrator of the U.S. Enironmental Protection Agency.

“Today’s meeting was the first step in creating a close and lasting partnership with President Obama and his administration on climate change, said Governor Schwarzenegger. “I look forward to working hand-in-hand with our federal partners to realize the ambitious clean energy and climate change goals I know we share, and that I know will provide a boost to our nation’s economy.”

On Sunday night, the President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama hosted their first state dinner – a reception for the nation’s governors in the State Dining Room.

As their meeting closed today, the National Governors Association issued a bi-partisan statement expressing their belief that the country will emerge stronger than ever from the current economic downturn.

“We are unified in our unwavering belief that the United States’ economy is resilient and the true strength of our nation remains the ingenuity, perseverance and hard work of the American people,” the governors said.

“We have been through tough economic times in the past and have always emerged a stronger nation with a more vibrant economy. Our country’s ability to persevere is not in question – we know better days lie ahead. Working together we can speed recovery, provide new opportunities and ensure a prosperous future.”

Click here [www.nga.org] to read a new report on infrastructure from the NGA’s Best Practices Office, “An Infrastructure Vision for the 21st Century” by Darren Springer and Greg Dierkers.

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ATLANTA, Georgia, January 14, 2009 (ENS) – The 2009 Georgia Infrastructure Report Card, released on Tuesday by the Georgia Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers, gave the state’s infrastructure a cumulative grade of ‘C.’

The engineers concluded that Georgia’s infrastructure requires an investment of more than $150 billion over the next 30 years to improve roads, water management, school facilities, solid waste and transit.

Twelve infrastructure areas were graded: wastewater, stormwater, drinking water, energy, dams, school facilities, transit, bridges, airports, roads, solid waste and parks. The parks category was evaluated for the first time this year.

The grades were: a B+ to airports, B- to energy, C+ to drinking water and school facilities, C to solid waste and wastewater, C- to bridges, D+ to roads, stormwater and transit, and D to dams and parks.

“Funding for transit, roads and bridges is still woefully inadequate while our population and vehicle congestion continues to grow at record pace,” the engineers said in their report.

A view of downtown Atlanta, Georgia (Photo by Rancho Cocoa)

The Georgia Section of ASCE represents more than 3,000 civil engineering professionals who live and work in Georgia. A committee of 25 volunteer practicing civil engineers was assembled to collect, review and evaluate data, and develop grades and recommendations.

Georgia Section President Tim Bricker, PE, said, “As civil engineers responsible for public safety, health and welfare, it is our obligation to inform residents and policymakers of the condition of Georgia’s infrastructure. Since the release of our first Report Card five years ago, Georgia’s infrastructure has shown very little improvement and once again received a cumulative grade of C. If we delay action and fail to address the state’s infrastructure needs, we are going to experience a significant degradation of our quality of life.”

Some areas have seen important improvements, including wastewater, school facilities, airports and solid waste.

In wastewater, the city of Atlanta alone has invested more than $1 billion since 2003 in improving its sewers.

Progress has also been made in the regional and state-wide planning of water, wastewater and stormwater with the development of the Georgia Comprehensive State-wide Water Management Plan.

However, the report warns that continued state funding will be critical for the successful implementation of the management plan, which includes the development of regional water conservation and development plans.

Growth and economic development in Georgia over the last several decades have outpaced increases in infrastructure capacity and too much preventative maintenance has been deferred. Funding for transit, roads and bridges is still woefully inadequate while population and vehicle congestion continue to grow at record pace.

Georgia has also underfunded the Safe Dams Program, the engineers advise. More than 33 percent of high-hazard dams, which could cause loss of life if they fail, are considered deficient by state standards. The large number of deficient high-hazard dams puts both lives and property at risk.

In the ASCE’s National’s most recent Report Card for America’s Infrastructure, issued in 2005, the engineers assigned the nation’s infrastructure a cumulative grade of D, down from a D+ in 2001, and estimated a $1.6 trillion investment is needed over the next five years to bring infrastructure up to a good condition.

A new ASCE national report card is expected shortly.

