By Staff Reports
(Maui) The County of Maui is among 56 communities across the nation that will receive technical assistance from the Environmental Protection Agency aimed at improving the county’s quality of life and reaching goals for economically and environmentally sustainable growth.
EPA staff and national experts are scheduled to conduct a series of workshops for County of Maui employees and officials, and for the general public aimed at “Green Street Strategies” and “Sustainable Strategies for Small Town and Rural Areas” during the week of May 6, 2013.
The public is invited to a presentation from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on May 7, 2013 at the Kahului Community Center.
During the EPA-funded workshops on Green Street Strategies, participants will explore strategies aimed at capturing and filtering storm water runoff with vegetation and soils, resulting in less reliance on underground infrastructure. The strategies help to reduce flooding, decrease storm water pollution in waterways and beautify neighborhoods with additional vegetation.
The Sustainable Strategies for Small Towns and Rural Areas toolkit is intended to explore some ‘quick fixes’ to zoning and development codes that the County could achieve to make progress toward implementing community goals for smart growth and sustainable development.
The workshops are expected to engage community decision makers and stakeholders in understanding overarching goals related to complete streets, broader smart growth policies, public health and water quality management.
In addition to Maui County, HI, the selected communities for the Sustainable Strategies for Small Town and Rural Areas Tool are: Bowling Green, Fla.; Brattleboro, Vt.; Murray, Ky.; New Castle, Del.; Vinton, Texas; Williamson, N.Y.; Yurok Tribe, Calif.; and Zolfo Springs, Fla. In addition to the County of Maui, the EPA selected communities for the Green Streets Strategies Tool are Bellevue, Neb.; Dayton, Ohio, Lynchburg,VA, and Ft. Lauderdale, FL.
For additional information or to register for the public presentation, contact Deputy Director of Public Works, Rowena Dagdag-Andaya, at 270-7845.