The federal Environmental Protection Agency is giving the city of Green Bay $500,000 to build an environmentally friendly parking lot near the bay’s shore.
The money is the first round of Great Lakes Initiative Shoreline Cities Green Infrastructure grants, which are designed to reduce toxic runoff into the lakes.
Susan Hedman, who heads the EPA’s Region 5 which serves Wisconsin and a handful of neighboring states, said a total of 16 will be awarded, with a price tag of $6 million.
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“Green Bay is the second of these that we’re awarding,” Hedman said.
Green Bay city officials will build a 400-stall parking lot at the Bay Beach Amusement Park. The surface will be permeable so rain water won’t carry contaminants into the adjacent bay. The city will contribute another $500,000 and build rain gardens. The idea is to promote small projects that will complement storm water runoff that’s done by municipal sewer systems.
“In a perfect world, the best way to manage storm water is to have a lot of dispersed, small projects like this that actually catch the rain where it falls and allow it to filter very slowly,” Hedman said.
EPA officials said two more Wisconsin cities will get similar grants, and those will be announced next week.
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