Natural Resources News
Monday, January 23rd, 2012
CNT, as a partner in Livability Solutions, has been selected to provide technical assistance to the Lower Eastside Action Plan (LEAP) of Detroit, Michigan, and the Toledo-Lucas County Sustainability Commission of Maumee, Ohio. CNT will assist both communities in learning how to use CNT-designed tools to quantify and advocate for the benefits of green infrastructure as a means of stormwater management. CNT’s tools—the Green Infrastructure Valuation Guide and the Green Values® National Stormwater Management Calculator—were designed to assist communities in promoting sustainability to improve their quality of life and implement local development plans.
“We are pleased to be working with these two community organizations which are committed to improving the quality of life of their residents,” said Scott Bernstein, CNT’s president. “Each of these communities have specific challenges to address—from developing and implementing plans to address vacant land and blighted property to engaging residents in sustainability planning.” Read more »
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Thursday, December 15th, 2011
The US EPA and other federal and state agencies have announced a legal settlement with the Chicago area’s Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) to address the problem of raw sewage being released into Chicago area waterways during rain storms. The settlement includes a requirement to complete the Deep Tunnel by 2029 to increase its capacity to handle wet weather events and address combined sewer overflow discharges. It also requires the agency to implement a $25 million to $50 million green infrastructure program that will reduce stormwater runoff in communities.
“We are pleased to see green infrastructure included in the overall plan to manage our stormwater in the Chicago region,” said Kathryn Tholin, CEO of the Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT), which has worked for more than a decade to demonstrate the myriad benefits of green infrastructure and foster its widespread use. “The additional investment in green infrastructure dwarfs previous investment in the proven, cost-effective practice, and it will allow the district and others to measure its benefits at a regionwide scale.”
“Despite the positive step forward, the 15-year timeframe for implementing green infrastructure is far too long and should be accelerated,” said Tholin. “Philadelphia and St. Louis, cities smaller than Chicago, have invested much more money in green infrastructure in a much shorter period of time. The beauty of green infrastructure is that we can implement these solutions now and begin seeing positive results in communities long before the Deep Tunnel is complete. Deploying green infrastructure in communities is the quickest, cheapest way to address costly flooding in homes and businesses.” Read more »
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Wednesday, October 26th, 2011
A new CNT study shows that Portland is well-positioned to pilot a tree asset management program that would lay the groundwork for turning its tree canopy into a bondable asset, similar to bridges and roads. The study identified six steps through which Portland—and other cities—can create an effective tree asset management program. The study also provides several case studies of other cities that are attempting to turn their trees into assets.
Tree Asset Management in Portland, Oregon is available here.
Read more »
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Wednesday, October 12th, 2011
CNT welcomes Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s move to modernize Chicago’s water infrastructure through increased, and arguably fairer, rate prices. The decision will reduce the amount of water lost through leaks in crumbling pipes, and improve the system’s ability to deal with intense storms that cause flooding and wreak costly havoc on property owners.
The decision was unveiled in the city budget proposal for 2012 to the Chicago City Council today. Among the new initiatives it puts forward is an increase in the annual fee for water and sewer services. The water fee for property owners would increase by 25 percent next year and would begin to charge institutions, such as CNT, for water services that have historically received those services for free. Read more »
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Tuesday, September 27th, 2011
Wangari Maathai speaks at the Al Raby School for Community and Environment on September 22, 2007 about the importance of rain gardens like the one CNT helped to plant at the school.
We at CNT are saddened to learn of the passing of 2004 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Wangari Maathai, founder of the Green Belt Movement. CNT was honored to have Ms. Maathai join us at the dedication of one of our first green infrastructure projects, located at the Al Raby School for Community and Environment and named in her honor.
CNT worked with the Al Raby School and the East Garfield Park community in 2007 to install the Wangari Maathai Natural Garden, a native woodland garden at the entrance of the school, located at 3545 West Fulton Boulevard. The project was not only beautiful; it also connected the students to nature by providing a hands-on experience in landscape design, creation, and maintenance. Read more »
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Thursday, September 15th, 2011
Key public, private, and nonprofit stakeholders attended a water infrastructure discussion hosted by CNT.
A CNT event to introduce our refocused water program drew more than 100 stakeholders from the public, private, and nonprofit sectors to the Sidley Austin law firm’s beautiful office in downtown Chicago. CNT CEO Kathryn Tholin and CNT Water Program Director Harriet Festing framed the evening’s panel discussion by describing CNT’s approach to developing sustainability solutions for a wide range of water resource issues. Read more »
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Thursday, September 1st, 2011
The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) has just established a new Green Infrastructure Program, voting to budget $1,000,000 to the effort in 2012. This is a visionary policy advancement that will seek to alleviate basement flooding and stream pollution, while at the same time reducing the cost of stormwater management in Cook County. Read more »
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Thursday, July 28th, 2011
CNT recently expanded its operations from its LEED Platinum building on North Avenue and has purchased a new building at 1741 N Western. The new facility includes an adjacent lot which is currently paved with asphalt. CNT, assisted by Alexia Paul, LEED AP and registered landscape architect, has prepared a plan for transitioning the empty lot into a showcase sustainable garden space, event and educational facility. The garden project is the first initiative of this building’s retrofitting. Read more »
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Thursday, July 21st, 2011
The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency has announced the awardees for the state Green Infrastructure Grant program. Fourteen applicants will receive a portion of the nearly $5 million made available for the inaugural year of the program. Recipients include the City of Joliet ($820,000), the City of Danville ($750,000) and the Safer Pest Control Project ($73,280). Read more »
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Thursday, July 14th, 2011
The goal of a new CNT water project, the Good Neighbor Challenge, is to demonstrate that committed residents can manage stormwater runoff and improve local waterways without huge financial outlays by public agencies. Staff from CNT’s water program are busy identifying 300 residents in three communities (Albany Park, Rogers Park and Wilmette) who are committed to addressing the flooding problem by retrofitting their neighborhoods for wet weather with features like rain gardens and disconnected downspouts. Read more »
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