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SEATTLE, Washington, November 17, 2008 (ENS) – The 2008 International Low Impact Development Conference opened Sunday at the Westin Seattle, sponsored by the Environmental & Water Resources Institute of the American Society of Civil Engineers, ASCE.

In his inaugural address, the new ASCE president D. Wayne Klotz, called on fellow professionals to take more credit for the clean water work they do, Klotz said, “Today, I declare this to be the Year of the Civilization Engineer! To do anything else would diminish our contribution to society.”

“Clean water is essential to sustain life,” said Klotz, thanking the members of his profession. “Civil engineers deliver clean water. We find it, clean it, disinfect it, and deliver it into people’s homes, businesses, industries. When the public finishes with it, we civil engineers pick it up, clean it up, and put it back where we found it. No community of any size would exist without clean water, nor can any strong economy. To those civil engineers who are in the water resources business, you are the sole reason that people can live in a community and maintain their health.”

Low impact development draws its stormwater solutions from the natural world. “LID is a more sustainable land development technique that includes a site design approach to preserve natural resources, terrain, and hydrology, combined with a natural approach to stormwater best management practices that store, infiltrate, evaporate, and detain runoff,” according to the Environmental Business Council of New England, which offers a web page listing LID information resources at: http://www.ebcne.org/index.php?id=266

LID technologies preserve open space, protect conservation vales on-site, ensure adequate groundwater recharge, and reduce runoff pollution. In cities, LID practices can reduce heat island impact, smog, and energy use, and lessen the cost of new and repair of existing combined sewage overflow stormwater systems.

In the never-ending quest for clean water at low cost, the use of low impact development practices such as pervious pavements, rain gardens, and green roofs is gaining in popularity.
Pervious pavement allows stormwater to soak into the soil. (Photo courtesy USACE)

The new acceptance of these techniques is due to the fact that they can save developers substantial amounts of money while helping protect rivers, lakes and drinking water resources.

Savings are generally due to reduced costs for site grading and preparation, stormwater infrastructure, site paving, and landscaping. Total capital cost savings ranged from 15 to 80 percent when LID methods were used, with a few exceptions in which LID project costs were higher than conventional stormwater management costs, according to a study by the U.S. EPA released in November 2007.

One objective of this conference, which continues through Wednesday, is to inform stormwater managers how to anticipate and address obstacles to implementation of these techniques.

Another goal is to accelerate change in the practice of stormwater management, including an information exchange to refine design processes, review procedures and construction standards related to LID technologies, conference organizers say.

A number of national and regional LID conferences have been held in the United States, and another is coming up December 3 and 4 at the Grappone Conference Center in Concord, New Hampshire. Unlike most professional conferences, this one is open to the public.

National experts will convene in Concord to present the latest methods for developing land in ways that allow stormwater to be retained, infiltrated, or reused on site.

Workshops on low impact development design and case studies of successful low impact development projects in northern New England will be presented.

“EPA has looked carefully at low impact development, and it’s remarkable that the vast majority of projects are able to save between 15 and 80 percent – while making choices that were better for the environment,” said Robert Varney, regional administrator of the New England office of the EPA, which is a co-sponsor of the Concord conference.

“Low impact development is a way for developers and builders to achieve a competitive edge in the current market, while helping the environment at the same time” said Glynn Rountree, an environmental policy analyst with the National Home Builders Association who will be speaking at the conference.

One such money-saver is pervious pavement that allows stormwater to percolate through the pavement into a filter layer below.

Some developers and engineers in northern New England have been hesitant to use such techniques for fear they may not work well in cold climates. This topic is one that will be given significant attention at the conference.

Attendees will hear how this low impact development technique has been used successfully at a number of sites in New England, including at hospitals in New London, New Hampshire and York, Maine, a shopping center in Amherst, New Hampshire, and at a new park ‘n ride lot in Randolph, Vermont.

The University of New Hampshire Stormwater Center has been evaluating the effectiveness of a variety of stormwater practices at a specially designed field site in Durham for the last five years.

“Our findings are indicating that developers and engineers are missing a real opportunity here,” said Dr. Robert Roseen, director of the Stormwater Center. “We are finding that many of the low impact development practices are actually out-performing the conventional systems on a consistent basis, even in the middle of the winter.”

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