2/16/2016 Workshop #1: Introduction to Stormwater Management in the Western Millers River Watershed M illers River May 29, 2015 Watershed Council Funded through: EPA's Section 319 Nonpoint Source Pollution Grant Program Administered by MassDEP 1 WORKSHOP #1 AGENDA 4:00 pm: Introductions and General Overview of Project – Pat Smith, FRCOG 4:15 pm: Millers River Watershed – Ivan Ussach, MRWC 4:30 pm: Impairment of the Watershed – Malcolm Harper, MassDEP 5:00 pm: Low Impact Development – Fred Civian, MassDEP 5:30 pm: Next Steps: Overview of Workshops 2 and 3 5:45 pm: Questions & Answers 2 1
2/16/2016 PRESENTER: Patricia A. Smith Senior Land Use Planner Franklin Regional Council of Governments 3 PROJECT BACKGROUND Follow ‐ on to Eastern Millers River Watershed LID project conducted by Montachusett Regional Planning Commission (MRPC) and Millers River Watershed Council (MRWC) in 2011 ‐ 2013 Purpose: To provide LID education and technical assistance to develop LID bylaws/ordinances in Orange, Montague, Northfield, Warwick, Erving, Wendell, and New Salem Goal: To mitigate the impacts of stormwater runoff in urban areas like Montague and Orange and encourage development that incorporates LID to protect the sensitive areas in the more rural areas of the watershed Funding provided through EPA's Section 319 Nonpoint Source Pollution Grant Program, administered by MassDEP 4 2
2/16/2016 WESTERN MILLERS LID PROJECT TASKS Updating Local Bylaws with LID • Series of three (3) or more workshops for town officials, DPW staff, Planning Boards, Conservation Commissions, building inspectors, developers and local residents: (1) Introduction to Stormwater Management in the Millers River Watershed (2) LID Technologies and BMPs (3) LID Bylaw Development Field trip to view local LID installations (MRWC) Development of white papers on LID for general distribution and posting on websites 5 PROJECT TIMELINE Timeline: 24 ‐ month project Local Planning Board contacts began in Spring of 2014 Technical assistance on LID ordinance/bylaw development to Town Planning Boards to be provided throughout the term of the project Regional Workshops to be held in Summer/Fall of 2015 6 3
2/16/2016 FRANKLIN COUNTY LID PROJECTS Riverfront Park, Orange • • Unity Park, Montague • JWO Transit Center, Greenfield • Davis & Chapman St. Parking Lot, Greenfield • Olive St. Sidewalk Island Garden, Greenfield High School Rain Gardens, Greenfield • • Deerfield Academy Green Roof, Deerfield 7 SECTION 319 STORMWATER/LID WORKSHOP for the W. MILLERS RIVER WATERSHED A Brief Introduction to the Millers River Watershed Ivan Ussach, Coordinator Millers River Watershed Council May 29, 2015 Greenfield, MA “Healthy Rivers for Healthy Communities” 4
2/16/2016 A watershed is simply the drainage basin for a particular body of water: every brook, stream, lake and river has its own watershed. Water moving downhill is either captured by plants, evaporated or collected by that receiving body of water. * 392 sq. mi. Millers River (320 in MA) Watershed * 17 MA towns * 7 Franklin Cty. towns * 6 NH towns * Millers R. - 51 miles Neighboring watersheds: * East: Nashua River * South: Chicopee River * West & North: Conn. River A watershed is simply the drainage basin for a particular body of water: every brook, stream, lake and river has its own watershed. Water moving downhill is either captured evaporated or collected by that receiving body of water 5
2/16/2016 An exceedingly brief historical overview of river conditions: * Pre-European settlement : River waters full of salmon, trout and other fish * 18th c. : Settlement ushered in dams and mills that began to change the character and quality of the water. * 1930s and 1940s : Millers River was still one of the best-stocked trout streams in the state. * 1950s : Pollution from industrial and domestic sources ruined the river for fishing and recreation. River color * Today : Water quality still varied daily, depending on the dyes used and discharged from upstream affected by various pollutants: paper mills. toxic substances (PCBs, mercury, chlorinated * 1970s and 1980s : River water compounds, heavy metals), improved dramatically due to permitting erosion, acid rain and and regulation of municipal and stormwater runoff . industrial discharges (“point sources”). Source : Mass. EOEA, c. 2000 Millers River Watershed: 23 Towns Franklin County : 7 towns Franklin County municipalities completely or mostly in Millers River Watershed (4) --with est. 2010 pop. (and change since yr. 2000): * Town of Erving: 1,800 (+22.7%) * Town of Orange: 4,018 (+1.9%) Worcester County Towns * Town of Warwick: 780 (+4.0%) (10): Ashburnham, Athol, * Town of Wendell: 848 (-14.0%) Gardner, Hubbardston, Petersham, Phillipston, Franklin County municipalities partially Royalston, Templeton, in Millers River Watershed (3): Westminster, Winchendon * Town of Montague: 8,437 (-0.6%) New Hampshire Towns (6): Fitzwilliam, * Town of New Salem: 990 (+6.6%) Jaffrey, New Ipswich, Richmond, Rindge, * Town of Northfield: 3,033 (+2.8%) Winchester (Source: city-data.com) 6
