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Maryland Department of the Environment

Nomination period open for Smart, Green & Growing award for Innovations in Stormwater Management

Media contacts:

Samantha Kappalman
samantha.kappalman@maryland.gov
Jay Apperson
jay.apperson@maryland.gov
410-537-3003

Nomination period open for Smart, Green & Growing award for Innovations in Stormwater Management
Winners to Be Announced at MDE’s 3rd annual Clean Water Innovations Trade Show 

BALTIMORE, MD (November 13, 2013) – Nominations are now being accepted for the 2013 Smart, Green & Growing Award for Innovation in Stormwater Management. Award nominations are due by Friday, December 13, 2013.  Award winners will be recognized at the Maryland Department of the Environment’s Clean Water Innovations Trade Show on January 7, 2014, in Baltimore.

The award recognizes groups, organizations, county and municipal governments and projects that have fostered the creation of new approaches to address the impact of stormwater runoff pollution in Maryland. Stormwater runoff is surface water that flows off roofs and pavement after a storm. When the ground fails to soak in the runoff, it channels pollutants such as pesticides, sediment, bacteria, pet waste and trash into our waterways. Stormwater management practices help control pollution through the use of nonstructural and/or structural techniques that intercept runoff from developed areas, filter and treat the runoff and discharge it a controlled rate.

MDE will consider activities or projects that:

  • Demonstrate the effectiveness of new and innovative technologies.
  • Increase public awareness of stormwater impacts.
  • Encourage the use of approaches such as Environmental Site Design or Low Impact Development.
  • Highlight cooperative efforts to restore Maryland’s streams, watersheds and water quality.

The 2012 award winner was a partnership between the Maryland Port Administration’s Schoolyard Greening Program and Baltimore City Public Schools that resulted in a stormwater retrofit project for Baltimore Polytechnic Institute’s parking lot. The environmental enhancement project converted two unused portions of existing parking lot into bioretention facilities.

Nomination forms for the Smart, Green & Growing Award for  Innovation in Stormwater Management are available on MDE’s website, and may be submitted by email to adrienne.diaczok@maryland.gov or by mail to: Maryland Department of the Environment, Office of Communications, 1800 Washington Boulevard, Baltimore, Maryland 21230, Attention: Adrienne Diaczok.

Smart, Green & Growing is a multi-agency, statewide initiative to help Maryland achieve a more sustainable future by linking community revitalization, transportation improvements, economic development, smart growth and environmental restoration efforts.

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