LA River Watershed Chosen for Urban Waters Federal Partnership Pilot Project

Los Angeles is one of seven cities chosen to participate in the Urban Waters Federal Partnership Pilot Project.  This project was announced today and is intended to reconnect urban communities with their waterways.  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.

Eleven officials signed a 3-page vision and mission document, including Jo-Ellen Darcy, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works.

From the EPA press release, more detail on the various federal agencies in the Urban Waters Federal Partnership and their potential contributions:

Environmental Protection Agency

Use statutory authority to protect and preserve water quality and provide assistance in assessing and addressing legacy contamination.

Department of Interior

• Assist in building trails; increase public access to river resources; help restore and protect habitat and wildlife; educate and employ urban youth; and assess and help safeguard water quality.

United States Department of Agriculture

• Help communities to plan, manage, and sustain farm and forest landscapes on public and private ownership along a complex rural to urban gradient to promote watershed health and protect water resources, from the source to the faucet.

Corporation for National and Community Service

·         Recruiting, organizing and maximizing the impact of community volunteers.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

·         CDC/ATSDR will serve to offer guidance and technical assistance to local health officials and community members in conducting community-based environmental health assessments and creating an accurate and verifiable profile of communities’ environmental health status.

Department of Commerce/Economic Development Administration

·         Foster the creation of high-skill jobs and the generation of private capital investment in distressed communities.

Department of Commerce/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

• Provide unique scientific products and services designed to boost economic vitality, restore habitat, and mitigate hazards and contamination in coastal, Great Lakes, and other locations.

Army Corps of Engineers

·         Offer engineering services, research and technical support to stakeholders during the planning, design, construction and operation of water resources and associated environmental infrastructure.

Department of Transportation

• Help the community in designing improved transportation corridors, bikeways, walkways

Housing and Urban Development

• Help the community improve access to affordable housing.

National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences 

Assist with health studies related to community environmental conditions.