2/16/2016 Millers River Watershed Sub- basins in Franklin County (8) : * Tully River: Orange, Warwick * Lake Rohunta: New Salem, Orange * West Brook: Warwick, Orange * Middle Millers River: Orange * Whetstone Brook: * Moss Brook: Northfield, Warwick, Erving Wendell, Orange * Lower Millers River: Montague, Northfield, Erving, Wendell * Gales Brook: Warwick, Orange Rivers connect communities! MRWC: A Growing Investment in Stormwater Management Streets are tributaries to waterways! * Annual Meeting Presentations on SWM/LID by FRCOG (2006), Horseley-Witten Consultants (2007), Massachusetts Watershed Coalition (2009). * 2009: Partnered w/MWC and Town of Winchendon for LID Bylaw Development. * 2011: Submission of Comments on Proposed Large Retail Development, Orange MA. * 2011-12: Participated in development of MWC Statewide Stormwater Reduction Campaign. * 2011-12: Partnered w/Montachusett Regional Planning Commission on Section 319 SWM/LID Project in Worcester County half of watershed. * 2014-15: Partner w/FRCOG on Section 319 SWM/LID Project in eastern half of watershed. 7
2/16/2016 Millers River Watershed Council (MRWC) : 100 Main Street, Athol, MA 978-248-9491 council@millersriver.net millerswatershed.org Current Program Priorities : * Quantitative Water Monitoring * Education & Outreach: SWM/LID * Recreation: Millers & Otter River Blue Trails - Franklin Regional Council of Governments May 29, 2015 8
2/16/2016 Background As enacted in 1972, Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act requires States to: Identify waters not meeting State water quality standards Integrated List [303(d) list] Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Impaired Waters There are 5 categories on the Integrated List; impaired waters fall into one of three categories: Category 4a – TMDL is completed Category 4c – Impairment not caused by a pollutant Category 5 – Impaired and requiring one or more TMDLs A Total Maximum Daily Load is the maximum amount of a pollutant that can enter a water body, and that water would still meet water quality standards (a pollution budget). 9
2/16/2016 Impaired Waters – Millers Watershed Grants for Nonpoint Sources of Pollution Section 319 (319) of the Clean Water Act: address nonpoint sources (NPS) of water pollution Grants for prevention, control, and abatement of NPS pollution, and restoring beneficial uses and/or meeting or maintaining state water quality standards Delisting of impaired waters 10
2/16/2016 What is Nonpoint Source Pollution? Overland runoff from many sources Lawn fertilizer Wildlife Dog waste Stormwater Agriculture Not regulated by NPDES discharge permits How NPS Affects Water Bodies Polluted overland runoff into surface waters Polluted recharge to groundwater Direct discharge of stormwater from developed areas Sediments transported from channel disturbance Nutrients, pathogens, sediment 11
2/16/2016 319 Projects That Can Help BMPs to meet water quality standards or restore beneficial uses Protection of healthy watersheds and high quality waters Outreach and education projects Development of Stormwater Utilities Projects that meet NPS Management Program Plan goals Must Be NPS Pollution To Be Eligible Cannot be used to meet the requirement of draft or final NPDES stormwater permits Eligible in regulated areas unless or until the work becomes required by the permit or a stormwater management plan (SWMP) Talk with NPS staff about how to develop a proposal 12
2/16/2016 How Projects Are Selected Proposals are competitively reviewed by an inter- and intra-agency committee Those that best meet program priorities are selected for funding Competitive Proposals Watershed-based approach Address a significant amount of major source of impairment Project is ready to go Outreach and education work Match and strong stakeholder support 13
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