Pioneer Valley Green Infrastructure Plan
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The Green Infrastructure Plan is meant to assist communities in the region as they continue the journey toward a more environmentally sustainable stormwater management program. The plan identifies the three existing infrastructures (stormwater, combined sewers, and roads) where green infrastructure might best be integrated; describes useful criteria for mapping potential green infrastructure facility locations; explores important opportunities and challenges; and proposes workable strategies for local and regional actions that will help to address polluted stormwater flows and meet forthcoming stormwater permit requirements.
Due to the persistence of polluted stormwater flows and forthcoming permit requirements, several Pioneer Valley communities are leading the region in transforming the approach to stormwater management. Through a variety of projects, communities are exploring strategies that promote capture and control of stormwater near to where it falls. This includes the use of natural or engineered systems —such as green roofs, rain gardens, or cisterns. In these facilities, stormwater can be cleansed as it moves through soils and the roots of plants, returned through soils to groundwater (infiltration), returned to the air (evapotranspiration), and/or captured to irrigate plants or flush toilets (reuse). Because these facilities typically use plants to enhance and/or mimic natural processes, they are called “green infrastructure.” These facilities are known as structural practices. Green infrastructure contrasts with traditional “gray infrastructure,” which is typically built to convey rainfall from roofs, parking lots, and streets into catchbasins and pipes to outlet at the nearest waterway.
Continuing, Comprehensive, and Cooperative Planning Process
Average Annual Daily Traffic
Advisory Council on Historic Preservation
Americans with Disabilities Act (1990)
Average Daily Traffic
American Farmland Trust
Alternative Fuel Vehicles
American Heritage Rivers Initiative
American International College
Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations
Approval Not Required
American Planning Association
Aquifer Protection District
Air Quality Index
Air Quality Index
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (of 2009)
Automatic Traffic Recorder
Average Vehicle Ridership
Barnes Aquifer Protection Advisory Committee
Business Improvement District
Bicycle Level of Service
Best Management Practice
Bridge Management System
Board of Appeals (or Adjustment)
Board of Health
Berkshire Regional Planning Commission
Bureau of Transportation Statistics
Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990
Commercial Area Revitalization District
Community Action Statement
Central Business District
Cape Cod Commission
Cooperating Colleges of Greater Springfield
Community Development
Community Development Action Grant
Community Development Block Grant
Centers for Disease Control
Community Development Corporation
Community Development Fund
Community Development Plan
Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation
Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation
Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy
Community Enterprise Economic Development
Citizen Housing and Planning Association
Community Housing Development Organizations
Capital Improvement Inventory System
Capital Improvements Plan (or Program)
Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program
Congestion Management Process
Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission
Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area
Compressed Natural Gas
Carbon Monoxide
Council of Governments
Commonwealth Procurement Access and Solicitation System
Community Preservation Act
Citizen Planner Training Collaborative
Capitol Region Council of Governments
Community Service Block Grant
Combined Sewer Overflow
Department of Conservation and Recreation
Department of Environmental Protection
Division of Employment and Training
Department of Housing and Community Development
Direct Local Technical Assistance
Department of Energy Resources
Department of Revenue
Department of Transportation
Department of Public Works
Developments of Regional Impact
Executive Order
Production of affordable housing across a broad range of incomes
Economic Assistance Coordinating Council
Economic Development Administration
Economic Development Council
Economic Development District
Economic Development Data and Information System
Economic Development and Industrial Corporation
Environmental Impact Report
Environmental Impact Statement
Environmental Justice
Environmental Notification Form
Economic Opportunity Area
Executive Office of Administration and Finance
Executive Office of Economic Affairs
Executive Office of Elder Affairs
Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs
Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development
Environmental Protection Agency
Environmental Site Assessment
Economic Target Area
Federal Aid
Functional Classification (of roadways)
Federal Housing Administration
Federal Highway Administration - An agency of the United States Department of Transportation that provides financial and technical support to each state for constructing, improving, and preserving America’s highway system.
Federal Highway Administration
Franklin Regional Council of Governments
Federal Transit Administration
Greenhouse Gas
Geographic Information System - A system for capturing, storing, analyzing and managing data and associated attributes which are spatially referenced to the earth.
