Authorizing the Committee on the Environment to hold hearings on the implementation and progress of vegetated green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) under the Green City, Clean Waters initiative, and to examine the benefits of expanding Green Stormwater Infrastructure throughout the City.

Authorizing the Committee on the Environment to hold hearings on the implementation and progress of vegetated green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) under the Green City, Clean Waters initiative, and to examine the benefits of expanding Green Stormwater Infrastructure throughout the City. WHEREAS, Philadelphia faces increasing challenges related to stormwater management, including flooding, combined sewer overflows, and water quality concerns; and WHEREAS, Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI) refers to a range of practices that use vegetation, soils, and natural processes to manage stormwater, improve water quality, and enhance community resilience; and WHEREAS, Philadelphia entered into a Consent Order and Agreement that requires the implementation of the Long-Term Control Plan Update, known as Green City, Clean Waters, which is a first-of-its-kind combined sewer overflow compliance approach based primarily on green stormwater infrastructure (GSI); and WHEREAS, The goal of GCCW is to increase GSI in Philadelphia to make it a significant portion of the Environmental Protection Agency-mandated goal to reduce the amount of polluted stormwater overflows discharging into the creeks, streams, and rivers in and around Philadelphia by 85% by 2036; and WHEREAS, By 2021, the City successfully met its 10-year Green City, Clean Waters milestone, and many of the GSI opportunities on public property have been completed, meaning future greened acres will require a shift and upscale to priv…