EPA Technical Assistance

EPA provided $335,000 in technical assistance to five communities to develop elements of integrated plans for municipal wastewater and stormwater management:

• Burlington, Vermont – The city of Burlington developed community-based evaluation criteria based on social, economic, and environmental factors to identify and prioritize potential wastewater, stormwater, and combined sewer system projects.
• Durham, New Hampshire – The town of Durham and the University of New Hampshire developed an integrated plan using information on pollution tracking and accounting systems to focus on cross-jurisdictional coordination and methods to credit point versus nonpoint pollution controls.
  • Durham, New Hampshire's Integrated Plan (PDF)(69 pp, 2.6 MB, About PDF)Exit
• Onondaga County, New York – The Onondaga County Department of Water Environment Protection worked with multiple municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4s) and other stakeholders, developed priorities, and evaluated proposed wastewater and stormwater projects.
• Santa Maria, California – The city of Santa Maria developed methods to identify, evaluate, and select water resource management projects that address multiple wastewater, stormwater, and other water quality issues.
  • Santa Maria, California's Integrated PlanExit
• Springfield, Missouri – The city of Springfield, Greene County, and City Utilities of Springfield developed a benefits analysis of water resources to use for integrated planning.
  • Springfield, Missouri's Integreted Plan (PDF)(39 pp, 1.9 MB, About PDF)Exit

In addition to supporting these community planning efforts, the projects resulted in three reports that provide practical examples and transferable tools to communities that are interested in integrated planning. The reports and related supporting documents below focus on three main themes: public outreach and engagement, prioritizing projects, and characterizing the value of water to inform decision-making.

• Public Outreach for Integrated Wastewater and Stormwater Planning (PDF)(13 pp, 2 MB)
  This report focuses on public outreach, Element 3 of the integrated planning process. Includes case studies from Burlington, Vermont and Onondaga County, New York.
• Prioritizing Wastewater and Stormwater Projects Using Stakeholder Input (PDF)(32 pp, 5 MB)
  This report describes how communities can use stakeholder input to select and rank criteria and apply those criteria to prioritize stormwater and wastewater projects. Includes case studies from Burlington, Vermont, Onondaga County, New York, and Santa Maria, California.
• Integrated Planning: Characterizing the Value of Water to Inform Decision-Making (PDF)(13 pp, 2 MB)
  This document presents approaches for quantifying water resource users and estimating the value of water resources. Includes examples from the City of Springfield and Green County, Missouri.
• Estimating the Value of Water: A Literature Review (PDF)(30 pp, 2 MB)
  This document describes the methodology and results of a literature review of relevant studies that examined how communities similar to Springfield estimated their water resource value.
• Estimating Users of Water Resources: Springfield–Greene County Data Collection Plan (PDF)(37 pp, 4 MB)
  This data collection plan provides next steps for the Springfield and Green County project partners and ideas for other communities on how to collect water resource user data to help support an integrated planning process.