EPA and Department of Interior Announce Urban Waters Federal Partnership

This morning in Baltimore, MD, Administrator Jackson was joined by Senator Ben Cardin, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, and other senior federal and local officials to announce the Urban Waters Federal Partnership (UWFP).

This partnership will reconnect urban communities, particularly those that are overburdened or economically distressed, with their waterways by improving coordination among federal agencies and collaborating with community-led revitalization efforts to improve our Nation’s water systems and promote their economic, environmental and social benefits.  Specifically, the Urban Waters Federal Partnership will:

• Break down federal program silos to promote more efficient and effective use of federal resources through better coordination and targeting of federal investments.
• Recognize and build on local efforts and leadership, by engaging and serving community partners.
• Work with local officials and effective community-based organizations to leverage area resources and stimulate local economies to create local jobs.
• Learn from early and visible victories to fuel long-term action.
• This partnership aligns with President Obama’s America’s Great Outdoors initiative, which calls on agencies to support innovative community efforts to provide safe, healthy and accessible outdoor spaces.

As a beginning, the partnership has identified seven pilot locations in which to enhance existing work.  You may click on any link for more detailed information:

• Anacostia Watershed (District of Columbia/Maryland)
• Patapsco Watershed / Baltimore Region (Maryland)
• Bronx & Harlem River Watersheds (New York)
• South Platte River in Denver (Colorado)
• Los Angeles River Watershed (California)
• Lake Pontchartrain Area in New Orleans(Louisiana)
• Northwest Indiana Area

For more information about this new partnership, please go to:  http://urbanwaters.gov/.