GETTING THE MOST FOR
MARYLAND COMMUNITIES
In 2019, EFC partnered with the Maryland Black Mayors, Inc. to implement the Getting the MOST for Maryland Black Mayors program. The educational initiative, focused on the importance of stormwater management, included workshops, online courses through the MOST Center, peer-to-peer learning forums, and matchmaking with technical service providers to better connect communities with resources. Participants included the Mayors of Brentwood, Cheverly, Colmar Manor, Fairmount Heights, Forest Heights, and North Brentwood, their staff, and other elected officials.

In 2021, EFC kicked off the second phase of the project aimed at residential engagement. Funded by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, EFC and the Anacostia Watershed Society (AWS) are working to install stormwater management practices, including conservation landscaping, native trees, and rain barrels on private property free of charge. EFC and AWS will install a total of 30 projects, five in each community. Participants were identified through a series of community meetings and an online application process. The first round of projects was installed in the fall of 2021, and the final round will be installed this spring.

Check out EFC's MOST Center to learn how to better address stormwater in your community!
SB14 - SUSTAINABLE MARYLAND PROGRAM FUND PASSES SENATE AND HOUSE
SB14 Sustainable Maryland Program Fund - Establishment, a bill introduced in the 2022 Maryland legislative session, would provide the Sustainable Maryland program with the crucial support it needs to continue to properly assist Maryland's municipalities in reaching their individual, and the State's, ambitious sustainability, climate and equity goals.

SB14 was initially passed by the Senate Economy, Health and Environmental Affairs committee unanimously (11-0) and without amendments on March 9. It then had a final reading on the Senate floor and was passed unanimously and without amendments on March 17.

On April 4, the House Appropriations committee passed the bill. On April 11, the last day of the legislative session, the bill was passed on both the House and Senate floors. This is a historic milestone for the SM program!

Thank you so much to our bill sponsors, Senator Sarah Elfreth and Delegate Jared Solomon, for getting the bill across the finish line. And thank you to all of the UMD staff, municipal elected officials and staff, Green Team members, non-profit organizations and others who lent their support to this effort to provide stable funding for Sustainable Maryland!

Check out this article for more information on SB14.
ADDRESSING THE CHALLENGES OF GREEN STORMWATER IMPLEMENTATION IN PHILADELPHIA
Photo Credit: Philadelphia Water Department
Philadelphia’s Green City Clean Waters (GCCW) plan is a 25-year effort aimed at addressing flooding and stormwater in the city’s combined sewer overflow (CSO) areas, which encompass approximately 60% of the city. At its inception, the plan was considered by many to be the most innovative and expansive effort nationwide to address stormwater issues by using green infrastructure as one of the pillars of implementation, along with more traditional gray infrastructure. Of utmost importance to the plan is ensuring that stormwater practices provide city residents with additional social, economic, and environmental benefits - also referred to as as the “triple bottom line”.

Through GCCW, the Philadelphia Water Department (PWD) has installed stormwater projects on city, private, and non-city public land. The city met the stormwater management practice acreage targets set for the first 10 years of the program; however, implementation has become more complex and expensive as the most accessible land was used in earlier stages of the program. The establishment of stormwater infrastructure on private property has relied on an incentive program that includes grants and stormwater credits for developers and landowners. However, funding for the program has been variable and insufficient to establish a stable stormwater market and, until recently, implementation on private land has not generated a sufficient number of stormwater practices that incorporate vegetation (which would produce greater triple bottom line benefits).

To help the PWD address these challenges, EFC partnered with academic and non-profit colleagues to assess and analyze the challenges and potential solutions to implementing green stormwater practices on private properties at a rate that would meet GCCW targets by 2036. The research team, including the Water Center at the University of Pennsylvania, PennFuture, The Nature Conservancy, WaterNow Alliance, Natural Resources Defense Council, and Sustainable Capital Advisors developed a set of eight recommendations for the city to overcome the financing challenges of the incentive program and to accomplish more projects that yield triple bottom line benefits on private and non-city public lands, especially in neighborhoods currently lacking environmental amenities. The final report will be posted on EFC’s website in early May 2022.

This project was funded by a grant from the William Penn Foundation.
EFC AND PARTNERS HOST SUCCESSFUL SUMMIT ON SUSTAINABLE WATER MANAGEMENT
On April 13th and 14th, EFC in partnership with the WaterNow Alliance and the Water Center at the University of Pennsylvania convened the 2022 Tap into Resilience Summit in Philadelphia. The event brought together local water leaders from across the country to discuss how communities can scale innovative and affordable water solutions and connect with critical initiatives and resources to support sustainable water management and resilience.
 
Stay tuned for resources and videos from our distinguished group of speakers and experts, including our own EFC staff, on the new federal funding for water, climate change, and success stories addressing equity and affordability challenges.
SUSTAINABLE MARYLAND CONVENES ROUTE ONE CORRIDOR COMMUNITIES ON STORMWATER, POLLINATOR HABITAT
The Sustainable Maryland program recently convened staff, elected officials and Green Team members from 14 municipalities along the Route One Corridor in Prince George's County to collaborate on stormwater/flooding issues and the creation of a pollinator corridor. Three virtual convenings held over the last six months resulted in two Action Plans, which will serve as a guide to the municipalities as they move forward on stormwater and pollinator projects, plans, and events.



The Action Plans were reviewed and finalized at the 3rd Annual Route One Corridor Green Team Summit last month. Stay tuned for multi-municipal initiatives coming soon!
FOLLOW EFC ON SOCIAL MEDIA
You can follow EFC and some of our programs on social media: EFC is on Twitter @EFCUMD, Sustainable Maryland is on Facebook, and the Municipal Online Stormwater Center (MOST) is on Twitter @TheMOSTCenter
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Mike Hunninghake, Editor
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"Forests continue to disappear — cut and burned into ever smaller patches. This failure challenges all of our climate efforts because unless forests remain standing, the world will never contain global warming."


Thomas Lovejoy (1941 - 2021), biologist and ecologist who popularized the term "biodiversity". His final book is Ever Green
 
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