WTOP reports that the Chesapeake Bay Foundation has awarded $200,000 in grants to three local development corporations for the construction of environmentally sensitive landscaped roofs (“green roofs”) on office buildings to reduce runoff into the Potomac and Anacostia rivers, and ultimately into the Chesapeake Bay. Among the projects on tap is a 68,000-square-foot vegetated roof for the new headquarters of the U.S. Department of Transportation (shown here in a rendering from the building’s developer, the JBG Companies), located in the Southeast Federal Center development, a few blocks from the proposed site of the D.C.’s new baseball stadium.

Green roofs are becoming an increasingly popular tool in sustainable building efforts. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recommends the use of green roofs to combat the urban heat island effect, in which the temperatures in urban areas are consistently 2 to 10 degrees hotter than in nearby rural areas. Benefits of green roofs include reduced surface temperatures, decreased stormwater runoff, noise insulation and extended roof life.