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General & Sustainable
Environmental Management
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Latest News and Updates
Local Governments Role and Liability Concerns in the Clean-up and Redevelopment of Contaminated Properties
A new fact sheet is available as a resource for local governments concerned about incurring potential CERCLA liability as a result of their activities to facilitate cleanup and redevelopment of contaminated properties.
ICMA 2010 Sustainability Survey Results
The survey was sent to 8,569 local governments. The survey response rate is 25.4%, with 2,176 local governments responding. Highlights include: 63% of local governments report conducting energy audits of government buildings 34% have taken actions to conserve the quantity of water from aquifiers 14% have established greenhouse gas limits for the local government.
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Study Finds City Planning Can Reduce Gas Consumption
Some cities in the USA are better positioned to deal with rising gas prices than others because of their design and transit systems, according to a national non-profit group that works to build stronger cities.
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Discover the Rewards of Bringing Local Economic Development and Sustainability Goals Together
Get this informative report and learn great ideas on how you can grow your local economy with innovative and sustainable projects.
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Growing Wealthier: Smart Growth, Climate Change and Prosperity
Growing Wealthier, a report by the Center for Clean Air Policy (CCAP), examines how smart growth can enhance prosperity. According to the report, efficient urban planning, or smart growth, generates economic benefits for local businesses, households and governments.
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Envisioning Better Communities:
Seeing More Options, Making Wiser Choices
Despite the widespread acceptance of good design and planning principles throughout the professions, too many of our towns and rural areas remain needlessly ugly and inefficient. In side by side comparisons of similar places and kinds of buildings, the author shows that we need not live amid sprawling, characterless visual blight. Simple design choices and effective municipal decisions can have tremendous impacts on the quality of our communities.
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Green Infrastructure Municipal Handbook Grows
EPA is developing The Municipal Handbook to help local officials implement green infrastructure in their communities. The handbook is presented as a series of documents (as separate chapters) that cover issues such as financing, operation and maintenance, incentives, designs, codes and ordinances, and a variety of other subjects. The handbook chapters are intended to serve as "how to" manuals on these topics, written primarily from the standpoint of municipal implementation. EPA is producing the handbook in sections, with each new element being released as it is completed. To date, EPA has released chapters on funding options, retrofit policies, green streets, and rainwater harvesting policies. EPA expects to release two additional chapters in 2009, the first focusing on green infrastructure incentives and the second on codes and ordinances.
For more information: cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/greeninfrastructure/munichandbook.cfm
Sustainable Sites Initiative
Guidelines and Performance Benchmarks
Focuses on measuring
how a site can protect, restore and regenerate ecosystem services -- benefits
provided by natural ecosystems such as cleaning air and water, climate
regulation and human health benefits. This report contains over 50 draft
prerequisites and credits that cover all stages of the site development process
from site selection to landscape maintenance.
For more information: http://www.sustainablesites.org/report/
Resources
State of Sustainability in Local Governments
This report presents findings from an International City/County Management Association (ICMA) sustainability survey of over 2,000 local government officials. While over 80% of localities reported recycling, transportation, and building energy conservation initiatives, adoption rates were much lower for other sustainability initiatives such as alternative energy generation and workplace alternatives. The report presents seven action steps that local governments can take to develop a long-term, integrated approach to environmental, economic, and social sustainability.
For more information.
Making Land Development Regulations Work for Smart Growth
by: Smart Growth Network Land Development Regulations Subcommittee
This presentation discusses the kinds of land development regulations found in many communities. It explains how outdated land development regulations may inhibit smart growth and how such regulations can be revised to promote it instead.
PowerPoint format: click here (6042kb)
Local Planning: Contemporary Principles and Practice
Local Planning: Contemporary Principles and Practice is the all-new edition of the popular book, The Practice of Local Government Planning, which has been the valued resource for preparing for the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) exam. This new edition helps the reader understand the complexities of planning at the local level, and prepare to make decisions in a challenging environment.
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Footprint Calculator
Take this quiz to find out your Ecological Footprint, discover your biggest areas of resource consumption, and learn what you can do to tread more lightly on the earth.
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Funding Opportunities
Historic Preservation Funding is available through the National Trust for Historic Preservation focusing on Nonprofit Organization and Public Agency Funding for nonprofit organizations and federal, state, or local government agencies.
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EPA
EPA Sustainability Program Office provides a one-stop access to EPA and related programs and the latest research and activities related to Urban Sustainability and the Built Environment; Water and Ecosystem Services; Energy, Biofuels and Climate Change; and Materials Management and Human Health.
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