EPA to Provide Smart Growth Technical Assistance to Atchison, Kan.

EPA Press Release:

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 7

11201 Renner Boulevard, Lenexa, KS 66219

Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Nine Tribal Nations

EPA to Provide Smart Growth Technical Assistance to Atchison, Kan.

Contact Information: Kris Lancaster, 913-551-7557, lancaster.kris@epa.gov

Environmental News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(Lenexa, Kan., Feb. 7, 2013) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced that the City of Atchison, Kan., will receive technical assistance through the Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities program. The announcement was made at the New Partners for Smart Growth Conference in Kansas City, Mo.

EPA awarded Atchison, Kan., a Land Use and Water Quality Workshop. The workshop will provide Atchison technical assistance to identify green infrastructure measures to better manage stormwater runoff.

“The Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities program coordinates federal investments in infrastructure and helps communities make smart planning choices,” said Karl Brooks, EPA Region 7 Administrator. “This assistance will provide the city of Atchison strategies that will protect water quality and reduce combined sewer overflows.”

EPA's technical assistance will help Atchison find ways to reinvest in the city's core by establishing the proper mix of land uses and strengthening existing neighborhoods transforming the city into a more sustainable community. The assistance will result in water quality improvements and protect the Missouri River from harmful pollutants.

Across the nation, EPA awarded 43 communities with technical assistance through the Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities program. EPA selected this year’s recipients from 121 applicants through a competitive process in consultation with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Department of Transportation. The partnership is helping communities across the country create more housing choices, make transportation more efficient and reliable, reinforce existing investments, and support vibrant and healthy neighborhoods that attract businesses.

With assistance from EPA-funded private sector experts, the communities will focus on a specific development tool, such as green building, land use strategies to protect water quality and using smart growth to produce economic and fiscal health. Communities will also learn about other strategies for development that can improve the environment and the economy.

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