Washington, DC – March 14, 2013 – (RealEstateRama) — At a hearing today on water infrastructure financing, Congressman José E. Serrano questioned the Environmental Protection Agency on their plans for Hurricane Sandy restoration. The Deputy Assistant Administrator at the Office of Water, Mike Shapiro, laid out the variety of ways that the EPA is contributing to the rebuilding effort and how they are ensuring the reconstruction does not just rebuild the same vulnerable infrastructure again.
“The waterways and shorelines of the tri-state region were severely impacted by Hurricane Sandy. Rebuilding efforts are just getting underway, and it’s important that we do it in the smartest and most cost effective way possible,” said Congressman Serrano. “I was pleased to hear from the EPA that they see the restoration and rebuilding from Hurricane Sandy as an opportunity to use green infrastructure projects not just to filter and cleanse runoff but also to protect and secure communities against future storms.”
Mr. Shapiro responded to Congressman Serrano’s questioning by saying that while FEMA has primary responsibility for guiding and paying for rebuilding infrastructure to its previous levels, the EPA has been granted funding and authority to help in the enhancing the infrastructure and making it more safe and resilient. He said the EPA is hoping to work with the states, with HUD and with FEMA to use this restoration as a model for future disaster rebuilding where new levels of protection and resiliency are included. He further added that the majority of the water and storm protection improvements would benefit from increased green infrastructure, such as wetlands restoration, green roofs, and other natural storm and wastewater protection strategies.
“I am very gratified to hear that we are finally beginning to move our disaster recovery infrastructure projects in a greener and therefore more resilient and sustainable direction,” said Congressman Serrano. “We’ve known that improving the environment—especially in the waterways and runoff areas—is an investment that has many benefits, but historically it’s been difficult to move federal agencies and funding in this direction. I believe that Deputy Assistant Administrator Shapiro is entirely correct in saying that if we increase green infrastructure as part of our Hurricane Sandy water infrastructure rebuilding, we are making a very wise upgrade to our disaster preparedness and investing in protection against the next storm.”
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Congressman José E. Serrano has represented The Bronx in Congress since 1990. He is a member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on the Department of the Interior, which also oversees the budget of the EPA.
