Green projects include those that promote green infrastructure and energy or water efficiency, as well as projects that demonstrate new or innovative ways to manage water resources in a sustainable way. To the extent required by Federal law, which may change from year to year, priority may be given to eligible projects where sufficient documentation has demonstrated to the satisfaction of DPH that the project achieves identifiable and substantial benefits that qualify as green project benefits. In order to for a project to qualify under the GPR, a “business case” is required to be included with a DWSRF Eligibility Application unless the project is categorically excluded from this requirement under federal guidelines. Business cases shall include supporting documentation of how the project or portion of the project achieves green project benefits. Specific GPR amounts available each year will be identified in the DPH’s IUP. The DPH will solicit for qualifying GPR projects during the biennial DWSRF application process.
In order for the DPH to review a project for its “green” characteristics, a Green Project Information from must be submitted with the Eligibility application.
The Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2011 Capitalization Grant awarded to the Department of Public Health required that at least 20% of the grant amount be used for projects to address green infrastructure, water or energy efficiency improvements, or other environmentally innovative activities. These four categories of projects are the components of the Green Project Reserve (GPR).
The project selected to fulfill this requirement is the Metropolitan District Commission’s (MDC) water main replacement on Capitol Ave. This project is considered an example of “water efficiency” under the Green Project Reserve (GPR) on the basis that replacing aging water infrastructure (water main) will result in a reduction of lost water. It will also result in a substantial benefit to customers by reducing the potential for water main breaks causing periods of no water service. This project uses proper water infrastructure management by identifying and prioritizing mains in need of replacement. Please click here to view the business case.