Geographic Information System
Global Positioning System
Housing Appeal Committee
HAPHousing
Holyoke Community College
Housing Development Support Program
Housing Innovation Fund
Home Modification for Individuals with Disabilities Loan
Highway Overlay District
Historic Overlay District
Homeownership Opportunities Program
High Occupancy Vehicle
Housing Preservation Grant
Housing Production Plan
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Invitation for Bid
Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991
Intelligent Transportation Systems
Job Access and Reverse Commute
Jacob's Ladder Scenic Byway
Jacob's Ladder Trail
Joint Transportation Committee
Local Board(s) of Health
Limited English Proficiency
Local Housing Authority
Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program
Low Income Housing Tax Credit
Level of Service
Local Option Transportation Tax
Local Pavement Management System
Light Rail Vehicle
Local Technical Assistance
Massachusetts General Laws
Hazardous waste cleanup regulations
Uniform procurement law for local governments
Zoning
Planning/comprehensive permits
Smart growth zoning and housing production
Smart growth school cost reimbursement
Subdivision control
Expedited permitting
Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century
Metropolitan Area Planning Council
Massachusetts Association of Regional Planning Agencies
Massachusetts Department of Transportation
Massachusetts Geographic Information System
Minority Business Enterprises
Massachusetts Development Finance Agency
Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act
Massachusetts Geographic Information Council
Massachusetts Historical Commission
Massachusetts Housing Partnership
Massachusetts Industrial Finance Agency
Municipal Incentive Grant
Massachusetts Municipal Association
Memorandum of Agreement
Massachusetts Office of Business Development
Massachusetts Office on Disability
Memorandum of Understanding
Metropolitan Planning Organization
Metropolitan Planning Organization
Montachusett Regional Planning Commission
Metropolitan Statistical Area
Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices
Martha's Vineyard Commission
Merrimack Valley Planning Commission
Massachusetts Water Resources Authority
National Association of Regional Councils
New England Association of Regional Councils
Non-Federal Aid
National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (as amended)
National Highway System
Neighborhood Housing Services program
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Northern Middlesex Council of Governments
Nitrogen Oxide
Nantucket Planning and Economic Development Commission
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
National Trust for Historic Preservation
National Transportation Safety Board
Old Colony Planning Council
Overall Condition Index (Pavement)
Open Space and Recreation Plan
Pavement Condition Index
Priority Development Fund
Purchase of Development Rights
Peak Hour Traffic (or Trips)
Payment in Lieu of Taxes
[Metropolitan] Planning Funds
Pavement Management System
Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area
Pavement Management Users Group
Planner on a Disc
Public Participation Process
Planned Unit Residential Development
Pioneer Valley Regional Brownfields Cleanup Revolving Loan Fund
Pioneer Valley Transit Authority
Quaboag Valley Community Development Corp.
Rental Development Action Loan
Regional Employment Board
Regional Education and Business Alliance
Regional Economic Models, Inc.
Request For Proposal
Request for Qualifications
Request for Response
Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative
Roadway Inventory Files
Revolving Loan Fund
Regional Planning Agency
Regional Pavement Management System
Regional Transit Authority
Regional Technology Corporation
Regional Transportation Plan
Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users
Small Business Administration
Supplier Diversity Office
State Implementation Plan (for air quality)
Sustainable Knowledge Corridor
Single Occupancy Vehicle
Special Permit
Special Permit Planning
Site Plan Review
Statewide Planning and Research Funds
Single Room Occupancy
Southeastern Regional Planning and Economic Development District
Springfield Technical Community College
Statewide Transportation Improvement Program
Surface Transportation Program
Targeted Brownfields Assessment
Transportation and Community System Preservation [Pilot Program]
Transportation Demand Management
Transfer of Development Rights
Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century
Tax Increment Financing
Transportation Improvement Program
The Literacy Project
Turning Movement Count
Traditional Neighborhood District
Transit Oriented Design (or Development)
Transportation Research Board
Trip Reduction Ordinance
Transportation Systems Management
Urban Growth Boundary
Urban Land Institute
University of Massachusetts
University of Massachusetts Donahue Institute
Unified Planning Work Program
Urban Revitalization Development Grant
U.S. Department of Agriculture
U.S. Department of the Interior
U.S. Forest Service
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
U.S. Geological Survey
U.S. Public Land Survey
Underground Storage Tanks
Vehicle Miles Traveled
Volatile Organic Compound
Vehicle Occupancy Rate
Ware Adult Learning Center
Weatherization Assistance Program
Women-owned Business Enterprises
Wellhead Protection Area
Western New England University
Water Quality Management Plan
Westfield River Watershed Association
Westfield River Wild & Scenic Advisory Committee
Water Supply Protection [District]
Westfield State University
Zoning Board of Adjustment (or Appeals)
