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EPA Launches New Grants Program for Collaborative Environmental Decision Making
Wednesday, May 18, 2005
(Washington, D.C. – May 18, 2005) Today EPA announced about $2.5 million in grant awards to 10 universities, cities and non-profit organizations as part of a new grants program to help protect people and the planet and to sustain economic growth. The grants program, called the Collaborative Science and Technology Network for Sustainability, is designed to encourage innovative thinking on practical applications of science and engineering.
“Through these collaborative projects we will learn how to apply the best science and engineering to assist communities in protecting the environment while supporting economic development,” said William Farland, acting EPA deputy assistant administrator for science in the Office of Research and Development. He announced the awards at an international workshop entitled Meeting the Future: A Research Agenda for Sustainability, hosted by EPA on May 18-20 in Washington, D.C.
The competitive grants program enables local and regional governments to collaborate with university researchers to explore and learn new approaches that anticipate and prevent environmental problems while meeting the economic and social needs of society. These projects are applying science and engineering in an innovative fashion; tracking success against short- and long-term environmental, economic, and social measures; connecting diverse sets of partners; and transferring tools, approaches, and lessons to other decision makers.
The grants were awarded to the following universities, cities and non-profit organizations:
- City of Portland, Portland, Ore., $288,000 – Researchers will determine the feasibility of using a credit trading system to create incentives for property owners to install small-scale, performance-based, storm water systems in Portland.
- Cleveland State University, Cleveland, Ohio, $286,423 – The Cuyahoga Sustainability Network will focus on regional land-use decisions and ecosystem impacts in the Cuyahoga River Valley.
- Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, Ill., $254,999 – Researchers will develop a model for urban water use that can lay the foundation for a water reuse ordinance in the Chicago metropolitan area.
- University of Maryland, College Park, Md., $278,626 – Researchers will evaluate the effectiveness of storm water management practices in Montgomery County, Maryland, a highly urbanized county.
- New York Academy of Sciences, New York, N.Y., $144,000 – Researchers will identify and implement environmentally sound and economically feasible, pollution-prevention strategies for the New York/New Jersey Harbor watershed, leading to improved environmental indicators (in water quality, biota, fish, wildlife, and recreational activities) and efficient resource use, material integration and waste minimization within the regional economy.
- Northeast Waste Management Officials’ Association, Boston, Mass., $278,000 – Researchers will develop, disseminate, and train people to use effective and easy-to-use materials use and profitability software tool for pollution prevention.
- Oregon State University, Corvallis, Ore., $287,999 – This work will improve models to identify where reductions in heat pollution in rivers could provide large benefits in the Pacific Northwest.
- The San Francisco Foundation, Palo Alto, Calif., $204,571 – Researchers will apply a methodology to reduce driving, provide alternative transportation to workers and the community and reclaim parking areas for critically needed housing.
- The Nature Conservancy, Troy, N.Y., $287,434 – Researchers will develop a decision support system to integrate scientific models of ecological flow needs, water demand management and water supply planning.
- Universidad Metropolitana, San Juan, Puerto Rico, $287,401 – Researchers will establish a benchmark and measure the impact of urban growth projects on the quality and availability of land, ecosystems and water on the island of Puerto Rico.
For more information on these grants, visit the Web site at: www.epa.gov/ncer/cns. Additional information about EPA’s sustainability research program can be found at: www.epa.gov/sustainability.
EPA relies on quality science as the basis for sound policy and decision-making. EPA's laboratories and research centers, and EPA's research grantees, are building the scientific foundation needed to support the Agency's mission to safeguard human health and the environment.