EPA launches Stormwater Management design competition for students

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is launching a new design competition called the Campus RainWorks Challenge to encourage student teams on college and university campuses across the country to develop innovative approaches to stormwater management.

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‘Beyond Granite’ Design Competition announced

Beyond Granite Design Competition for a new temporary outdoor commemorative installation in Washington, DC has been announced by The National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) and the General Services Administration (GSA). The design competition and resulting installation are intended to enhance a prominent but underutilized public space in the city’s monumental core while fostering public dialogue regarding the nature of commemoration in the nation’s capital.

“The commemoration of our country’s historic leaders, events and ideas is an issue of national and long-standing significance,” noted NCPC Executive Director Marcel Acosta. “As one of the agencies involved with reviewing proposals for new memorials in the nation’s capital, NCPC is excited to be exploring a new and innovative form of commemoration that has the potential to enrich Washington’s cultural landscape, while relieving pressure on the National Mall to accommodate new permanent memorials.”

NCPC and GSA invite artists and/or design professionals, working as individuals or teams, to propose ideas for an innovative temporary commemorative work that embodies the competition’s commemorative theme—the founding principles and positive impact of Earth Day, the world’s largest civic observance. The proposed site for the temporary installation is the Ariel Rios Hemicycle, a grassy semi-circle along the west side of 12th Street, NW between Pennsylvania and Constitution Avenues in the heart of Washington’s Federal Triangle. The site is near the headquarters of the Environmental Protection Agency.
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$2.2 billion for Great Lakes Restoration: EPA

The Environmental Protection Agency will spend $2.2 billion over five years on the Great Lakes to clean up polluted water and beaches, restore wetlands and fight invasive species such as Asian carp in a revitalization effort.
In 2010 $475 million is budgeted under the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Action Plan.

The Initiative builds upon 5 years of work of the Great Lakes Interagency Task Force (IATF) and stakeholders, guided by the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration Strategy. The IATF includes 16 cabinet and agency organizations, including: EPA, State, Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, HUD, Transportation, Homeland Security, Army, CEQ, and Health and Human Services.

Chicago Breaking News reports
Billing the effort as light on study and heavy on action, environmental leaders say they’re seeking to heal the Great Lakes ecosystem from “150 years of abuse” and to ensure that “fish are safe to eat; the water is safe to drink; the beaches and waters are safe for swimming, surfing, boating and recreating; native species and habitats are protected and thriving; no community suffers disproportionately from the impacts of pollution; and the Great Lakes are a healthy place for people and wildlife to live.”

[Vancouver Sun - U.S. looks for help in battling Asian carp invasion]

[M.live - Asian carp may swallow federal Great Lakes Cleanup funding]