New York Governor David A. Paterson, Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Executive Director/CEO Elliot G. Sander and Chairman H. Dale Hemmerdinger announced a series of sustainability initiatives that the MTA will pursue to further reduce its impact on the environment. The initiatives were part of the interim recommendations released today by the Commission on Sustainability and the MTA. 

The Commission, chaired by Jonathan F.P. Rose, was created in September 2007 by the MTA to help the authority take a leadership role in promoting sustainability. Among the 20 recommendations and projects contained in the interim report, the MTA has made the following commitments:

• derive 7 percent of its energy needs from solar, wind and other renewable sources by 2015;
  

• create a partnership with the state agencies in the Governor’s Smart Growth Cabinet to promote transit oriented development (TOD) in the MTA’s service territory;
  

• develop green design standards for transit facilities based on LEED ratings, using the rigor and experience of the U.S. Green Building Council;
  

• initiate joint procurement programs for green products and services in conjunction with other major public entities; and
  

• map groundwater sources in MTA tunnels and properties and identify industrial and beneficial uses.