Creativity and Constraints

The state of Minnesota has done something very unusual: they’ve formally recognized street trees, and the soil they grow in, as a best management practice for stormwater regulations. And they’ve created a crediting system to use street trees and soils to meet statewide regulatory standards. Our guest, Randy Neprash is a civil engineer and the sole staff member for the Minnesota Cities Stormwater Coalition, an organization of cities in Minnesota that are regulated for their stormwater discharges. Minnesota is the only state that we know of that has done this, and it could completely change not just how we manage water, but how well we sustain another key form of green infrastructure – the urban forest. This podcast is a production of DeepRoot Green Infrastructure, LLC (www.deeproot.com). For more information about the Minnesota Stormwater Manual calculator, visit http://stormwater.pca.state.mn.us/index.php/MIDS_calculator. Music: Broke for Free, “If, “Night Owl” Blue Dot Sessions, “Denzel Sprak”